‘Machinarium’ Nominated for Award Amongst ‘Modern Warfare 2,’ ‘Assassin’s Creed 2′
February 1, 2010 | Arsen Nazaryan
It’s not often that I can jump for joy at the nomination of an indie title which is surrounded by mega mainstream ones. In this case, our collective 2009 indie of the year strikes back by being a finalist in the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. These awards are presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. While most of the finalists for any category are mainstream titles such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and so on, Machinarium has managed to snag a nomination in the “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction” category.
Machinarium will be going up against Assassin’s Creed 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Resident Evil 5, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Congratulations to Amanita Design because we couldn’t agree more! Machinarium was a title that broke the barriers between indie and mainstream. Sure, we may have talked it to death over the last year, but there’s no denying its success as a deserved feat.
Who do you think should win out of those 5?
Art Direction? I vote Machinarium and Assassin’s Creed 2 as the leaders. While the others do have well-designed worlds, they are more commonly portrayed. But Machinarium’s beautifully painted city, and AC2’s Renaissance Italy were just mind-blowing.
You’re right, Pete. Assassin’s Creed 2 honestly had an incredible layout. I felt like I was experiencing everything I had heard about in my high school history classes.
Machinarium is freakin’ beautiful though. In terms of originality I’d have to say Machinarium leads the forefront because Assassin’s Creed had already established what we would be expecting in Assassin’s Creed 2. But luckily, I’m not the one faced with the hard decisions so we’ll see what happens!