Miyamoto, Spore Win Jim Henson Honors

[Andy Chalk]

Miyamoto, Spore Win Jim Henson Honors

Spore [http://www.nintendo.com] have each received a Jim Henson Honors award, acknowledging their "commitment to creativity and innovative application of art and technology."

Miyamoto took the Jim Henson Celebration Honor, the evening's highest award that goes to "an individual, organization or product that makes the world a better place by inspiring people to celebrate life." The famed designer was noted for his ground-breaking work at Nintendo in games ranging from Wii Fit [http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=donkey-kong&page=detail&id=666], which goes beyond mere entertainment by encouraging people to become physically active, and has even begun to see use as a physical rehabilitation tool.

The Jim Henson Technology Honor went to Spore, the 2008 life-simulation videogame from EA [http://www.ea.com]. "The game is meticulously conceived and executed with infinite detail, allowing a gamer to design and create his own character - a digital alter ego - providing for an unprecedented level of user creativity as his being evolves from a single-cell organism to a galactic god over hundreds of millions of years," the Henson Company said in the award announcements.

"The recipients of this year's Jim Henson Honors demonstrate true creativity and commitment to innovation," said Brian Henson, co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company [http://www.henson.com/]. "They have raised the bar in their respective fields." Fellow co-CEO Lisa Henson described Spore as an "incredibly imaginative and provocative world."

Founded in 1958 by the late Farscape [http://www.muppetcentral.com/]. The Jim Henson Honors were established in 2005 to acknowledge people and project "that reflect the core values and philosophy of the legendary Jim Henson and the company he founded."

When informed of the awards, Will Wright broke into a wistful song about the nature of life while Miyamoto reportedly went berserk, throwing objects around the room and demanding cookies.

via: What They Play [http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2009/01/15/miyamoto-wii-fit-spore-earn-jim-henson-honors/]


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[PedroSteckecilo]

Screw the VGA's or anything else, THIS is the award that I would want to win if I were a game designer, to be recognized by the estate of Jim Henson would be a very high honor.

 

[Hithlain]

Hmm... it's interesting that it's also one of the most pirated games of all time. Disappointing really. I payed for it because I applaud the innovation. Why would you steal it? You are just encouraging the "bad sequel" series to keep going *cough* see zero punctuation for more details *cough*

 

[Dogeman5]

I feel that these are more geared to applied creativity something that, I (damn straight I'm gonna use me as a reference) feel like the Game industry should focus on.

 

[sturryz]

Spore was first most, a really boring game. it wasn't anything bad, it just wasn't great.

and for winning an award for the whole originality building thing alone, it does not deserve anything unless the entire game is great, not just one small aspect.

it's like rewarding Superman 64 a reward just for having superman in it.

 

[Dogstile]

"it's interesting that it's also one of the most pirated games of all time"

well, of course it would be, why pay for something that the developers are going to restrict the use of

 

[TheWickerPopstar]

When informed of the awards, Will Wright broke into a wistful song about the nature of life while Miyamoto reportedly went berserk, throwing objects around the room and demanding cookies.

What?

 

[robinkom]

While the separate life stages of Spore were mediocre at best, the Creation tools included are indeed innovative. Its definitely something reflective of the Jim Henson style of imagery and design.

As for Wii Fit, I'm personally not very interested in it, but it is a great concept. That it's used as a rehabilitation tool is awesome indeed. And what better way to get some overweight gamers moving, eh? If anything its a gateway activity to actually getting kids outside more to exercise.

 

[Asehujiko]

As for Wii Fit, I'm personally not very interested in it, but it is a great concept. That it's used as a rehabilitation tool is awesome indeed. And what better way to get some overweight gamers moving, eh? If anything its a gateway activity to actually getting kids outside more to exercise.

Exept that it doesn't work at all. It generates a continous stream of money for hospitals in the way of sprained ankles and that's about it. First hand experience. The award should have been for innovative marketing, not for innovative gameplay. That goes for Spore too.