Game Developers Choice Awards - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Game Developers Choice Awards are annually presented by the Game Developers Conference

Game Developers Conference

The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...

for outstanding game developers

Video game developer

A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

and games.
Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards

Spotlight Awards (GDC)

The Spotlight Awards was hosted annually by the Game Developers Conference from 1997 to 1999. Its focus was on the video and computer game industry. GDC now hosts another video game award ceremony call Game Developers Choice Awards since 2001....

, which were presented from 1997 to 1999.

The 2009 award presentation was held March 25, 2009, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA.

Nomination and voting process

In 2007, gamasutra.com took over management of the awards from the IGDA.
An advisory board selected by the editors of gamasutra.com and Game Developer magazine oversees the selection process.

Nominations are accepted from those registered gamasutra.com users confirmed by Choice Award organizers to be game developers, and from the advisory board.
Once the nomination process is complete, the advisory board identifies five finalists for each regular category.

The recipients of the Lifetime Achievement, First Penguin (Pioneer since 2007) and Maverick awards are selected by the advisory board.
For the other awards, a vote open to all those who participated in the nomination process chooses a recipient from each category's finalists.

List of winners

Note: Years listed are when award was received for work released in the previous calendar year.

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.

2011: Red Dead Redemption

2010: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...

2009: Fallout 3
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...

2008: Portal

2007: Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...

2006: Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...

2005: Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...

2004: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...

2003: Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...

2002: Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...

2001: The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...

Best Debut Game

The Best Debut Game Award recognizes the best game from any development studio which released its first publicly available title during the calendar year. This was formally known as the New Studio of the Year Award. In years prior to 2008, the award was awarded to the studio name, as opposed to the game title.

2011: Mojang AB

Mojang AB

Mojang AB is a Swedish independent video game developer founded in May 2009 under the name Mojang Specifications by Markus Persson...

(for Minecraft
Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December 20, 2010...

)

2010: Runic Games

Runic Games

Runic Games is a Seattle-based American computer game company formed by Travis Baldree , Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer , Peter Hu, and the Flagship Studios Seattle team responsible for Mythos. It is a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd...

(for Torchlight
Torchlight
Torchlight is an action role-playing game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World, released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in the fictional town of Torchlight and the expansive caverns and dungeons nearby, which adventurers explore to collect valuable...

)

2009: Media Molecule

Media Molecule

Media Molecule is a British video game developer based in Guildford in Surrey. The studio was founded in January 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney...

(for LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...

)

2008: Realtime Worlds

Realtime Worlds

Realtime Worlds Ltd was a video game developer based in Dundee, Scotland from 2002 until its closure in September 2010. Realtime Worlds was the largest independent game developer in Scotland with over 200 employees as well as a small Boulder, Colorado office....

/ Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...

(for Crackdown
Crackdown
Crackdown is an open world, third-person shooter video game for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America on February 20, 2007, and worldwide by February 23, 2007. Crackdown was developed by Realtime Worlds, and distributed by Microsoft Game Studios. It was conceived by Realtime Worlds...

)

2007: Iron Lore Entertainment

Iron Lore Entertainment

Iron Lore Entertainment was a computer game developer that was founded in October 2000 by Brian Sullivan and Paul Chieffo....

(for Titan Quest
Titan Quest
Titan Quest is an action RPG developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. It was released worldwide by THQ on June 26, 2006. The game was released on Steam, along with the expansion Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, on July 17, 2007...

)

2006: Double Fine Productions

Double Fine Productions

Double Fine Productions is an American video game developer founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after his departure from LucasArts. He started Double Fine with Programmers David Dixon and Jonathan Menzies in what was once a clog shop in San Francisco...

(for Psychonauts
Psychonauts
Psychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox...

)

2005: Crytek

Crytek

Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...

(for Far Cry
Far Cry
Far Cry is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004, for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry sold 730,000 units within four months of release. It received positive reviews upon release...

)

2004: Infinity Ward

Infinity Ward

Infinity Ward is an American video game developer. Infinity Ward is responsible for the development of the video game Call of Duty and four other installments in the Call of Duty franchise....

(for Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...

)

2003: Retro Studios

Retro Studios

Retro Studios is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in October 1998 by the video game veteran Jeff Spangenberg after leaving Acclaim Entertainment, as an independent studio making games exclusively for Nintendo Company, Ltd.On May 2, 2002, Nintendo...

(for Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...

