Develop Awards: Guide to Lobbying

This July the best of the best from the European development sector will descend on Brighton for the prestigious 2011 Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Want to be considered as a finalist? Want to come along? Want to be a sponsor? Here, we tell you how.

DEVELOP AWARDS: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

When do the awards take place?

The Develop Industry Excellence Awards take place on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel.

How can my company be considered for an award?

This one’s simple. All you need to do is send a short pitch, either as a Word document or plain text email, to Develop’s editor-in-chief at Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk

A full list of awards and their specific critieria, plus historical details on previous winners, can be found below.

Send your pitch in by Tuesday, April 19th.

In your pitch give us a bit of history and highlight your company’s key achievements ­in the last year – and don’t forget tell us what awards you want to be considered for.

You don’t need to go into masses of detail, as we only need an overview and a run through of what your key achievements/recent releases are. Be brief; its easier for you, and for us. Remember, we know the industry very well and will have almost definitely heard of you.

You’re also actively invited to lobby for other companies across the games industry – be it publishing partners, your favourite services or outsourcing outfits, and the studios that you both respect and admire.

Most importantly: Lobbying isn’t voting, so there is no need to get all of your partners to put your name forward without any detail, or bombard us with the same name.

What’s the eligibility period?

For those awards criteria based on newly released products, please note that to be eligible the games in question must have been released somewhere in the world after June 2010. That counts whether the game is a physical or digital release.

So what’s the judging process?

When all nominations are in, they are appraised by the Develop editorial team.

The team then decides upon a shortlist for each award based on the lobbying documents and industry standing.

Profiles of the shortlisted companies are then sent out to a judging panel made up of 100 industry executives hand picked by the Develop team.

The judges confidentially disclose their choices and those with the most votes win. It really is that simple.

The names of the judges are only detailed after the event has taken place.

Can I sponsor the event?

You sure can. There are a number of excellent promotional possibilities at the event. Those available include opportunities for category and award sponsorship, plus supporting editorial coverage to raise your profile before, after and throughout the event.

We’ve already got Amiqus on board as Gold Partner, OPM signed up as Table Gift Partner, and Babel Media are once again supporting the prestigious Development Legend award.

Contact Alex.Boucher@intentmedia.co.uk for more information on how you can get involved.

I want to come along! How can I attend the awards?

Given the increased pressures on developers’ wallets and studio budgets in recent years we’ve actually dropped the prices – how many award events can say that?

Early bird prices, for those tickets or tables booked on or before June 7th, are: 
Gold Table of 10 – £1,975 + VAT
Standard Table of 10 – £1,750 + VAT
Single Seats are £175 + VAT

After June 7th the prices change to:
Gold Table of 10 – £2475 + VAT
Standard Table of 10 – £2290 + VAT
Single Seats are £235 + VAT

To book your place at the event contact Kathryn.Humphrey@intentmedia.co.uk

The 2011 Awards & Categories

CREATIVITY
New IP
New Download IP
Use of a Licence or IP
Visual Arts
Audio Accomplishment
Publishing Hero

TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES
Technical Innovation
Tools Provider
Engine
Audio Outsourcer
Visual Outsourcer
Services
Recruitment Company

STUDIOS
New Studio
Business Development
Micro Studio
Handheld Studio
Independent Studio
In-House Studio

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Development Legend
Grand Prix

AWARD CRITERIA

Creativity

NEW IP

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio-made IP released in the last year and first premiering as a boxed retail product which has introduced an original brand plus new gameplay aspects and/or original characters to consoles, portable devices or PC.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)

Previous Winners
2009: LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
2008: Lost Winds (Frontier Developments)
2007: MotorStorm (Evolution/SCEE)
2006: Console IP – Buzz! (Relentless/Sony External Development) PC IP – Fahrenheit (Quantic Dream)

NEW DOWNLOAD IP

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio-made IP released in the last year and first premiering or only available as a digital download that has introduced an original brand along with new gameplay aspects and/or original characters to consoles, portable devices or PC.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Angry Birds (Rovio)

USE OF A LICENCE OR IP

Who’s Eligible?
Any game released in the previous 12 months by a UK or European studio that is a proven quality title but is based on an external property (licensed or otherwise) not owned or created by its developer.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)

Previous Winners
2009: LEGO Batman (Traveller’s Tales)
2008: LEGO Indiana Jones (Traveller’s Tales)
2007: LEGO Star Wars II (Traveller’s Tales)
2006: King Kong (Ubisoft France)
2005: LEGO Star Wars (Traveller’s Tales)

VISUAL ARTS

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio that has demonstrated impressive graphical and/or distinct, iconic design work in the games or gaming content it has produced and released on any format during the past year.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Split/Second (Black Rock Studio)

Previous Winners (BEST ART & AUDIO)
2009: LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
2008: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar North)
2007: Viva Piñata (Rare)

AUDIO ACCOMPLISHMENT

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio that has demonstrated pitch-perfect audio design, sound or music creation in its games released during the past 12 months. Use of both licensed and original tracks can also be taken into account.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: DJ Hero (FreeStyleGames)

Previous Winners
2009: Fable II (Lionhead Studios)
2008: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar North)
2007: B-Boy (FreeStyleGames)

PUBLISHING HERO

Who’s Eligible?
Any games publisher, developer, hardware manufacturer, platform-holder or investor – from any country – that has supported the UK and European games developers during the past year via the publishing, funding, distribution and/or co-development of new games.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Channel 4

