Part of GDC 2019
If you thought we were done awarding games that came out in 2018, you’ve got another thing coming as the Game Developers Choice Awards nominees were announced today.
Similar to the Oscars and various guild award ceremonies in the movie industry, the GDCA nominees are picked by the developers in the organization. As such, there has been some criticism in the past that the awards show neglects to bring to light to eastern-developed games, and if you were looking for an improvement on that trend, then you’re going to come away disappointed.
All of the big-hitting western games are here and in large numbers as well. Red Dead Redemption 2 leads the pack with seven nominations, with Spider-Man and Destructoid’s staff and community pick for game of the year God of War following close behind with six nominations each.
A surprise on my end is seeing just how many nominations Tetris Effect got. I mean yes, it’s Tetris and Tetris deserves to be praised every chance it gets because Tetris is Tetris and Tetris is perfect. But seeing it in both audio and innovation really shows how great of an adaptation Effect is. It’s also fun to see the indie darlings Celeste and Return of the Obra Dinn challenging AAA games for the grand prize. I don’t think either of them will win but there’s always hope for a 2010 Oscars moment.
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 (Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games / 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)
The awards ceremony, which will take place during the Game Developers Conference on March 20, will be streamed at Twitch.tv/gdc and be hosted by industry veteran Tim Schafer.