)

2002: Bohemia Interactive Studio

Bohemia Interactive Studio

Bohemia Interactive , also referred to as Bohemia Interactive Studio , is an independent computer and console game developer based in Prague, Czech Republic...

(for Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis)

2001: Counter-Strike team

Minh Le

Minh Le , also known by his online nickname Gooseman, is a Vietnamese-Canadian computer game developer who co-created the popular Half-Life mod Counter-Strike with Jess Cliffe in 1999...

(for Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...

)

Best Handheld Game

Best Handheld Game Award recognizes the overall best game commercially released on any handheld platform.

2011: Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope is an award-winning physics-based puzzle video game for handheld gaming platforms. It was developed in 2010 by Russian developers ZeptoLab and is published by Chillingo. On iOS, it uses the Crystal and Game Center social networking services. On Android, it uses Scoreloop social...

2010: Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is an emergent puzzle action video game developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS published by WB Games. The game was released September 15, 2009 in North America, September 30, 2009 in Australia, and October 9, 2009 in Europe. Konami released the game in Japan under the name on...

2009: God of War: Chains of Olympus
God of War: Chains of Olympus
God of War: Chains of Olympus is an action-adventure game developed by Ready at Dawn and released by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable in March 2008....

2008: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
is the fourteenth game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. It was released after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii and before The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS...

Best Downloadable Game

Best Downloadable Game Award recognizes the overall best game released on console or PC platforms specifically and solely for digital download - with an emphasis on smaller, more 'casual'-friendly titles.

2011: Minecraft
Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December 20, 2010...

2010: Flower
Flower (video game)
Flower is a PlayStation 3 video game. It was developed by Thatgamecompany, designed by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark, and announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. Flower was released on February 12, 2009, via the PlayStation Network. The game was intended as a "spiritual successor" to Flow, a...

2009: World of Goo
World of Goo
World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game by 2D Boy, an independent game developer consisting of Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, both former Electronic Arts employees, released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and WiiWare...

2008: flOw

Excellence in Audio

The Excellence in Audio award recognizes the overall excellence of audio in a game, including sound effects, musical composition, sound design, orchestration.

2011: Red Dead Redemption

2009: Dead Space
Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008...

2008: BioShock
Bioshock
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...

2007: Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...

2006: Guitar Hero

2005: Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...

2004: Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...

2003: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 2015, Inc. and created by Steven Spielberg. It is the 3rd installment of the Medal of Honor series...

2002: Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...

2001: Diablo II
Diablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...

Excellence in Game Design

The Excellence in Game Design award recognizes the overall excellence of design in a game, including gameplay, mechanics, puzzles, play balancing and scenarios.

2011: Red Dead Redemption

2010: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a 2009 action-adventure stealth video game based on DC Comics' Batman developed for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment...

2009: LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...

2008: Portal

2007: Wii Sports
Wii Sports
is a sports game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console , and part of the Touch! Generations. The game was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month...

2005: Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...

2004: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...

2003: Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...

2001: Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...

Best Technology

The Technology award recognizes the overall excellence of technology in a game, including graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking and physics.

2011: Red Dead Redemption

2008: Crysis
Crysis
Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek , published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar...

2007: Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...

2006: Nintendogs
Nintendogs
is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America, Australia, Europe, and other regions. It was originally released in three different versions:...

Excellence in Visual Arts

The Excellence in Visual Arts award recognizes the overall excellence of visual art in a game, including animation, modeling, art direction and textures.

2011: Limbo
Limbo (video game)
Limbo is a puzzle-platform video game and the premiere title of independent Danish game developer Playdead. The game was released in July 2010 as a platform exclusive title on Xbox Live Arcade, and was later re-released as part of a retail game pack along with Trials HD and Splosion Man in April...

2009: Prince of Persia

2007: Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...

2005: World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...

2004: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released as in Japan, is an action-adventure game and the tenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, in Europe on May 2, 2003, and in Australia on...

2003: Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...

2002: ICO

2001: Jet Grind Radio

Excellence in Writing

The Excellence in Writing award recognizes the quality of writing in a game, including story, plot construction, dialogue and branching narratives.

2011: Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...

2007: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii video game consoles. It is the thirteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series...

2006: Psychonauts
Psychonauts
Psychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox...

2003: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is an action-adventure stealth game, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and built on the Unreal Engine 2. It is the first Splinter Cell game in the series endorsed by author Tom Clancy, and follows the activities of American NSA Black Operation, "Black Ops", agent Sam Fisher....

Game Innovation Spotlights

The Game Innovation Spotlights recognize games that demonstrate innovation and push the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. Multiple awards are given each year.

