GDC Awards in the shadow of the Colossus

by Christopher Grant { Mar 23rd 2006 at 5:00AM }

The 6th Annual Game Developer's Choice Awards were held tonight immediately following the Independent Games Festival awards. While the winners didn't quite match up with our choices, we did manage six out of eight, including Best Game. Shadow of the Colossus took home a total of 5 awards including Best Game, and the critically acclaimed (but commercially ignored) Psychonauts earning 2. Regardless of who won, all of the finalists were exceptional entrants in their respective categories and are worthy of recognition.

You can find out more about the Game Developer's Choice Awards at their website or read on for a list of the winners and some select pics of the ceremony.

Innovation

Guitar Hero
Nintendogs
Shadow of the Colossus

New Studio

ArenaNet (Guild Wars)
Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts) (Tim Schafer pictured above)
New Crayon Games (Bonnie's Bookstore)
TellTale Games (Bone: Out From Boneville)
Wideload Games (Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse)

Writing

Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich
God of War
Indigo Prophecy
Jade Empire
Psychonauts (winner)

Game Design

Animal Crossing: Wild World
God of War
Nintendogs
Psychonauts
Shadow of the Colossus (winner)

"The Maverick award recognizes the current achievements of a developer who exhibits independence in thought and action while experimenting with alternate/emerging forms of digital games." Presented by Masaya Matsuura to the Guitar Hero team.

Audio

Call of Duty 2
Electroplankton
God of War
Guitar Hero (winner)
Project Gotham Racing 3

Character Design

City of Villians
God of War
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Psychonauts
Shadow of the Colossus (winner)

"The First Penguin award looks back to the industry's history to recognize the bravery of a developer who tested the proverbial "waters," uncertain of success or failure." Awarded to Will Crowther and Don Woods, creators of the original adventure game, Adventure. (Don Woods pictured above).

Technology

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Guitar Hero
Nintendogs (winner)
Project Gotham Racing 3
Shadow of the Colossus

Visual Arts

God of War
Project Gotham Racing 3
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus (winner)
We Love Katamari

"The Community Contribution award embodies the goals of the IGDA and recognizes the significant contributions that an individual has made in building community, sharing knowledge, speaking on behalf of developers and/or contributing to the art form of game development." Presented by Valve's Gabe Newell to Chris Hecker.

"The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole." Presented by last year's recipient, Eugene Jarvis, to Ultima creator Richard Garriott.

Best Game

Animal Crossing: Wild World
God of War
Guitar Hero
Shadow of the Colossus (winner)
The Movies

Congratulations to all the winners (like Shadow of the Colossus' Fumito Ueda pictured above). If you haven't played any of these games, you might want to save your allowance money. Psychonauts could use the sales. Seriously, buy it.

Tags: GDCA, Shadow of the Colossus, ShadowOfTheColossus

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mofomojo @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:20AM

PGR 3 for AUDIO?!?!?!

That game had a soundtrack of crappy songs I'd hear 24/7 on Alternative rock stations, GOOD AUDIO?!?!??!

WHAT THE HELL WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?!?! :O

Jago @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:23AM

Well it didn't win so thats a good thing at least.

...and mad props to the "Shadow of the Colossus" team. Hopefully this means that more people will go out and give it a shot. If you are able to, play this game on a BIG screen TV with the audio turned up and you will be sucked in for hours. It is a FANTASTIC game.

Perf3ctLink @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:28AM

I think Resident Evil 4 deserved to be mentioned more than once, it was a great game in every aspect ;P

Jago @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:38AM

I have yet to play it (I know I know...) but RE4 deserved to be on there and PGR3 removed. PGR3 is a racing game...that didn't really offer much new.

fawazr @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:42AM

The only awards show that matters. Developers have more appreciation for the craft than say, viewers of Spike. The best-selling titles of the year are nowhere to be found though. That says a lot about the industry and a lot about what types of people are really buying videogames. Hooray for the Psychonauts guys!

David @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:59AM

SOTC was epic and beyond anyones scope, absolute briliance, good on them.

Saint @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:28AM

Well, fawazr, the similiraty to the Oscars is getting more and more obvious the more you look into it. Somebody commented that "Big Momma's House 2" outsold all of the nominees for "best picture" together... So while trying to get innovative games to the mainstream might be a lost cause, we can always hope that GDC recognition becomes an alternative to commercial success for the publishers.

Zero_ @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:30AM

#2 is correct, and everyone listen to him. I played Shadow of the Colossus on my 40cm CRT television and whilst I was enjoying myself, when I brought the game over to my friend where we played it on his huge 155cm LCD with a very nice 5.1 surround sound set up, and maaaaan, that experience was phenomonal.

Chris @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:53AM

I hate award shows. There were so many games that should be up there for various things but as with the OSCAR's it just a big love-in for snobs.

Sloopydrew @ Mar 23rd 2006 6:54AM

Resident Evil 4 got screwed.

GDC can go to hell.

I hope they don't ignore The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion next year.

What's up with the best game of the year always coming out early in the year (RE4 in 2005, Oblivion in 2006)?

Sure, something released later in 2006 could beat Oblivion, but somehow I doubt it.

Adrian @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:20AM

As much as you guys have said in earlier posts about God of War not being "that great of a game", I really have to disagree, and I have to say that the fact that God of War didn't receive a single award makes me saad. That game was one of the best (if not The best) game I've ever played, now I'm not saying that SotC and the other games that got awards are bad, I'm just saying that GoW should've gotten at least one award! Seriously, that game rules :P

White Rose Duelist @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:31AM

Bravo to the GDC for rewarding deserving games rather than more zombies, football players and/or cash to the awarding body.

RocketSeason @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:43AM

Psychonauts was really awsome but it still didn't hold my interest long enough for me to finish the entire game...I have a problem finishing games.

-Matt

Splat @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:10AM

Note: Games voted on by ACTUAL people that make games.

Nick @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:16PM

Colossus was a great game, no doubt, but had far too many technical and gameplay flaws for me to agree with a lot of the awards it received. I'm still really surprised how many of them are overlooked.

Dirk Dorkelson @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:50PM

Mofomojo,

I thought the audio on PGR3 was great. Keep in mind that there's more to "audio" than the songs on the game. The cars sound flat-out terrific. Also, you've heard all those bhangra songs, hip-hop tunes and classical music including Tchaikovsky on alt-rock radio? Come on.