The Game Developers Choice Awards are the other side of a coin that also contains the IGFs. Sure, indies are allowed into this GDC organised awards show, but they have to promise to be on their best behaviour. And wash behind their ears.
The nominations for this year's award - chosen by a panel of game developers - have been announced, with The Walking Dead and Dishonored scoring plenty of nods. Not the most, though - that honour goes to Journey, which is apparently a PS3 game about collecting scarves. Or something.
Dishonored picked up four nominations, including Game of the Year, Best Game Design, Best Narrative and Best Visual Arts. The Walking Dead also received nominations for Game of the Year and Best Narrative, as well as a chance to nab Best Downloadable Game. Wait, aren't all games downloadable?
Other PC relevant nominations include Game of the Year nods for Mass Effect 3 and XCOM, a well deserved Best Audio mention for Hotline Miami, and a Best Technology listing for Planetside 2. FTL also did well, being nominated for the Innovation Award, along with a shot at Best Debut for its developer, Subset Games.
Here's the full list:
Game of the Year
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Innovation Award
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
- The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- ZombiU (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Best Audio
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games/Devolver Digital)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
Best Debut
- Humble Hearts (Dust: An Elysian Tail)
- Polytron Corporation (Fez)
- Giant Sparrow (The Unfinished Swan)
- Subset Games (FTL: Faster Than Light)
- Fireproof Games (The Room )
Best Downloadable Game
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull)
- Trials: Evolution (RedLynx/Microsoft Studios)
- Mark Of The Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Game Design
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Mark Of The Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Gravity Rush (SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Hero Academy (Robot Entertainment)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- The Room (Fireproof Games)
- Kid Icarus: Uprising (Sora/Nintendo)
Best Narrative
- Spec Ops: The Line (Yager Entertainment/2K Games)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Virtue's Last Reward (Chunsoft/Aksys Games)
Best Technology
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch/Activision)
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Visual Arts
- Borderlands 2 (Gearbox Software/2K Games)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
The winners will be announced at GDC on March 27. Can you think of anything that's been unfairly missed out?
