Apple unveils Apple Design Award winners at WWDC

Apple has announced the Apple Design Award winners at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Moscone West, San Francisco.

Out of over half a million apps across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple selected just a handful which it believed deserved special mention at its event.Winners in the iPhone Developer Showcase include Jetpack Joyride by Halfbrick Studios, Wheres My Water by Disney, and National Parks by National Geographic, by none other than the National Geographic Society.Jetpack Joyride is a game that lets players fly around platform levels in a variety of jetbacks, collecting coins along the way. Apple said it was one of the winners because “it uses iOS graphics and audio frameworks extensively to enable really fun graphics, its optimized for Retina Display on iPad and iPhone, has a great soundtrack, delivers outstanding responsiveness and performance, and integrates with Game Center, In-App Purchase, Facebook and Twitter.” Basically it shows off the iPhone and iOS at its best.Wheres My Water is another game, but this time a physics-based puzzle where players help navigate water around various levels in order to help Swampy the Alligator have a shower. It won one of the awards due to its personality, consistent narrative, vibrant graphics, intuitive controls, simple game mechanics, and great sountrack. Its optimisation with iOS and integration with various iOS features was another selling point.National Parks by National Geographic is an informational app, providing details about popular parks throughout the United States. It was chosen for its strong design, attention to detail, high production quality, subtle and compelling animations and transitions, beautiful photo galleries, and photo tips. Maps integration was another factor in its win.Winners in the iPad Developer Showcase include Bobo Explores Light by Game Collage LLC, DM1 – The Drum Machine by Fingerlab, and Paper by FiftyThree, by FiftyThree Inc.Bobo Explores Light is an educational app that teaches basic scientific concepts relating to light, such as lasers, reflection, refraction, photosynthesis and bioluminescence, all with the use of experimentation, self-driven discovery and humour. Apple selected it because it is “state-of-the-art” and for making learning fun compared to more traditional digital textbooks.DM1 is, as its extended name suggests, a drum machine app that lets users turn their iPad into a virtual sound engine. It won an award for its “tight integration with iOS audio frameworks,” in addition to its high performance, rich feature set, finely-tuned interface, and beautiful visual design.Paper by FiftyThree is a creativity app that lets users draw sketches, diagrams, and illustrations in a way that makes them look high quality. Apple picked it for its excellent concept and execution, the feeling it gives when people draw with it for the first time, its innovative tools and rendering style, and the fact that it takes full advantage of the Retina Display to create the illusion of drawing on real paper.Winners in the Mac Developer Showcase include Deus Ex: Human Evolution – Ultimate Edition by Feral Interactive Ltd, Limbo by Playdead Aps, and Sketch by Bohemian Coding.The Deux Ex title is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game available on OS X. It was selected for its compelling and immersive gameplay, great graphics, and enormous environments. Apple called it “one of the … most impressive AAA games on the Mac App Store.”Limbo is a side-scrolling puzzle adventure for OS X, winning an Apple Design Award for its minimal UI, unique and compelling graphics, strong narrative, fluid movements, simple controls, and strong integration with OS X graphics and audio technology.Sketch is a professional vector graphics app for OS X, chosen for its integration with OS X and powerful design capabilities, including “non-destructive boolean operations on curves and objects.”Apple also selected two winners in its Student Developer Showcase: daWindci by Reality Twist GmbH, Mimimi Productions and Little Star by BiBoBox Studio. The former is a 3D project created by students at Mediadesign Highschool of Applied Sciences in Munich, winning for its clever design, simple gameplay, integration with iOS and 3D visuals.Little Star is a 30-page interactive childrens book designed and developed by students at Dalian Nationalities University in China. Apple selected it for its beautiful illustrations and unique interactivity, learning and gameplay, and touted it as “a great example of the results students can produce on iOS.”