8
February 20, 2009 12:51 am
Confession time: Despite the fact that I currently reside in Dundee, Scotland as a UK transplant, I must admit to strongly preferring the American version of The Office to the show's original incarnation.
This shames me deeply, so in an effort to make amends to my Scottish brethren (and sistren) I would like to take a cue from my hero Michael Scott and announce a new awards feature that I like to call 'The Dundees'.
Unlike the Dundies from the US version of The Office, my entirely original version of this honor (look, they're even spelled differently!) is designed to pander shamelessly to the Scottish crowd by recognizing the efforts of those who have contributed in some fashion to the local game development community right here in Dundee.
So, without further ado, allow me to announce the inaugural recipient of this highly coveted prize. The Dundee goes to...
Keith Stuart of Guardian Gamesblog, for his recent series of profiles highlighting various game development studios in the Dundee area, including Tag Games, Denki, and Proper Games.
Congrats to Keith! While this accolade may not come with a gleaming statuette, or any associated monetary reward, or, for that matter, even a modicum of prestige, I'm sure that such fringe benefits would only be burdensome to someone of Mr. Stuart's altruistic disposition.
I can see that he's beginning to tear up already... not to worry, I'll handle the acceptance speech:
What is particularly striking to me about these profiles is how all of these companies are thriving in the margins of the gaming market, forging sustainable business models with a focus on small teams bringing fun and unique concepts to a wide array of platforms such as the iPhone, XBLA, and even (in Denki's case) interactive television.
Anyway, I can hear the music starting to play, so I'll wrap this up by once again encouraging all of you to check out these fantastic articles by Dundee-award-winning scribe Keith Stuart.
On a more solemn note, our first posthumous Dundee award goes to (you guessed it) Consolevania, for their classic short film entitled A Scottish Games Industry Fluff Piece.
