Apple hosted its annual Apple Design Awards at WWDC 22, and the industry giant recognized twelve studios from around the world for their excellence in Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation.
Apple recognizes one application and one mobile game per category, which per Apple’s words “were selected for delivering innovative, creative, and beautifully designed experiences through apps”. This year’s winners were selected from 36 finalists and from an objective point of view, the runners-up also stand out for their technical and other related achievements.
The award for Inclusivity is given to Wylde Flowers by Studio Drydock (Australia) for the game’s “diverse storyline and cast of LGBTQIA+ representative characters to players with a witchy twist.”
As for Delight and Fun, Apple picked Overboard by inkle (United Kingdom), a murder mystery game, where players take on the role of the murderer rather than the detective. The goal of the player is to get away with the crime.
The award for best Interaction went to A Musical Story by Glee-Cheese Studio (France). This is a rhythm game with a novel spin, but this description, of course, understates how engaging the game is.
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees by Broken Rules (Austria), an ecological adventure game, is recognized for its excellence in the Social Impact category.
Visuals and Graphics award goes to LEGO Star Wars: Castaways by Gameloft (Canada). Apple says the game was picked for its reverently rendered environments and smooth animations. Plus these visual qualities blend well with the action and mystery elements of the game.
MARVEL Future Revolution by Netmarble (South Korea) provided a state-of-the-art experience for mobile gamers, again per Apple’s words and the game won the Innovation award at WWDC 22.
Application Winners at 2022 Apple Design Awards
The application winners in the other categories are listed below:
Procreate by Savage Interactive (Australia) – Inclusivity Award
(Not Boring) Habits by Andy Works LLC (United States) – Delight and Fun Award
Slopes by Breakpoint Studio (United States) – Interaction Award
Rebel Girls by Rebel Girls Inc. (United States) – Social Impact Award
Halide Mark II by Lux Optics (United States)) – Visuals and Graphics Award
Odio by Volst (Netherlands) – Innovation Award
It’s interesting to see that US-based companies dominated the application section of the awards, meanwhile, the mobile games section has winners across the world.