At WWDC on Monday, June 8th, 2015, Apple announced the latest set of winners for their coveted Apple Design Awards. These signify some of the top apps and games on the App Store of the past year, though Apple isn’t afraid to give very recent releases big awards. Leo’s Fortune ($4.99) came out in May 2014 and was awarded in June 2014. Similarly, one of the 2015 winners is from April of this year. Here’s all the winners from 2015:
Apple Design Awards 2015: Crossy Road pic.twitter.com/xNJSwUMNg9
— 𝓜𝓪𝓽𝓽 𝓗𝓪𝓵𝓵 (@KlickTock) June 9, 2015
Crossy Road, Free One of the more noteworthy games in the past 12 months, *Crossy Road* showed that a free game didn’t mean that it had to feature crude artwork. This game had incredibly high production values, and introduced a clever monetization system with ads and unlockable characters that others are imitating. But of course, it’s really fun to play again and again and again. That’s the most important part.
Does not Commute, Free Less than two months old, Mediocre regardless has earned a much-deserved award for their clever time-travel driving game. It’s gorgeous, has a unique gameplay hook, and oozes style and charm. Plus, it’s got a funny story that doesn’t beat you over the head with its comical nature. But it’s little details like that that made this worthy of the award.
Vainglory, Free Apple’s been carrying water for this MOBA since the iPhone 6 came out, featuring it in a national ad campaign. While the game’s financial prospects are still an undecided matter, there’s no denying that Super Evil Megacorp made a fantastic, touch-friendly entry in a genre that can work as a fun game on mobile. The constant updates help as well – they’re really trying to make this game feel fresh and encourage the community over time.
Shadowmatic, $3.99 This gorgeous game of rotating objects to create shadow creatures feels like a good choice for an Apple Design Award winner. It’s clever and something that feels like something that exists specifically thanks to the App Store – it would be hard for something like this to be made for Steam, or as free-to-play with Android in mind as well. So Apple awarding it? Not a surprise.
Metamorphabet: Amazing ABC's, $5.99 Kind of a game, kind of not, this app that lets you play with the alphabet in literal ways, watching words and letters come to life, is a charming and creative app. Plus, it’s actually been something that’s gotten acceptance from the larger creative community: it won an IGF award at GDC this year, and now has another prestigious award for its trophy cabinet.
jump-O, Free This is the student winner game of the Apple Design Awards, a minimalist puzzle game featuring tilt controls, infinite jumping, and hand-drawn visuals. The monochrome look makes it look like it was carefully inked by pen, and coming to life on your iPhone or iPad. Not bad for a student game, hopefully the developers have a bright future with great games ahead.