2008: Portal

2007: Line Rider
Line Rider
Line Rider is an internet game. Versions are available for Microsoft Silverlight and for Flash. It was originally created in September 2006 by Boštjan Čadež , a Slovenian student...

; Ōkami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...

; Wii Sports
Wii Sports
is a sports game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console , and part of the Touch! Generations. The game was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month...

2005: Donkey Konga
Donkey Konga
is a GameCube rhythm video game starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. Instead of the standard GameCube controllers, the game is intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums.Donkey Konga was developed...

; I Love Bees; Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...

2004: EyeToy: Play
EyeToy: Play
EyeToy: Play is a video game for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003. It was the first game to make use of the PlayStation 2's video camera accessory, EyeToy. The game was initially packaged with the EyeToy when the accessory was first released. It features twelve mini-games to choose from. This...

; Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...

; WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! , known in PAL regions as WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania and in Japan as , is a video game for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2003 and in North America on May 26, 2003...

2003: Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing
The Animal Crossing games have garnered positive response. The first three games are among the best-selling for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing has sold 2.321 million copies; Wild World 10.79 million; and City Folk 3.38 million...

; Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...

; Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 2015, Inc. and created by Steven Spielberg. It is the 3rd installment of the Medal of Honor series...

; The Thing

2002: Black and White; Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...

; ICO; Majestic; Rez
Rez
Rez, developed under the codename K-Project, Project Eden, and Vibes, is a rail shooter video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with a European Dreamcast release and United States PlayStation 2 release in 2002...

2001: Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...

; Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi is a sandbox racing video game developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega. It is the first game in the Crazy Taxi series. The game was first released in arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. Subsequently, it was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube by...

; Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...

; Jet Grind Radio; No One Lives Forever
No One Lives Forever
The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a first-person shooter video game with stealth gameplay elements, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Fox Interactive, released for Windows in 2000. The game was also ported later to the PlayStation 2 and Mac OS X...

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the achievements of a developer who has impacted games and game development.

2011: Peter Molyneux

Peter Molyneux

Peter Douglas Molyneux OBE is an English computer game designer and game programmer. He created the God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Black & White, among others, as well as business simulation games such as Theme Park and more recently, the RPG series Fable.Despite the success of his games,...

(God games)

2010: John Carmack

John Carmack

John D. Carmack II is an American game programmer and the co-founder of id Software. Carmack was the lead programmer of the id computer games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Rage and their sequels....

(Doom series)

2009: Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima

is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011...

(Metal Gear series)

2008: Sid Meier

Sid Meier

Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...

(Civilization series and many different simulators)

2007: Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto

is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....

(creator of Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...

, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda)

2006: Richard Garriott

Richard Garriott

Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...

(Ultima)

2005: Eugene Jarvis

Eugene Jarvis

Eugene Peyton Jarvis is a game designer and programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Atari and video games for Williams Electronics. Most notable amongst his works are the seminal arcade video games Defender and Robotron: 2084 in the early 1980s, and the Cruis'n series of driving games...

(Defender and Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084 is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics in 1982. It is a shooting game that features two-dimensional graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans...

)

2004: Mark Cerny

Mark Cerny

Mark Cerny is a video game industry figure who has worked as a game designer, programmer, producer and business executive. As president of Cerny Games, which he founded in 1998, he now acts as a consultant in the video game industry. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award...

(SEGA

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog series

Sonic the Hedgehog is the best selling video game series released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character, Sonic the Hedgehog...

)

2003: Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) (Game Boy

Game Boy

The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...

, Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990...

series, Metroid series)

2002: Yuji Naka

Yuji Naka

, is a video game designer and programmer, best known as the former head of Sonic Team, a group of Sega programmers/designers, where he was the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog....

(Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
is a seminal 16-bit 1991 platform video game developed in Japan by Sega and published for the Sega Genesis. It is the first installment in Sega's flagship Sonic the Hedgehog video game series and the first title developed by Sonic Team. The game was released in 1991 in North America, Europe, and...

)

2001: Will Wright (Sim games)

The Pioneer Award

Known as the First Penguin award until 2007, the Pioneer Award celebrates individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept or gameplay design.

2011: Yu Suzuki

Yu Suzuki

is a Japanese game designer and producer who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, Virtua Fighter,...

2010: Gabe Newell

Gabe Newell

Gabe Logan Newell is the co-founder and managing director of video game development and online distribution company Valve Corporation.-Work:...

