Topic: GDC Awards Announced

[Bloodworth]

Nintendo takes four of the very limited Game Developers Choice Awards.

"Gears of War," "Okami" and "Wii Sports" Lead the RECIPIENTSOF THE 7th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

   

Indie Internet Phenomenon "Line Rider" Takes Home Award for Innovation

   

SAN FRANCISCO — March 7, 2007 — Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios’ Xbox 360 shooter Gears of War was the recipient of three honors including Best Game at the 7th annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The blockbuster hit game also received the awards for Technology and Visual Arts. Following close behind with two awards each were Clover Studios and Capcom Entertainment’s Okami and Nintendo’s Wii Sports. The ceremony, produced and hosted by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and presented by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), is the only peer-based, open nomination awards program in the industry where honors are bestowed to developers by developers. Recipients were announced tonight at the 2007 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

   

“A Game Developers Choice Award is like no other award presented in our industry, as it is the only prize that gives the community the chance to appreciate and honor individual developers," said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director of the Game Developers Conference. “By celebrating our visionaries by name, we give the audience and the public at large a chance to give credit where credit is due."

   

Nominations were free of charge and open to all IGDA members, ensuring that the nominees reflect the international development community's opinions. The IGDA membership voted on the finalists.

   

The recipients for the 7th annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:

   

Best Game
 Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios)
 - Cliff Bleszinski, Michael Capps, Rod Fergusson

   

Audio
 Guitar Hero II (Harmonix Music Systems / RedOctane)
 - Jeff Allen, Eric Brosius, Izzy Maxwell

   

Character Design
 Okami (Clover Studio / Capcom Entertainment)
 - Mari Shimazaki, Sawaki Takeyasu, Kenichirou Yoshimura

   

Game Design
 Wii Sports (Nintendo)
 - Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshiaki Yamashita

   

Technology
 Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios)
 - Michael Capps, Ray Davis, Tim Sweeney, Daniel Vogel

   

Visual Arts
 Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios)
 - Jerry O'Flaherty, Chris Perna

   

Writing
 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
 - Kyogoku Aya, Nate Bihldorff, Mitsuhiro Takano

   

New Studio
 Iron Lore Entertainment (Titan Quest)
 - Paul Chieffo, Jeff Goodsill, Brian Sullivan

   

Innovation

   

Line Rider
 - Boštjan CadeĹľ

   

Okami (Clover Studio / Capcom Entertainment)
 - Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya

   

Wii Sports (Nintendo)
 - Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshiaki Yamashita

   

Recipients for the evening's special awards were:

   

Lifetime Achievement
 Shigeru Miyamoto

   

First Penguin
 Alexey Pajitnov

   

Maverick
 Greg Costikyan

   

Community Contribution
 George “The Fat Man" Sanger

   

"Once again, the Game Developers Choice Awards have shown that gaming greatness can be found within every type of game—from the most hardcore of experiences, to those that have brought all new audiences into our industry’s fan base," said Jason Della Rocca, Executive Director, IGDA. “Each year, I am humbled by what our members can do with this great art form."

   

For more information about the awards and all the recipients, please visit:http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/

[that Baby guy]

What does Tetris have to do with penguins?

[KDR_11k]

Penguins march in a single file after the leader. I.e. Pazhitnov is the most copied game designer in the world.

[Kairon]

EXTREMELY surprised to see Wii Sports win in Game Design and Zelda win in writing (Though Midna probably clinched it for 'em). But Gears of War won best game, so the entire world furtunately HASN'T turned upside down on me. It was also great when they mentioned out loud for all to here that Line Rider was hitting the Wii and DS. (Definitive version?)

Oh, and the Maverick guy and community contribution guys gave great speeches.

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com