2nd Annual Great Game Awards Were a Hit!
Last night at Seattle’s Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, GameHouse hosted the 2nd annual Great Games Awards honoring the best and brightest in the casual games industry. Held in conjunction with the Casual Connect conference, the GGs attract an audience from all over the world.
Before the show, guests enjoyed a delicious dinner and miniature strawberry shortcakes and crème brulee for dessert. They sipped on the “GGtini,” a chocolate/Irish crème flavored martini while chatting about Seattle, the past year in games, and what the future holds for the industry. At around 8pm the Sky Church – EMP’s amazing events hall – changed from a decadent purple glowing atmosphere for dinner to a lively bright theatre for the awards. As the awards show kicked off, the audience was presented with a phenomenal opening number by actor and host Ron Hippe poking fun at Robert Palmer’s, “Addicted to Love,” by changing all of the words to the song and renaming it, “Addicted to Games.” The crowd was howling in laughter as Hippe sang about Princess Isabella, Match-3 games and Plants vs. Zombies.
The other two hosts for the evening, GameHouse president John Barbour and CRO Matt Hulett were in on some of the fun, too. The three hosts donned enormous gold turbans in a humorous attempt to predict the casual games future by answering questions from the audience one word per person at a time. This got a few chuckles from the crowd, but they were probably laughing at how silly the hosts looked in their overstuffed hats. Our winner from the Player’s Choice Awards Sweepstakes were on hand to hand out the newest award, The Player’s Choice Award to Jewel Quest Mysteries –Trail of the Midnight Heart by iWin. The evening wrapped up by an invasion of Storm Troopers and members of the Imperial Army who busted in during the final minutes of the show to try to encourage attendees to attend the Science Fiction Museum next door. Storm Troopers are even cooler looking in real life.
All in all it was a beautiful evening. People enjoyed the atmosphere, the food and the entertainment. Pop Cap games was the big winner with five awards. Congratulations to all nominees and winners. We’ll see you again next year!
2010 GREAT GAME AWARDS WINNERS:
GAME OF THE YEAR
Zuma’s Revenge!™ – Adventure by PopCap Games
GAME OF THE YEAR – PLAYER’S CHOICE
Jewel Quest Mysteries –Trail of the Midnight Heart by iWin
BEST ART DESIGN
Mystery Legends™ – Sleepy Hollow by pixelStorm
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN
Plants vs. Zombies™ by PopCap Games
BEST NARRATIVE EXPERIENCE
Cate West – The Velvet Keys™ by Gamenauts
MOST INNOVATIVE GAME
Plants vs. Zombies™ by PopCap Games
MOST ADDICTIVE GAME
Faerie Solitaire™ by Subsoap
UP-AND-COMING DEVELOPER
Youda Games: Youda Farmer, Youda Marina, Youda Sushi Chef
TOP ADVENTURE GAME
Princess Isabella – A Witch’s Curse by Gogii Games
TOP TIME MANAGEMENT GAME
Delicious – Emily’s Taste of Fame by GameHouse
TOP HIDDEN OBJECT GAME
Mystery P.I.™ – The New York Fortune by PopCap Games
TOP MATCH-3
Zuma’s Revenge!™ – Adventure by PopCap Games
TOP SIM / TYCOON
My Kingdom for the Princess by Nevosoft