2009: Alex Rigopulos

Alex Rigopulos

Alexander Peter "Alex" Rigopulos is the CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he founded with Eran Egozy in 1995. Rigopulos personally cites Japanese game designers Masaya Matsuura, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and Keita Takahashi as some artists that have inspired his work at Harmonix...

and Eran Egozy

Eran Egozy

Eran Egozy is the Chief Technical Officer and VP of Engineering of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he founded with Alex Rigopulos in 1995.-Personal:Eran is a native of Israel. He moved to Lexington, MA at the age of 12, from Israel...

(founders of Harmonix)

2008: Ralph Baer (inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey is the world's first home video game console. It was first demonstrated on May 24, 1972 and released in August of that year, predating the Atari Pong home consoles by three years....

)

2007: Alexey Pajitnov (creator of Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...

)

2006: Don Woods, Will Crowther (creators of the early text game Adventure

Colossal Cave Adventure

Colossal Cave Adventure gave its name to the computer adventure game genre . It was originally designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky...

)

2005: Richard Bartle

Richard Bartle

Richard Allan Bartle is a British writer, professor and game researcher, best known for being the co-creator of MUD1 and the author of the seminal Designing Virtual Worlds. He is one of the pioneers of the massively multiplayer online game industry.-Life and career:Bartle received a Ph.D...

(co-creator of MUD

MUD

A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...

, ancestor to MMOs

Massively multiplayer online game

A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...

)

2004: Masaya Matsuura

Masaya Matsuura

is a video game designer and musician based in Tokyo, Japan. He was born in Osaka on June 16, 1961, and majored in Industrial Society at Ritsumeikan University. He has worked extensively with music and images, and has been active with the J-Pop band,...

(founder of NanaOn-Sha

NanaOn-Sha

NanaOn-Sha is a Japanese video game company which created what is widely credited as the first modern rhythm game, PaRappa the Rapper. It was founded by: Masaya Matsuura in 1993. The game's success resulted in the spinoff UmJammer Lammy, which is based on guitar samples, and eventually a proper...

, pioneer of music/game integration)

2003: David Crane

David Crane (programmer)

David Crane is a video game designer and programmer.Crane started his programming career at Atari, making games for the Atari 2600. After meeting co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller told Crane about a plan he had to leave Atari and found a company that would give game designers more...

, Larry Kaplan

Larry Kaplan

Larry Kaplan is an American video game designer and programmer. He initially worked at Atari and was responsible for a lot of their sales. Due to the lack of recognition for his work, he left Atari and became one of the five co-founders of Activision....

, Jim Levy

Jim Levy

Jim Levy was initially a music industry executive, but he is known better for his efforts as the founding Chief Executive Officer for Activision.. , Gamasutra. , Billboard ...

, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead

Bob Whitehead

Bob Whitehead is a game designer and programmer. He is a renowned pioneer and entrepreneur of the video game industry, having been instrumental in forming two video game developers. One, Activision, was the first third-party video game developer.-Career:...

(founders of Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

)

2002: Hubert Chardot (creator of Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark is the title of several works of fiction:*Alone in the Dark, a series of video games*Alone in the Dark , a 1992 video game and the first in the series...

)

2001: Chip Morningstar

Chip Morningstar

Chip Morningstar is an author, academic and developer of software systems for online entertainment and communication. A University of Michigan graduate, he participated in Project Xanadu, for which the word hypertext was first coined. Later, he overhauled the chat environment known as The Palace,...

and Randy Farmer

Randy Farmer

F. Randall "Randy" Farmer has created and organized numerous online communities. He is probably most famous for his role creating one of the first graphical online MMOGs, Lucasfilm's graphical MUD Habitat, with Chip Morningstar...

(creators of Lucasfilm

LucasArts

LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...

's Habitat
Habitat (video game)
Lucasfilm's Habitat was an early and technologically influential online role-playing game developed by Lucasfilm Games and made available as a beta test in 1986 by Quantum Link, an online service for the Commodore 64 computer and the corporate progenitor to America Online...

)

Ambassador Award

Formally known as the IGDA Award For Community Contribution.

2011: Tim Brengle and Ian Mackenzie

2010: Jerry Holkins

Jerry Holkins

Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins né Parkinson is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals...

, Mike Krahulik

Mike Krahulik

Mike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...

and Robert Khoo

Robert Khoo

Robert Khoo is the "President of Operations and Business Development" of Penny Arcade, but is also referenced as the "Business Manager" for the company and the Show Director for PAX, the largest consumer gaming show in the United States...

