The winners of the the Red Dot Award for Design were declared this past Friday in Berlin. For the first time, the new category “Game Design” is rewarding Video Games for their excellent design. One game which won the renowned prize is Ubisoft ’s new hit Watch_Dogs which was released in 2014. The video game impressed the jury with contemporary social criticism and elaborate gaming mechanisms. Said Jury wrote the following about the game:
„Watch_Dogs is an outstanding game that places a highly topical issue centre stage. It deals with public surveillance and data transfer monitoring, how this data is used and distributed, and above all whether it is used for benevolent or malevolent purposes. The fast and multifaceted game is technically brilliant and has been implemented to the highest standards.”
However, it wasn’t solely the photorealistic graphics which played an important role for the election of the winner. In the end, the overall package and impression of the design stood in the foreground. This is something which particularly becomes clear and visible if you take a look at the game In Between, another awarded game by the indie developer gentlymad. This hand-drawn puzzle platformer takes the player to an emotional journey through the depths of the main character who is lying on his dying bed, recalling his life.
Copyright and Source: http://red-dot.de/cd/de/online-exhibition/work/
