HALF-LIFE 2 and Eugene Jarvis took top honors in the 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards given by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) at a ceremony the evening of March 9, during the 2005 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
The big guns at the show were 3: HALO 2 (from Bungie/Microsoft), HALF-LIFE 2 (Valve/Vivendi) and WORLD OF WARCRAFT (Blizzard) all of them huge budget productions with great visuals and sound, but a surprising audience favorite was KATAMARI DAMACY (Namco), which was simple, but very creative.
One of the Innovation Award winners was DONKEY KONGA (Namco/Nintendo). Instead of using the usual two-handed game controller with buttons, its interface was a set of two bongo drums with a small microphone in between. To make the character move, you could hit the right or left bongo, or both, or clap your hands to make him jump (the clap was picked up by the microphone). People were lining up at the booth to play this one during the conference.
Professional game developers around the world, regardless of membership or affiliation, nominated and voted for the awards, free of charge, ensuring that the recipients reflect the community's opinions.
The recipients for the 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:
Best GameHALF-LIFE 2 (Valve Software / Vivendi Universal Games)- Ken Birdwell, Gabe Newell, Jay Stelly
New StudioCrytek (FAR CRY)- Avni Yerli, Cevat Yerli, Faruk Yerli
AudioHALO 2 (Bungie Software / Microsoft Game Studios)- C Paul Johnson, Marty O'Donnell, Jay Weinland
Character DesignHALF-LIFE 2 (Valve Software / Vivendi Universal Games)- Ted Backman, Dhabih Eng, Bill Fletcher, Bill Van Buren
Game DesignKATAMARI DAMACY (Namco)- Keita Takahashi
TechnologyHALF-LIFE 2 (Valve Software / Vivendi Universal Games)- Yahn Bernier, Brian Jacobson
Visual ArtsWORLD OF WARCRAFT (Blizzard Ent.)- Sam Didier, William Petras, Justin Thavirat
WritingHALF-LIFE 2 (Valve Software / Vivendi Universal Games)- Marc Laidlaw
InnovationDONKEY KONGA (Namco / Nintendo)Hiroshi Igarashi, Hiroyuki Onoda
I LOVE BEES (4orty2wo Entertainment / Microsoft Game Studios)Elan Lee
KATAMARI DAMACY (Namco)Keita Takahashi
Recipients for IGDA's special awards were:
Lifetime AchievementEugene Jarvis - legendary arcade game developer, 25 years ago, Jarvis' pioneering spirit revolutionized arcade games. In the 1980s his career was propelled by the debut of smash hit arcade game DEFENDER, with groundbreaking graphics and mind-numbing action that helped to seduce an entire generation. Jarvis' success continued into the 1990s when he created the all time highest grossing arcade driving series, CRUIS'N USA, CRUIS'N WORLD and CRUIS'N EXOTICA. Touting advanced 3D graphics and real world locations, the CRUIS'N series became a cultural phenomenon.
First PenguinRichard Allan Bartle, Ph.D - founding father of Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) the predecessor of MMOGs like WARCRAFT) some 30 years ago the name of the award comes from when there is a bunch of penguins standing on the ice and one of them finally decides to be the first to jump into the water.
MaverickMatt Adams, Ju Row Farr and Nick Tandavanitj founders and leaders of Blast Theory, an internationally renowned interactive media artists' group.
Community ContributionSheri Graner Ray she is working hard to get more women into gaming, and to get more games made for women. She started the womens gaming conference (www.womensgameconference.com).
For more information on the awards and recipients, please visit www.igda.org/awards.
