Game Developers Choice Awards
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The Game Developers Conference has annually hosted the Game Developers Choice Awards presented by the International Game Developers Association for outstanding developers of video game entertainment since 2001. Prior to the GDC awards, the Game Developers Conference hosted another award ceremony called the Spotlight Awards from 1997 to 1999.
[edit] Nomination & Voting Process
The Choice Awards are nominated and chosen by members of the IGDA with a few exceptions. The nomination process invites all members in good standing with the IGDA to submit nominations for each category. With these suggestions, an advisory board selected by the IGDA picks five finalists in each category. The final award recipient is voted based on these five by all IGDA members for each category.
The Lifetime Achievement, First Penguin, and Maverick awards, are awarded by the Advisory board.
[edit] List of winners
[edit] Game of the Year / Best Game
The Best Game award recognized the overall best game released during the previous calendar year, as interpreted by the members of the Game Developers Association.
- 2008 : Portal
- 2007 : Gears of War
- 2006 : Shadow of the Colossus
- 2005 : Half-Life 2
- 2004 : Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 2003 : Metroid Prime
- 2002 : Grand Theft Auto III
- 2001 : The Sims
[edit] Character Design
The Character Design award recognizes the overall excellence of non-licensed character design in a game, including originality, character arc, emotional depth, etc.
- 2007 : Okami
- 2006 : Shadow of the Colossus
- 2005 : Half-Life 2
[edit] Rookie (New) Studio of the Year
The New Studio award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a 'new' game development studio and the obstacles it overcame in releasing its first publicly available game in the calendar year.
- 2007 : Iron Lore Entertainment (for Titan Quest)
- 2006 : Double Fine Productions (for Psychonauts)
- 2005 : Crytek (for Far Cry)
- 2004 : Infinity Ward (for Call of Duty)
- 2003 : Retro Studios (for Metroid Prime)
- 2002 : Bohemia Interactive Studio (for Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis)
- 2001 : Counter-Strike (for Counter-Strike)
[edit] Excellence in Audio
The Audio award recognizes the overall excellence of audio in a game, including sound effects, musical composition, sound design, orchestration, etc.
- 2008 : BioShock
- 2007 : Guitar Hero II
- 2006 : Guitar Hero
- 2005 : Halo 2
- 2004 : Call of Duty
- 2003 : Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
- 2002 : Halo: Combat Evolved
- 2001 : Diablo II
[edit] Excellence in Game Design
The Game Design award recognizes the overall excellence of design in a game, including gameplay, mechanics, puzzles, play balancing, scenarios, etc.
- 2008 : Portal
- 2007 : Wii Sports
- 2006 : Shadow of the Colossus
- 2005 : Katamari Damacy
- 2004 : Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- 2003 : Battlefield 1942
- 2002 : Grand Theft Auto III
- 2001 : Deus Ex
[edit] Technology
The Technology award recognizes the overall excellence of technology in a game, including graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking, physics, etc.
- 2008 : Crysis
- 2007 : Gears of War
- 2006 : Nintendogs
- 2005 : Half-Life 2
[edit] Excellence in Visual Arts
The Visual Arts award recognizes the overall excellence of visual art in a game, including animation, modeling, art direction, textures, etc.
- 2008 : BioShock
- 2007 : Gears of War
- 2006 : Shadow of the Colossus
- 2005 : World of Warcraft
- 2004 : The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 2003 : Kingdom Hearts
- 2002 : ICO
- 2001 : Jet Grind Radio
[edit] Excellence in Writing
The Writing award recognizes the overall excellence of writing in a game, including story, plot construction, dialogue, branching narratives, etc.
- 2008 : BioShock
- 2007 : The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- 2006 : Psychonauts
- 2005 : Half-Life 2
- 2004 : Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 2003 : Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
[edit] Game Innovation Spotlights
The Innovation awards recognize games that demonstrate true innovation, advance the state of the art, and push the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. In essence, these are the games that are leading the way as the medium continues to evolve. Up to three innovation awards may be bestowed on games that contain such outstanding contributions.
- 2008 : Portal
- 2007 : Line Rider; Okami; Wii Sports
- 2006 : Nintendogs; Guitar Hero
- 2005 : Donkey Konga; I Love Bees; Katamari Damacy
- 2004 : EyeToy: Play; Viewtiful Joe; WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
- 2003 : Animal Crossing; Battlefield 1942; Medal of Honor: Allied Assault; The Thing
- 2002 : Black and White; Grand Theft Auto III; ICO; Majestic; Rez
- 2001 : Counter-Strike; Crazy Taxi; Deus Ex; Jet Grind Radio; No One Lives Forever
[edit] Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole.
- 2008 : Sid Meier
- 2007 : Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda)
- 2006 : Richard Garriott (Ultima)
- 2005 : Eugene Jarvis (Defender and Robotron: 2084)
- 2004 : Mark Cerny (SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog)
- 2003 : Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) (Game Boy, Super Mario Land series, Metroid series)
- 2002 : Yuji Naka (Sonic the Hedgehog)
- 2001 : Will Wright (Sim games)
[edit] The Pioneer Award
Formally known as the First Penguin award until 2007, the award celebrates individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design at a crucial juncture in video game history - paving the way for the myriads who followed them. As the former title of the award states, the 'first penguin' served as a lesson, and inspiration, to the rest of the community over the years. More background on the award.
- 2008 : Ralph H. Baer (inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first game console)
- 2007 : Alexey Pajitnov (author of Tetris)
- 2006 : Don Woods, Will Crowther (creators of the early text game Adventure)
- 2005 : Richard Bartle (co-author of MUD, ancestor to MMOs)
- 2004 : Masaya Matsuura (founder of Nanaon-Sha, pioneer of music/game integration)
- 2003 : David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Jim Levy, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead (founders of Activision)
- 2002 : Hubert Chardot (author of Alone in the Dark)
- 2001 : Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer (creators of Lucasfilm's Habitat)
[edit] Maverick Award
The Maverick award recognizes the current achievements of a developer who exhibits independence in thought and action while experimenting with alternate/emerging forms of digital games.
- 2008 : no award in this category
- 2007 : Greg Costikyan
- 2006 : Mike Dornbrook, Eran Egozy, Greg LoPiccolo, and Alex Rigopulos (Harmonix Music Systems)
- 2005 : Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr, and Nick Tandavanitj (Blast Theory)
- 2004 : Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka, and John Vechey (PopCap Games)
[edit] IGDA Award For Community Contribution
- 2007 : George Sanger
- 2006 : Chris Hecker
- 2005 : Sheri Graner Ray
- 2004 : Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk
- 2003 : Doug Church (Eidos Interactive)
- 2002 : Jeff Lander
- 2001 : John Carmack
[edit] Retired Awards
The following award categories have been retired or replaced with a different focus.
[edit] Excellence in Level Design
- 2003 : Metroid Prime
- 2002 : ICO
- 2001 : American McGee's Alice
[edit] Excellence in Programming
- 2004 : Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- 2003 : Neverwinter Nights
- 2002 : Black and White
- 2001 : The Sims
[edit] Original Game Character of the Year
- 2004 : "HK-47" from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 2003 : "Sly Cooper" from Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
- 2002 : "Daxter" from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
- 2001 : "Seaman" from Seaman
