Developer of the Year:
Each year, hundreds of development studios are burning the midnight oil round the globe to bring us the most compelling, revolutionary and cinematic experiences of today. These developers not only have to push the envelope in terms of visual treatment and realism but endlessly tweak their systems to allow for a fun, errorless gameplay trip. This year saw some fairly strong contenders, from the AAA monoliths churning out award-winning hits like its child’s play to the small-time studios that fought tooth and nail to great success and acclaim. There can be only one developer of the year but in our eyes, each and every one of these studios has already won us over several times over.
Nominees:
– Ubisoft Montreal (Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag)
– 4A Games (Metro: Last Light)
– Naughty Dog (The Last of Us)
– Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto V)
– Nintendo (Super Mario 3D World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)
Winner: Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto V)
Let’s face it – the sheer amount of gameplay and in-depth detail delivered in Grand Theft Auto V is mind-boggling. The developer took the time to photograph the entire city of Los Angeles to accurately recreate monuments in Los Santos but even little touches such as garbage flying everywhere on colliding with trash cans and pedestrians leaping back even as you just brake before them are amazing. You could argue that Rockstar North had the support of several other studios under the publisher to attain this result, but honestly, with the support that GTA Online has seen and the sheer breadth of the campaign, they are our Developer of the Year.
