iPhone game wins top plaudit at Australian developer awards

It's been a tough year for the Australian games development industry, with studios both big and small forced to lay off staff due to tough economic conditions. Amidst this doom and gloom, the body representing Australian game developers--the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA)--last night tried to shine a positive light on the industry, announcing the winners of its annual awards at the Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009 conference. The GDAA crowned iPhone game Flight Control the best Aussie developed game of 2009. Flight Control was the brainchild of Firemint CEO Robert Murray and has sold more than 1.6 million copies around the world.

Melbourne-based Transmission Games, which was forced to close down earlier this year, managed to claim four out of the 12 awards on the night for flight game Heroes Over Europe, including Best Console Title. Other category winners were Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, which won the award for Best PC Title, while Shatter, by New Zealand developer Sidhe, won the Best Downloadable Game. The full list of award recipients follows:

Award: Best Game
Winner: Flight Control
Developed by: Firemint

Award: Best Console Title
Winner: Heroes Over Europe
Developed by: Transmission Games

Award: Best PC Title
Winner: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Developed by: Infinite Interactive

Award: Best Handheld Title
Winner: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Developed by: Infinite Interactive

Award: Best Mobile Title
Winner: Flight Control
Developed by: Firemint

Award: Best Game Play
Winner: Flight Control
Developed by: Firemint

Award: Best Graphics
Winner: Heroes Over Europe
Developed by: Transmission Games

Award: Best Audio
Winner: Heroes Over Europe
Developed by: Transmission Games

Award: Best Downloadable Title
Winner: Shatter
Developed by: Sidhe

Award: Independent Games – Best Unsigned Game
Winner: Hazard: The Journey of Life
Developed by: Alexander Bruce

Award: Independent Games – Best Game Play
Winner: Last Life
Developed by: Powerboard Productions

Award: Independent Games – Best Graphics
Winner: Pillager
Developed by: AIE Melbourne