Last week, F1 2016 won 'Best Racing Game' at the TIGA Awards, and it seemed fitting to talk to Creative Director Lee Mather for all the details:
It’s been some time since I last wrote a blog post, the last one being when I started my Career play through in F1 2017. Today feels like the perfect opportunity to update you all on some of the more recent developments in the world of F1.
As I write this, I’m currently sat on a train from London, heading back to the studio with a TIGA award for Best Racing Game, which we won for F1 2016.
I feel I need to set the scene a little here. I’ve worked in the games industry for 25 years now, and in that time I’ve been lucky enough to experience some pretty incredible things and visit some amazing places. I’ve driven rally cars, had amazing access at F1 races, travelled the world promoting the game, and above all else, I’ve had the pleasure of chatting about F1 with other passionate like minded people. But, something I never thought I’d be doing would be attending an awards ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Knightsbridge.
It’s always a huge honour to be able to represent Codemasters and the F1 team at any event, even more so when it’s in a location as grand as the Victoria and Albert Museum, and when nominated for an award which is voted for by your peers. The standard of an event such as the TIGA Awards really highlights just how far we’ve come as an industry. To be at a point where our awards evenings are hosted in such amazing surroundings with everyone making a real effort to dress up, shows not only how the industry has matured, but also what a great big family the entire games industry is.
Last night Codemasters were nominated for 4 awards, one of which was in the Best Racing Game category with F1 2016, so we were all hopeful that we’d be leaving with something. The other three were for Independent Studio (Large), Publisher and Technical Innovation. These nominations really highlight what a strong, diverse and talented company Codemasters really is.
As it is every year, the Best Racing Game category was as hotly contested as ever, with a lot of big hitters on the list:
- Codemasters: F1 2016
- Dumpling Co., Ltd: Dashy Crashy TURBO
- FuturLab: Tiny Trax
- Hutch: Hot Wheels: Race Off
- Kooapps: Pets Race
- NaturalMotion: CSR Racing 2
- Playground Games: Forza Horizon 3
- Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe: WipEout Omega Collection
- Spil Games: Uphill Rush
- Stainless Games Ltd: Carmageddon: Crashers
- Virtual Arts Ltd: Cargo Racing VR
Based on the reception F1 2016 received when it launched, we were confident we stood a very strong chance of winning . From a team perspective, it’s a game which was driven by passion and enthusiasm for not only the sport of F1, but also for making the best racing game out there. F1 2016 was a landmark title for us, and it’s success was something which everyone involved in felt incredibly proud of. To have our love and belief in the title rewarded in this way couldn’t be more important to the team, and it’s a great thank you for all of the hard work and effort everyone in all areas of Codemasters have worked towards over the last few years.
As for actually collecting the award, it was all a bit of a blur to be honest. Myself and Senior Producer Hugh Pearson rushed to the stage, accepted the award, shook some hands and had our photos taken. From there it was a quick run backstage for more photographs, before returning to the rest of the team back at our table.
Last night was something special, and being nominated alone is a great honour. Winning just took the evening to a whole new level. F1 2016 and its success would never have been possible without such a great team across all areas of Codemasters, and their support, and belief that the game we were making was something special.
Obviously, since F1 2016 we’ve moved on to the even more successful F1 2017, which hopefully will see us nominated for further awards next year.
With that I’ll sign off from this blog post. My train is fast approaching Birmingham, and there are more exciting things to work on once I’m back in the studio. One final word from me is ‘thank you’, to everyone who believed in Codemasters and in the F1 series we’ve produced, thanks to everyone who has purchased and played any of our F1 as well as any of our other amazing racing titles.
Take care,
Lee