"DARKWATCH" GARNERS TWO PLATINUM AURORA AWARDS FOR ANIMATION STUDIO BRAIN ZOO AND GAME DEVELOPER HIGH MOON
VAN NUYS and CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept 1, 2005 - In a joint announcement today, Brain Zoo Studios, a leading character animation studio, and video game developer High Moon Studios announced the receipt of two platinum Aurora Awards. The Aurora Awards recognize outstanding achievements in commercials, documentaries, industrial and instructional video. The two 'Best of Show' awards were given to a promotional trailer for "Darkwatch," the video game developed by High Moon Studios and released earlier this month by game publisher Capcom Entertainment.
The trailer, a collaborative effort between High Moon and Brain Zoo, was recognized for "Best of Show: Use of Animation" and "Best of Show:
Entertainment."
The winning "Darkwatch" trailer was one of the first promotional vehicles for the game, a computer-animated short designed to establish the game's unique, visually stylistic Vampire-Western premise. The trailer introduces Jericho Cross, the game's half-vampire gunslinger protagonist. Featuring a battle between Jericho and a legion of undead enemies in the thorough-fair of a ghost town, the action-packed trailer boasts sequences that include enemies ripped to shreds by bullets, bullet-time effects and an explosive finale.
"The collaboration with High Moon Studios on this project was ideal," said Mohammad Davoudian, president and CEO of Brain Zoo Studios. "From the beginning, they understood exactly what it was going to take to push the limits of what the industry has been used to seeing. Working together, we raised the bar in what the industry should expect to see more of in coming titles. Creating a visually captivating environment is a key element to drawing consumer interest for an upcoming title. We were able to accomplish that by working seamlessly in conjunction with High Moon."
"This trailer was an introduction to our studio's debut video game title, which we wanted to quickly establish as a flagship property," said Emmanuel Valdez, chief creative officer, High Moon Studios. "There is no better recognition for the hard work that went into it than a prestigious award like the Auroras. With 'Darkwatch' now on shelves, and as we pursue extending the property into other forms of entertainment, we still find ourselves using this trailer to introduce the original universe we've created."
The debut title from High Moon Studios, "Darkwatch" is an immersive first-person shooter (FPS) video game that blends the Western and vampire-horror genres. Released by Capcom in North America on August 16th, the game has already established itself as a hit, receiving critical praise as a memorable entry into the FPS genre. "Darkwatch" is slated for release by Ubisoft Entertainment in Europe and Australia in fall 2005. For more information, please visit www.darkwatch.com.
PRESS ONLY: the winning trailer, along with screenshots, art and additional movies for "Darkwatch," can be downloaded at High Moon Studios' press FTP:
ftp2.highmoonstudios.com
Username: highmoonmedia
Password: highmoonrockz!
For a sneak peak at the upcoming Brain Zoo original animated short "Percy" please contact Stephanie Schopp @ 310 985 3873 or stephanieschopp@comcast.net
About Brain Zoo Studios
Founded in summer of 1995, Dream Theater Animation, a division of Dream Theater Inc. emerged as a premiere, full service Animation Studio servicing the entertainment industries. In 2001, DT Animation spun off from Dream Theater Inc. to become Brain Zoo Studios. The company has gained a reputation of excellence in creating cutting edge animation and visual effects for some of the most recognizable brands in game, feature film, television, commercial and music video industries.
About High Moon Studios, Inc.
High Moon Studios, Inc. is an independent video game development company. Headquartered in the coastal city of Carlsbad in San Diego County, California, High Moon employs more than 100 game developers at a state-of-the-art, fully equipped development facility. High Moon is best known for its highly-anticipated first-person shooter "Darkwatch," and is currently working on additional original properties for this and next-generation video game consoles. For more information on High Moon Studios, please visit www.highmoonstudios.com. For more information and a dedicated forum on Darkwatch, please visit the official web site at www.darkwatch.com and the community site at www.darkwatch.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Brain Zoo
Stephanie Schopp
310 985 3873
StephanieSchopp@comcast.net
High Moon Studios
Meelad Sadat
760 448 3061
meelad@highmoonstudios.com