GDC is only a couple of months away, and that means another Game Developer Choice Awards. The 15th, in fact. This year’s nominees have been revealed, and crikey, it looks like the folks over at Monolith are going to be busy on the day. Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor is in the running for five awards, including Game of the Year.
It’s a favourite in the PCGN super-lair, and one of our best games of 2014. Despite this, I confess surprise over its nomination for Best Narrative, since the story is nothing but a threadbare revenge tale. Not far behind, the stunning Vanishing of Ethan Carter is up for four awards, while Hearthstone and Alien: Isolation are each in the running for three.
Game of the Year
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Titanfall (Respawn/Electronic Arts), Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft), Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare/Electronic Arts), Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Sora Ltd. and BANDAI NAMCO/Nintendo)
Innovation Award
- Bounden (Game Oven)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- This War of Mine (11 bit studios)
- Monument Valley (Ustwo)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Crypt of the Necrodancer (Brace Yourself Games), Extrasolar (Lazy 8 Studios), Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments), Elegy For A Dead World (Dejobaan Games), 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
Best Debut
- Yacht Club Games (Shovel Knight)
- Respawn Entertainment (Titanfall)
- The Astronauts (The Vanishing of Ethan Carter)
- Stoic Studio (The Banner Saga)
- Upper One Games (Never Alone)
Honorable Mentions: Dynamighty (CounterSpy), Hinterland Games (The Long Dark), 1337 & Senri (Leo’s Fortune), MachineGames (Wolfenstein: The New Order), Hipster Whale (Crossy Road)
Best Design
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo EAD Tokyo and 1-Up Studio/Nintendo)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
Honorable Mentions: Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo), Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega), Destiny (Bungie/Activision), Monument Valley (Ustwo), Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Threes! (Sirvo)
- Super Smash Bros. 3DS (Sora Ltd. and BANDAI NAMCO/Nintendo)
- Hearthstone (Blizzard)
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- Monument Valley (Ustwo)
Honorable Mentions: Bounden (Game Oven), Bravely Default (Silicon Studio and Square Enix/Nintendo and Square Enix), Desert Golfing (Blinkbat Games), Velocity 2X (FuturLab), Fantasy Life (Level-5/Nintendo)
Best Visual Art
- Monument Valley (Ustwo)
- Hohokum (Honeyslug and Sony Santa Monica/Sony)
- Child of Light (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Honorable Mentions: Never Alone (Upper One Games/E-Line Media), The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts), Transistor (Supergiant Games), Broken Age: Act 1 (Double Fine Productions), Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
Best Narrative
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- This War of Mine (11 bit studios)
- Kentucky Route Zero: Episode 3 (Cardboard Computer)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare/Electronic Arts), Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft), Tales From The Borderlands: Episode 1 (Gearbox Software/Telltale Games), D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (Access Games/Microsoft), Hatoful Boyfriend (Mediatonic/Devolver Digital)
Best Audio
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Hohokum (Honeyslug/Sony)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Transistor (Supergiant Games)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Child of Light (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (Access Games/Microsoft), Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo), Crypt of the Necrodancer (Brace Yourself Games)
Best Technology
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (MachineGames/Bethesda)
- Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments)
- Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Honorable Mentions: Assassin’s Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), The Last of Us: Remastered (Naughty Dog/Sony), Sunset Overdrive (Insomniac Games/Microsoft), Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega), Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony)
Have any of your favourites made the cut?
Cheers, GamesIndustry.biz