Yesterday, the nominees for the Independent Games Festival awards were announced, led by Return of the Obra Dinn, which claimed four nominations including one for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Now it's time to get a look at the contenders for the year's Game Developers Choice Awards.
The Game Developers Choice Awards are held in conjunction with the IGF, but cover all games and platforms, from indies and mobiles to big-budget mega-hits. Red Dead Redemption 2 tops this year's list with seven nominations, followed by God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man, which drew six nominations each. The PC is championed by Return of the Obra Dinn, which collected four nominations including Best Narrative, Best Visual Art, the Innovation Award, and Game of the Year.
The full list of nominees and honorable mentions:
Best Audio:
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games), Wandersong (Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
Best Debut:
- Polyarc (Moss)
- Mountains (Florence)
- Nomada Studio (Gris)
- Villa Gorilla (Yoku's Island Express)
- Sabotage (The Messenger)
Honorable Mentions: Beat Games (Beat Saber), Digital Sun (Moonlighter), Two Point Studios (Two Point Hospital), Okomotive (Far: Lone Sails)
Best Design:
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Frostpunk (11 bit studios), Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
Best Mobile Game:
- Alto's Odyssey (Snowman)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Furistas Cat Cafe (Runaway), The Room: Old Sins (Fireproof Studios), Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage), Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox), Twinfold (Kenny Sun)
Innovation Award:
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Honorable Mentions: Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Moss (Polyarc), A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Best Narrative:
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Honorable Mentions: Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge / Good Shepherd Entertainment)
Best Technology:
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Honorable Mentions: Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios), Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Best Visual Art:
- Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Below (Capybara Games)
Best VR/AR Game:
- Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Jurassic World Alive (Ludia), In Death (Sólfar Studios), Tendar (Tender Claws), Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Deracine (FromSoftware / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Game of the Year:
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios & Sora / Nintendo), Into the Breach (Subset Games), Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
This year's Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Amy Hennig, who began her career in the late '80s on Electrocop. From there, she worked on games including multiple Legacy of Kains before gaining fame as the mastermind of the Uncharted series.
The Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony will take place on March 20 following the Independent Games Festival Awards, and will be hosted by Double Fine Productions founder Tim Schafer.
