With Spike’s VGA awards out of the way, the Game Developers Choice Awards are in full swing. Instead of awards voted on by the public, a group of 500 selected game creators will announce their picks for the best of 2009 on March 11th. The nominees and award categories are as follows:
Best Game Design:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
- Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Flower (Thatgamecompany)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Best Visual Art:
- Borderlands (Gearbox Software)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
- Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Best Technology:
- Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
- Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)
- Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Writing:
- Brutal Legend (Double Fine)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Halo 3: ODST (Bungie)
Best Audio:
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
- Rock Band: The Beatles (Harmonix)
- Flower (Thatgamecompany)
- Brutal Legend (Double Fine Productions)
Innovation:
- Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
- Flower (Thatgamecompany)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)
- Demon’s Souls (From Software)
Best Debut:
- The Maw (Twisted Pixel)
- League Of Legends (Riot Games)
- Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
- Torchlight (Runic Games)
- Zeno Clash (ACE Team)
Best Downloadable Game:
- Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)
- Trials HD (RedLynx)
- PixelJunk Shooter (Q Games)
- Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment)
- Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Best New Social/Online Game:
- Restaurant City (Playfish)
- Farmville (Zynga)
- Dungeon Fighter Online (Neople/Nexon)
- Free Realms (Sony Online Entertainment San Diego)
- Bejeweled Blitz (PopCap)
Best Handheld Game:
- Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
- Flight Control (Firemint)
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
- Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
- Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo EAD)
Game of the Year:
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
- Demon’s Souls (From Software)
- Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Feel free to give us your own unofficial votes below, Elder-Geeks!
Now here’s some awards I’d pay attention to!
DAMN YOU FARMVILLE!
A list I would agree with, this is much better than the VGAs. How can you give best performance by a human female to Megan Fox in a crappy game, when Claudia Black hit it out of the park as Chloe in UC2, and Nolan North not winning best human male, he has been in a ton of game over the year.