获得Casual Connect、DevGAMM或英国电影和电视艺术学院（BAFTA）等组织颁发的奖项是对一款手游及其开发者的主要认可。通过这些挑剔的认可，有机会影响手游的商业可行性。
在开发者开始寻找在线表格之前，他们应该仔细地确定要提交的奖项，了解评委看重什么，并认识到如何正确利用奖项进行营销和广告。
提交游戏
获得手游奖项需要进行一些研究：甄别有希望获得的奖项以及它们是否适合该游戏。
BAFTAs专注于英国开发者，而独立游戏节（IGF）奖项专门针对独立开发者。 了解提交表格的时间也很重要。评奖委员会通常通过新闻稿或社交媒体宣布报名时间，因此请务必关注活跃的媒体和活动组织者的Twitter帐号，例如国际移动游戏奖（IMGAs），以获取相关提醒。
游戏提交的要求因奖项而异，开发者应密切关注提供的内容，包括是否需要付费才能进入。虽然有些奖项，如最佳手游奖，允许自由进入，但其他奖项会收取高于50美元的费用。 IGN的视频主播、BAFTAs和IMGAs的评委Alysia Judge说：“最佳手游包含一支优秀的游戏玩法视频、一些有趣的游戏截图和打破游戏进程的短段落进入简短的开场画面。”对开发者来说，确保他们提交的游戏能够说话很重要，而不是“满屏的玩法说明文本”。
给评委留下深刻印象
奖项角逐竞争激烈、万里挑一。事实上，只有一款手游警察程序游戏《Her Story》，因其叙事和独特的游戏结构，赢得了2016年的游戏开发者选择奖。虽然BAFTAs提名了《Ridiculous Fishing》，《Device 6》和《Room Two》，但在2016年BAFTA的90个提名中，只有14款手游进入最终角逐。评委解释说，开发者应该特别强调其手游的独特之处，使其在手游竞争对手以及单机、PC游戏中脱颖而出。 Judge说：“一般来说，我会关注游戏的创新性，以及开发者在平台的限制之内如何精心制作。所以对于手游来说，我寻找的是使用像加速计、触摸屏和AR的游戏，这些是其他种类的游戏平台所不能应用的功能。它们越有创造力越好。” 例如，《New Star Soccer》在2013年赢得了BAFTA的最佳运动游戏奖项，因为其简单、一触式的游戏机制，使其从复杂的运动模拟人群在FIFA和Forza Motorsport等候选名单上中脱颖而出。
充分利用奖项
奖项的加持为公司提供了一些手游营销、公关和广告的机会。Ustwo的拼图游戏《Monument Valley》在第一年赢得了两个奖项：一个苹果设计奖和年度苹果iPad游戏奖，之后该公司的收入短暂增加。
虽然独立工作室Tin Man Games在今年的澳大利亚游戏大奖和Apple Watch 年度app中获奖，但并没有带来巨大的销售增长，不过其创始人Neil Rennison认为从长远来说是有益的： “我相信随着时间的推移，你的品牌，无论是公司还是游戏，都会在整个行业的消费者层面和业务层面整体变得更好。” 获奖游戏可以列在应用商店描述或屏幕截图中的顶部，来提示玩家其游戏质量。获奖的手游开发商将经常受邀在展会上发表演讲，分享他们的成功故事。
最后，无论是在获奖的时刻还是随后公布消息，奖项往往会被新闻和媒体报道。这意味着，它既对游戏有短期推动，也对公司品牌形象有长期提升，因此获得奖项角逐的胜利值得一试。
原文：
Winning an award from an organization like Casual Connect, DevGAMM or the illustrious British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a major endorsement for both a mobile game and the devs behind it. And with critical approval comes an opportunity to impact the commercial viability of a mobile game.Before devs jump to find online submission forms, they should be careful to identify the appropriate awards to submit to, understand what judges are looking for and recognize how to properly leverage an award for marketing and advertising purposes.
Submitting a game
Going after a mobile game award requires some research up front. Namely, identifying potential awards and whether or not they might be appropriate for the game in question. The BAFTAs, focus on British talent, while the Independent Gaming Festival (IGF) awards are specific to indies.It’s also important to be aware of the submission timeline.
Award committees typically announce when submissions open via a press release or social media, so make sure to follow the Twitter accounts of high-profile media and events organizers—such as the International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGAs)—for alerts about submission opportunities.Image via GDCThe requirements for submission vary by award, but devs should pay close attention to what they’re responsible for providing, including whether they need to pay to enter.
While some, like the Best App Ever Awards, allow free entry, others charge upwards of $50.“The best applications have a good video of gameplay, some good screenshots, and short bulleted paragraphs that break the game down into an elevator pitch,” says Alysia Judge, video host at IGN and a judge of the BAFTAs and IMGAs.
Instead of dumping “walls of text explaining backstory and [instructions on] exactly how to play,” Judge says it’s important for developers to make sure that their submission lets the game do the talking.
Impressing the judges
The award arena is competitive and selective. In fact, only one mobile game won a Game Developers Choice award in 2016, the police procedural game Her Story, which won for its narrative and unique game mechanics. Although the BAFTAs have nominated the likes of Ridiculous Fishing, Device 6 and The Room Two for awards, only 14 out of 90 nominations for the 2016 BAFTAs went to mobile games.
Judge explains that devs should place a particular emphasis on the unique aspects of their mobile game to make it stand out amongst mobile competitors as well as the console and PC crowd.Image via Sam Barlow“In general, I look for innovation and how well a developer has crafted within the limitations of a platform,” Judge says. “So for mobile, I look for games that use things like the accelerometer, touchscreen and augmented reality, in a way that wouldn’t work on any other platform. The more creative they’ve been the better.”New Star Soccer, for example, won a BAFTA for best sports game in 2013 because its simple, one-touch game mechanics stood out from the crowd of complicated sports sims on the shortlist such as FIFA and Forza Motorsport.
Making the most of an award win
The acclaim of awards present a number of mobile game marketing, PR and advertising opportunities for companies. After puzzle game Monument Valley from Ustwo won two awards during its first year—an Apple design award and the Apple iPad game of the year award, the company experienced a brief increase in revenue. While indie studio Tin Man Games, didn’t see an enormous lift in sales from its awards for accessibility at the Australian Game Awards and Apple Watch app of the year, founder Neil Rennison believed it helped them in the long run:“What I believe does happen over time is that your brand, be it company name or game name, gets an overall shift upwards in the mindset of the industry, both at a consumer level and business level,” he says.Image via Tin Man GamesAward victories can be listed at the top of app store descriptions or within screenshots to alert players to the quality of the game within. Award-winning mobile game developers will often be invited to speak at shows to share their success stories.Finally, awards often translates into press and media coverage—both when the award is won and as part of any subsequent announcements. This means that awards act as both a short-term boost to one game and a longer term increase to a company’s brand image, making victory well worth pursuing.
本文由牛牛社区编译，原文作者George Osborn ，译者唐诗诗。
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