“Darkwatch” Video Trailer Triumphs with Gold and Silver Wins at International Davey Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VAN NUYS and CARLSBAD, Calif. - December 2, 2005 - High Moon Studios, an independent video game developer, and Brain Zoo Studios, a leading character animation studio, today jointly announced a triumphant showing at the 2005 International Davey Awards. The computer animated video trailer produced by the two companies for High Moon's video game "Darkwatch" received wins in five categories, garnering Gold Davey Awards for Graphics and Special Effects, and Silver Awards for Animation, Art Direction and best Public Relations Video. The Davey Awards are conducted by the International Academy of Visual Arts to honor outstanding media creative, with membership in the organization representing such major companies as HBO, MTV, Yahoo!, WIRED, ADWEEK and BRANDWEEK.
The wins mark the fourth time this year that the "Darkwatch" video trailer has been recognized by award committees, with previous wins at the 2005 Aurora Awards and 2005 Telly Awards, as well as a nomination in the 6th Annual Golden Trailer Awards. The winning video was one of the first promotional vehicles for the ultimately best-selling video game, introducing its original premise blending the Western and vampire-horror genres and visually stylistic milieu. Featuring a battle between "Darkwatch's" half-vampire gunslinger Jericho Cross and a legion of undead enemies in the thorough-fair of a ghost town, the fully computer animated trailer boasts sequences that include enemies ripped to shreds by bullets, bullet-time effects and an explosive finale.
"When we were creating this project and working with High Moon Studios, we knew we had something very unique and special," said Mohammad Davoudian, president and CEO of Brain Zoo Studios. "Working closely with them over the past two years on this project has been amazing. The success of this game and the success of the marketing tools surrounding it are a testament to the vision and drive of everyone at High Moon. We are proud to have been a part of such a groundbreaking achievement."
"We have always called this video for 'Darkwatch' our promise trailer, one we designed to establish everything from premise to game mechanics that we believed was going to set the game apart," said Emmanuel Valdez, chief creative officer of High Moon Studios. "There was a large amount of hard work put into this video by everyone involved, and we are excited to see it recognized again by a prestigious award committee."
The debut title from High Moon Studios, "Darkwatch" is an immersive first-person shooter (FPS) that has players blasting through a visually sensational depiction of a haunted Wild West with unique weapons, powerful assault vehicles, horse-mounted gun fighting and special vampire abilities. Released this year by Capcom in North America and Ubisoft in Europe and Australia, the game has received critical praise as a memorable entry into the FPS genre. For more information and a dedicated forum on "Darkwatch," please visit the official web site at www.darkwatch.com.
For a sneak peak at the upcoming Brain Zoo original animated short "Percy" please contact Stephanie Schopp @ 310 985 3873 or stephanieschopp@sbcglobal.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
High Moon Studios 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 critically acclaimed first-person shooter "Darkwatch," and is currently working on additional original properties for next-generation video game consoles. For more information on High Moon Studios, please visit www.highmoonstudios.com.
®2005 High Moon Studios, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Stephanie Schopp
Brain Zoo Studios
+1 (714) 454-1005
StephanieSchopp@yahoo.com
Meelad Sadat
High Moon Studios
+1 (760) 448-3061
meelad@highmoonstudios.com