Last night we attended the IGF and the GDC awards. We saw numerous people, including Kotaku Editors and EGM editors. We even got to see numerous speeches by the esteemed Shigeru Miyamoto. It was quite an event…and the first of any award ceremony I have ever attended. Here we will list the winners and talk about it. To see photos of the awards ceremony as well as the GDC CLICK HERE.
INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL WINNERS
Best Mod (awarded 5,000$):
Weekday Warrior (Mod for Half-Life 2)
This game was an interesting third peson Half-Life 2 Mod that put you in an office solving problems. Though I was not that impressed I also did not get much time to really play it.
Best Student Game (Awarded 2,500$):
Toblo, developed by students from the Digipen Institute of Technology.
This game won over ….And Yet It Moves. This really disappointed me because after trying ….And Yet It Moves I was extremely impressed with him addictive it was. If you can find it, you should try it. The cool thing about this team winning the awared was that one of the Toblo makers proposed to his girlfriend on stage. It was touching.
Excellence in Audio (awarded 2,500$):
Everyday Shooter
This game was like Geometry Wars in a lot of respects.
Excellence in Visual Art (awarded 2,500$):
Castle Crashers
The artist was really touched to have won. Although I felt numerous other contestants in this field were also great artists, Castle Crashers has such an unforgettable art style that it was no contest.
Design Innovation Award (awarded 2,500$):
Everyday Shooter
Granted I have not played this game…but I was a little distraught that Armadillo Run did not win.
Technical Excellence (awarded 2,500$):
Bang! Howdy
I did not get a chance to play this game but all the entries were extremely impressive.
Best Web Browser Game (awarded 2,500$):
Samorost 2
Though I have not played this title I have to say it is extremely visually impressive for a web browser game. The art is truly impressive. It was my runner up to Castle Crashers for Excellence in Visual Art.
GameTap Indie Awards (awarded 5,000$ and a distribution deal through GameTap):
Everyday Shooter, RoboBlitz, and Blast Miner
A rep. for Tuner Broadcasting came out and gave these three games awards which to me felt really out of place. Have a Turner rep. there felt like some part of the Indie spirit was stolen, even after the rep. tried to convince the audience that Turner is like an Indie company. I hope GameTap really is trying to help out the Indie game companies and not just turn a profit and fuck them. The good news of this is that I can try these games out soon since I do have a subscription.
Audience Award (awarded 2,500$):
Castle Crashers
I was really pleased to see Castle Crashers win this title because to me, it was the most telling. This game was chosen by people who played the games and voted online. The people spoke, and Castle Crashers walked away as the most loved game (and rightfully so).
Seumas McNally Grand Prize (awarded 20,000$):
Aquaria
I wish I could say more about this game but I did not play it at all. The game certainly looks beautiful and was made by two only two kids. I would look out for future releases from their studio BitBlot.
GAME DEVELOPER’S CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS
Innovation:
Okami, Wii Sports, and Line Rider
It’s good to see all these games, especially Okami, recognized for their achievement in innovation. The most exciting news about this though was that Line Rider is coming to Wii and DS.
New Studio:
Iron Lore Entertainment
Best Writing:
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In my opinion this was the most misplaced award of the whole show. Twilight Princess won over Bully, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, Sam & Max Episode 1, and Oblivion. Now I am not a Zelda naysayer, but Twilight Princess’ writing pales in comparison to either Dreamfall or Oblivion. I even feel Sam & Max had much better writing than Twilight Princess. What do you guys think? I was extremely disappointed.
Game Design:
Wii Sports
Again I felt this was a misplaced award, but not as much as the previous. While Wii Sports is truly a game with amazing and unique game design, I felt that titles such as Okami or Viva Pinata deserved much more recognition in this category. Poor Viva, you never had a chance in that crowd.
Maverick Award:
Greg Costikyan
This developer has helped produce far too many games to name but was recognized for his independence in thought and action.
Audio:
Guitar Hero II
This award hardly seemed fair. I mean Guitar Hero II does have awesome sound, but it is a game based on music. I was slightly disappointed that LocoRoco did not pick up this category.
Character Design:
Okami
While I was really impressed that Okami won an award, I was again disappointed that Viva Pinata had to share a category with such an esteemed title. With competition like Okami and FFXII it was like it never had a chance. I still love you VIVA!
First Penguin:
Alexey Pajitnov
The First Penguin award goes to someone who tested the waters for the rest of the world. Alexy was certainly a deserving winner. Even if you do not think you know who this man is, I can almost guarantee that if you read this site you have played his game. Heck, your mother has probably even played his most famous title, Tetris. I am glad he is finally getting more and more credit for his early achievement.
Technology:
Gears of War
Although Gears is certainly an excellent game I was not sure if this warranted it enough to win over other titles such as Wii Sports or Company of Heroes. Graphicallly I can understand the award going to Gears over Wii Sports, but I thought Wii Sports pushed the technological envelope a little more.
Visual Arts:
Gears of War
Again Gears took home an award. This time I felt it was truly justified. Gears is the most beautiful next-gen title I have yet to see. I was disappointed that Okami or Viva Pinata did not win, but that is because I wanted the underdog to win, not because I felt that they were truly deserving. Don’t get me wrong, those titles are fucking gorgeous, but Gears has some of the best Art we’ve seen in years.
Community Contribution:
George “The Fatman” Sanger
This man has helped make sound and music in so many games that you have played that my fingers would start to bleed if I typed them all here. He has helped compose music for any number of venues and hopefully will continue to make beautiful game music for years to come.
Lifetime Achievement:
Shigeru Miyamoto
He spoke in Japanese with a translator for those of us who speak English, because he wanted to say so much more than his english would allow. He received a standing ovation and appeared quite moved. My favorite line though was when he said something to the effect that he was sucking the life force out of young people in order to keep going in gaming. Oh vampiric Miyamoto, how I can see you now.
Game of the Year:
Gears of War
Gears took the award over Okami, Oblivion, Twilight Princess, and Wii Sports. I could tell from murmurs that many people were displeased with the victory of Gears over the likes of Twilight Princess. Though Twilight Princess is a great game I feel that Gears was the most deserving. It really brings out all the best elements of shooters and combines them with great art, dialogue, and plot. Say what you will, but Gears is not winning awards from the Game Developer’s because of fanboyism.
So there you have it. We’re still working on our full report from our first day at the GDC but we wanted to at least drop you the winners for the awards shows that we attended. Stay tuned to this weeks podcast for full discussion over the GDC, the awards, and all the other crazy things that have been announced during this week in march.
Chufmoney