GDC 2008: A note on the game of the year award

Last week, in my “Trigger Happy” column in the Georgia Straight, I wrote about how I believed that Super Mario Galaxy, while a very playable game, did not deserve a nomination for game of the year, and that Mass Effect was spurned by being left off the list of game of the year noms.

Tonight during the Game Developers Choice Awards, the five game of the year nominees - BioShock, Portal, Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, and Rock Band - were announced throughout the evening. Then, at the end of the show, just before the winner was about to be announced, short clips of each of the nominees were played.

But here’s the thing. A clip of Mass Effect was played in place of Call of Duty 4.

Make of it what you will.

GDC 2008: GDC award night

Award night at the Game Developers Conference is a slick and quick affair (thankfully, given that most of us have been on our feet for 12 hours by the time the awards happen). A whole whack of prizes get handed out in a scant two hours. You know what really stands out when you watch a video game award show? Short acceptance speeches. No big egos here, just big talent.

Game Developers Choice Awards

The video game industry relishes these awards, because the winners are decided by those who work in the business. Winning a GDC Award is getting a pat on the back from the entire industry. It amounts to having all the other game designers say, “I loved playing your game.”

You can get the complete list of nominees here, but here are the games and developers that took home Choice Awards this year:

Best Game Design
Portal
developed and published by Valve

Best Debut Game
Crackdown
developed by Realtime Worlds, published by Microsoft Game Studios

Best Audio
BioShock
developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, published by 2K Games

Best Downloadable Game
flOw
developed by thatgamecompany, published by Sony Computer Entertainment

Best Technology
Crysis
developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts

Innovation Award
Portal
developed and published by Valve

Best Visual Arts
BioShock
developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, published by 2K Games

Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
developed and published by Nintendo

Best Writing
BioShock
developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, published by 2K Games

Game of the Year
Portal
developed and published by Valve
(pictured above are the developers and publisher, from left to right: Realm Lovejoy, Kim Swift, Gabe Newell, and Eric Wolpaw)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Sid Meier

Pioneer Award
Ralph Baer
This guy is the father of video gaming. He got a deserved standing ovation.

Ambassador Award
Jason Della Rocca

Independent genius

The GDC Awards are always prefaced by the Independent Games Festival Awards, which recognize independent game development. One of last year’s big winners was Toronto’s Jon Mak, creator of Everyday Shooter, now available as a PlayStation Network game for the PS3.

This year, the awards went to:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Crayon Physics Deluxe
developed by Kloonigames

Best Web Browser Game
Iron Dukes
developed by One Ton Ghost

Technical Excellence
World of Goo
developed by 2D Boy

Design Innovation Award
World of Goo
developed by 2D Boy

Excellence in Visual Art
Fez
developed by Kokoromi

Excellence in Audio
Audiosurf
developed by Invisible Handlebar

Audience Award
Audiosurf
developed by Invisible Handlebar

Best Student Game
Synaesthete
developed by Rolling Without Slipping, DigiPen Institute

Note, too, that you can still play most of the indie games for free over here.

The new Gleemax Awards for Strategic Gameplay were handed out by Gleemax, the new online gamer community started by Wizards of the Coast. Cash prizes went to:
bronze: Quadradius
silver: Skyrites
grand prize: Desktop Tower Defense

So much for Super Mario Galaxy

It's a very playable game, but I just don't think that Super Mario Galaxy was a groundbreaking enough game to warrant a game of the year nomination for the Game Developers Choice Awards.

At the same time, I think not giving Mass Effect a game of the year nod is a travesty.

I covered this in much greater detail in my "Trigger Happy" column in last week's Georgia Straight, and it seems that some Straight readers are taking issue with my opinion. They are actually leaving comments taking me to task about it.

Of course, the people speaking up so far are clearly fans of the game, which is par for the course when it comes to anyone being critical of Nintendo or their Italian plumber.

But there has to be someone out there who agrees with me, right?

Anyone?

Nominees for Game Developers Choice Awards

The nominees for the Game Developers Choice Awards were announced this morning.

BioShock and Portal lead the pack, each with five nominations, including Game of the Year.

I'm very pleased to see Mass Effect (Game Design, Writing, Audio, Innovation) and Everyday Shooter (Best Debut, Best Downloadable), two of my favourites of 2007, getting some recognition.

Notable titles missing from this list? Surprisingly, not much. Maybe Heavenly Sword (pictured here) for Visual Art. Maybe Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction for Game Design. Looks like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune claimed the Sony Computer Entertainment quota.

And Vampire Rain. Kidding. I kid.

Mass Effect deserved a Game of the Year nomination, though. Certainly over Super Mario Galaxy, which was fine for what it was: a rehash of the franchise.

Anyone out there note any other glaring omissions?

Here's the complete list of categories and nominees, which will be handed out at GDC 2008 in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 20:

Best Game Design
BioShock
Call of Duty 4
Mass Effect
Portal
Super Mario Galaxy

Best Visual Art
Assassin's Creed
Team Fortress 2
Crysis
BioShock
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Best Technology
Halo 3
Crysis
Call of Duty 4
Portal
Assassin's Creed

Best Writing
Portal
God of War II
Mass Effect
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
BioShock

Best Audio
Call of Duty 4
Everyday Shooter
BioShock
God of War II
Mass Effect

Best Debut
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
flOw (ThatGameCompany)
The Witcher (CD Projekt)
Everyday Shooter (Queasy Games)
Aquaria (Bit Blot)

Innovation
Rock Band
Portal
flOw
Peggle
Mass Effect

Best Handheld Game
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Phase
Contra 4
Peggle (for iPod)

Best Downloadable Game
Pac-Man Championship Edition
Everyday Shooter
Peggle
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (XBLA version)
Flow

Game of the Year
BioShock
Call of Duty 4
Portal
Rock Band
Super Mario Galaxy