2009: Tommy Tallarico

Tommy Tallarico

Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...

2008: Jason Della Rocca

Jason Della Rocca

Jason Della Rocca is the former executive director of the International Game Developers Association : Della Rocca supervised the daily operations, outreach initiatives, and membership programs of the organization from September 2000 to March 2009...

2007: George Sanger

2006: Chris Hecker

Chris Hecker

-Biography:Hecker was a student at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, studying the fine arts towards work as an illustrator. An article in Byte Magazine sold him on programming and he dropped out of school to begin work on graphics and games....

2005: Sheri Graner Ray

Sheri graner ray

Sheri Graner Ray has been making computer games since 1990. She has worked for such companies as Electronic Arts, Origin Systems, Sony Online Entertainment, and Cartoon Network, and has worked on such licenses as Star Wars Galaxies, Ultima, and Nancy Drew...

2004: Ray Muzyka

Ray Muzyka

Dr. Ray Muzyka is a Canadian entrepreneur. He is the CEO at BioWare Corp as well as a Senior Vice President and Group General Manager of the BioWare RPG/MMO Group of Electronic Arts at BioWare's parent company Electronic Arts.-Career:Muzyka co-founded BioWare in...

and Greg Zeschuk

Greg Zeschuk

Dr. Gregory P. Zeschuk is a VP and Group Creative Officer at BioWare Corp. and Electronic Arts. He co-founded BioWare in 1995 with BioWare’s other co-founder and Group GM/CEO, Dr...

2003: Doug Church

Doug Church

Doug Church is an American computer game designer and producer. He attended MIT in the late 1980s, but left and went to work with Looking Glass Studios, when they were making primarily MS-DOS-based first-person adventure/shooter/roleplaying games, including Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II,...

(Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

)

2002: Jeff Lander

2001: John Carmack

Retired awards

The following award categories have been retired or replaced with a different focus.

Character Design

The Character Design award recognizes the overall excellence of non-licensed character design in a game, including originality, character arc and emotional depth.

2007: Ōkami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...

Excellence in Level Design

2003: Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...

2002: ICO

2001: American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice is a third-person action game released for PC on October 6, 2000. The game, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, is set in an alternative universe of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...

Excellence in Programming

2003: Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...

2002: Black and White

Original Game Character of the Year

2004: "HK-47

HK-47

HK-47 is a fictional assassin droid from the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion pack to the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: Galaxies...

" from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...

2003: "Sly Cooper

Sly Cooper

Sly Cooper is a series of platform stealth video games for the Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. The series was developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the first three games, and then it was passed on to Sanzaru Games while Sucker Punch continued work on the Infamous series...

" from Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a platform stealth video game created by Sucker Punch Productions, and released on the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002, subsequently republished as a "Greatest Hits" title. The game was followed by two sequels, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves...

2002: "Daxter

Daxter

Daxter is a fictional character and a protagonist of the Jak and Daxter series. First introduced in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Daxter is Jak's best friend, and was accidentally transformed into an ottsel . Daxter is voiced by Max Casella and Richard McGonagle . Daxter stars in his own...

" from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and is the first video game in the Jak and Daxter series. It was released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001 for North America, December 7, 2001 for...

2001: "Seaman" from Seaman
Seaman (video game)
is a virtual pet video game for the Sega Dreamcast. It is one of the few Dreamcast games to take advantage of the microphone attachment. The narration is voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the English-language version....

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.

2007: Greg Costikyan

Greg Costikyan

Greg Costikyan, sometimes known under the pseudonym "Designer X" , is an American game designer and science fiction writer.Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including hex-based wargames, role-playing games, boardgames, card games, computer games, online games and mobile...

2006: Mike Dornbrook, Eran Egozy

Eran Egozy

, Greg LoPiccolo, and Alex Rigopulos

Alex Rigopulos

(Harmonix Music Systems

Harmonix Music Systems

Harmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...

)

2005: Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr, and Nick Tandavanitj (Blast Theory

Blast Theory

Blast Theory is a Brighton-based artists’ group, whose work mixes interactive media, digital broadcasting and live performance.-Biography:The group was founded in 1991 by Matt Adams, Niki Jewett, Will Kittow and Ju Row Farr. The group is currently led by Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr and Nick...

)

2004: Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka, and John Vechey (PopCap Games

PopCap Games

PopCap Games is an American video game developer and publisher, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, and currently employs about 400 people...

)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.