We continue the build up to next week’s Develop Awards ceremony with a rundown of the nominees for the Technical Innovation prize.

And remember, don’t miss out on your chance to mingle with the below development and tech stars – contact Kathryn.Humphrey@intentmedia.co.uk to book your place at the event.

The nominees battling out for the Technical Innovation award are Geomerics, Rare, Bossa Studios, Evolution Studios, NaturalMotion Games, PitBull Studios and Big Bit.

With various lighting technologies, unique uses of mobile and Kinect, this is yet another category that is wide open, with anyone able to win.

Below we have a synopsis for each company up for nomination, and why they are being considered to win the coveted award.

Advertisement

Enlighten

Geomerics

When Battlefield 3 arrived on shelves, it received near unanimous praise from critics and consumers alike – and the Enlighten lighting tech was singled for particular acclaim. Geomerics also shed light on two other 2011 releases, Eve Online: Incarna and Need for Speed: The Run, which The Guardian said was ‘possibly the best looking racing game ever’.

Kinect Sports: Season 2

Rare

For the Kinect Sports sequel Rare introduced a range of technical innovations, bringing consumers dynamic body tracking that detects 30 body gestures, voice input that supports more than 300 commands and an Xbox Live experience that allowed players to send challenges to friend without the need to be simultaneously online.

Monstermind

Bossa Studios

Bossa Studios’ Monstermind featured several ‘first for Facebook’ innovations. Alongside possibly being the only title to feature a 491⁄2 foot woman, Bossa Studios’ monster multiplayer game is the first real-time player vs player game available on the social network.

Motorstorm RC

Evolution Studios

Along with becoming an early must have Vita launch title, RC has helped revolutionise Sony’s digital strategy through the game’s ‘buy now, get the other free’ system that allowed for multi-platform play with just one purchase. The game also highlighted the Cross-Save cloud storage system that allows progress to be stored across multiple platforms.

My Horse

Natural Motion Games

NaturalMotion has combined console-grade shaders and lighting with an innovative gyro-based in-game camera to bring triple-A style to the horseplay on iPhone and iPad. A sophisticated caching system has also enabled millions of users to enjoy gameplay even with temperamental or no signal reception.

Circus Challenge

Pitbull Studios

This is a game made for Limbs Alive, a studio making titles that aid various forms of rehabilitation, and has already helped the NHS recognise the serious potential of video games by picking up the NHS Innovation of the Year award. The game has made an astonishing impact, with projected savings for the NHS in the tens of millions per year.

Team Hotwheels Apptivity

Big Bit

Blending physical toys and video games can always be a challenge but the results can be explosive. Big Bit worked with Mattel to develop the toy that consumers use as a controller on the app, helping to create a device that can be tracked smoothly and successfully.