Previous Winners
2009: Apple
2008: Nintendo
2007: Sega
2006: SCEE

Technology & Services

TECHNICAL INNOVATION

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio or company that has demonstrated impressive technical innovation in any aspect of games development. The award can be given to a specific technology, game or studio – provided it has been active/released as a new product in the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Unity 3D (Unity Technologies)

Previous Winners
2009: Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet)
2008: NaturalMotion/Image Metrics (GTA IV)
2007: Realtime Worlds (Crackdown)
2006: Relentless/Sony External Developments (Buzz!)
2005: Morpheme (Bluetooth Biplanes)

TOOLS PROVIDER

Who’s Eligible?
Any company, from any country, that has released middleware or tools which have enhanced or supported the work of UK or European games development teams in the past year. Developer collaboration, new technology and industry relations are all key.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Hansoft

Previous Winners
2009: Autodesk
2008: Epic Games
2007: Havok
2006: NaturalMotion
2005: Havok

ENGINE

Who’s Eligible?
This is an award for the best third-party games engine. It’s open to any engine, regardless of where it is made, that has enhanced the work of UK or European games development teams in the past year. Weight is given to new versions or significant upgrades.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Unreal Engine 3/Epic Games

Previous Winners
2009: Unreal Engine 3/Epic Games

AUDIO OUTSOURCER

Who’s Eligible?
This award acknowledges businesses or individual external contractors who have helped produce, manage or directly generate audio material (music, voice recording, or VFX) for games released in the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Side

Previous Winners
2009: Side and Sidelines (for Creative Outsourcing)
2008: Richard Jacques Studio (for Creative Outsourcing)

VISUAL OUTSOURCER

Who’s Eligible?
This award acknowledges businesses or individual external contractors who have helped produce, manage or directly generate visual material (CG, video or assets) for games released in the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Axis Animation

Previous Winners
2009: Side and Sidelines (for Creative Outsourcing)
2008: Richard Jacques Studio (for Creative Outsourcing)

SERVICES

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European company working non-creative support and production (such as QA, localisation or customer service) that has demonstrably served the needs and demands of the UK and/or European development community during the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Testology

RECRUITMENT COMPANY

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European company working in the field of recruitment and human resources that has demonstrably served the needs and demands of the UK and/or European development community during the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Amiqus

Previous Winners
2009: Amiqus
2008: OPM
2007: Datascope
2006: OPM
2005: Datascope

STUDIOS

NEW STUDIO

Who’s Eligible?
Any new UK or European studio which has had its first game commercially released – either via retail or digital distribution – during the past year. However, companies do not need to have been founded during that period to qualify.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Hello Games

Previous Winners
2009: Media Molecule
2008: Doublesix
2007: Realtime Worlds
2006: BigBig
2005: Juice Games

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European studio that has, in the previous 12 months, improved its business as demonstrated by studio growth, acquisitions, investments both inward or outward, and/or steps to improve its output, efficiency or commercial performance.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Sony XDev

Previous Winners
2009: Playfish
2008: Realtime Worlds
2007: Blitz

HANDHELD GAMES STUDIO

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European games development company creating and/or producing games for mobile devices and/or handheld games platforms, such as iPhone/iPad, Android, PSP or DS. Studios should have had some significant output in the last 12 months.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: SCEE Cambridge

Previous Winners
2009: Rockstar Leeds
2008: Idealworks 3D
2007: Rockstar Leeds
2006: Gameloft
2005: Morpheme

MICRO STUDIO

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European games developer – consisting of an individual or small collective of people up to a maximum of 10 – who have had significant original output in the past year.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Hello Games

INDEPENDENT STUDIO

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European games development company, staffed by 11 people or more, and which is not owned or managed by a publisher working on any available game platform. Lobbying studios should have had some significant output in the last year.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Quantic Dream

Previous Winners
2009: Media Molecule
2008: Splash Damage
2007: Traveller’s Tales
2006: Traveller’s Tales
2005: Traveller’s Tales
2004: Crytek

IN-HOUSE STUDIO

Who’s Eligible?
Any UK or European publisher-owned games development company or in-house games development resource – including those acquired recently – working on any currently available games platform with title(s) released in the past year.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Rocksteady Studios

Previous Winners
2009: Rockstar North
2008: Rockstar North
2007: Ubisoft France
2006: Criterion
2005: Rockstar North
2004: Ubisoft France

INDUSTRY RECOGNITION

Winners for both of these prizes are chosen by the Develop team after soundings from the games industry – but lobbying for these awards is welcome too.

DEVELOPMENT LEGEND

Who’s Eligible?
The winner of this award, especially chosen by the Develop team, is an individual who has made a significant impact on games development ­– in a commercial, creative or technological sense – during their lifetime and career

Last Year’s Recipient
2010: The Gower Brothers (Jagex)

Previous Winners
2009: Phil Harrison
2007: Ian Hetherington
2006: Charles Cecil
2005: David Braben
2004: Peter Molyneux

GRAND PRIX

Who’s Eligible?
This is a special award from Develop, bestowed upon a European individual or company in recognition of outstanding achievements in games over the past 12 months. The candidate is decided after soundings from the industry.

Last Year’s Winner
2010: Unity Technologies

Previous Winners
2009: Codemasters
2008: Rockstar Games
2007: Sony Computer Entertainment
2006: Bizarre Creations
2005: Creative Assembly