As usual, I take it upon myself to provide extensive coverage of the annual Game Developers Choice Awards, including the Independant Games Festival. This year the show was presented with a bit more flair and thought to organization than the year before. While I don't think it was as big a step as 2002 was to 2003, this year's show was definetly an improvement, but not in all areas. We'll start with the good stuff. The pre-show press reception and cocktail was way above what they had last year. Last year it seemed like a last-minute thrown together thing, this year they had the food set up and prepped and the drinks out and ready. Kudos. The run-through of the show was also pulled off without a hitch and with better production values thanks to G4 stepping in once again and handling all the video presentations. Not only that, but we also had a special guest star, none other than StrongBad himself, from Homestarrunner.com. He launched into a hilarious parody of 2D and 3D gaming that had the whole auditorium rocking with laughter. You can view the movie yourself as a part of StrongBad's regular email lineup here.

The famous computer screen	The guy finally moved ot of the way so I could get a shot of the main screen

There were, of course, a few things I have to whine about. Of least concern and more of a personal thing stems from almost losing my stomach to the jittery camera movement when it showed close-ups of presenters on stage. I thought we were in an earthquake! Okay so it wasn't that bad but in today's day and age is it really excusable to have the camera jump around like a handheld whenever the operator shifts in his seat? Also, they repeated the same thing I grieved about last year - in the videos they had of people talking about other people or games or issues, they would only give their names. While this lets you know who they are, it doesn't let you know exactly who they are. What company are they from? What position? It's not good to assume that everyone knows who these people are and where they're from and what they do. And it is relevant data. Other than that, they did do a better attempt at the after-party, but it was so damn crowded that I just split for the Fairmont lobby bar only a few minutes after the awards show ended.

Still, it was a fun show, and I know you're all waiting to hear who won what so here we go!

Independant Games Festival Awards

Introduction

All awards were presented by Alex Dunne (IGF Chairman)	The prizes. VC++ .NET, PS2 HDD and $1,000 for each winner, and a P4 HTT workstation along with $14,000 for the grand prize winners

Special Mentions

These teams received special recognition from Alex Dunne during his speech before the awards

Circular Logic: A DigiPen student team
Shizmoo Games: Only developer so far to make the IGF finals three years in a row
Chronic Logic & Digital Eel: Second year in a row making the IGF finals

Web/Downloadable Category

Innovation in Audio

	Apologies in advance for some of the photos. My batteries were dying. Crummies!!
Dr. Blob's Organism by Digital Eel

Innovation in Visual Arts

	Cool shades make the man
Dr. Blob's Organism by Digital Eel

Technical Excellence

YArrrrr!!! Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates by Three Rings Design, Inc	And away they go...

Innovation in Game Design

	Note to self: do not shut down camera while image is saving. D'oh!
Oasis by Mind Control Software

Audience Choice Award

	Shiver me timbers! We won again!
Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates by Three Rings Design, Inc

Seumas McNally Award for Independant Game of the Year

Oasis by Mind Control Software

Open Category

Innovation in Audio

Anito: Defend A Land Enraged by Anino Computer Entertainment, Inc.

Innovation in Visual Arts

Spartan by Slitherine Software UK ltd.

Technical Excellence

Savage: The Battle for Newerth by S2 Games

Innovation in Game Design

	"Whoo hoo!! Yea!"
Bontago by Circular Logic

Audience Choice Award

Savage: The Battle for Newerth by S2 Games

Seumas McNally Award for Independant Game of the Year

Savage: The Battle for Newerth by S2 Games

Power Play Games Award

This year, Cartoon Network, in conjunction with AOL Braodband, presented an award for their new Power Play Games (PPG) experience. PPG was started by Cartoon Network and lets you download game demos, play them and then purchase them. Cartoon Network selected a game from the IGF finalists to publish on their site. And the winner was...

Beesly's Buzzwords by Flashbang Studios, LLC

The Game Developers Choice Awards

Introduction

Alan Yu (GDC Director) speaks of this year being the biggest GDC ever and where it will be going in the future	Jason Della Rocca (IGDA Program Director) speaks of the IGDA's recent contributions and progress in the industry

Game Innovation Spotlights

The Game Innovation Spotlights recognize games that demonstrate true innovation, advance the state of the art, and push the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. In essence, these are the games that are leading the way as the medium continues to evolve. Up to five Game Innovation Spotlights may be bestowed on games that contain such outstanding contributions. The worldwide game development community makes nominations for these awards.

Eyetoy: Play by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

Warioware Inc.: Mega Microgame$ by Nintendo

This representative from Nintendo accepts on behalf of the Warioware team. He's also the translator for some of the Japanese recipients

Viewtiful Joe by Capcom

Rookie Studio Award

The Rookie Studio Award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a “rookie” game development studio that released its first publicly available game in the year 2003. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

Presenters (also for Excellence in Writing)

Clint Hocking (Ubisoft)	Tim Schafer (Double Fine)

The Nominees

• Big Huge Games, Rise of Nations
• eGenisis, A Tale In The Desert
• Infinity Ward, Call of Duty
• S2 Games LLC, Savage: The Battle for Newerth
• Swingin' Ape Studios, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System

And the award goes to...

Infinity Ward, Call of Duty

Excellence in Writing

The Excellence in Writing Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of writing in an interactive medium - including, but not limited to, plot construction, dialogue, character development, etc. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

The Nominees

• Michel Ancel and Jaques Exertier, Beyond Good & Evil
• Charles Cecil, Steve Ince, Neil Richards, and Tony Warriner, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
• Sheldon Pacotti and Sarah Paetsch, Deus Ex: Invisible War
• Takehiro Izushi, Fire Emblem
• David Gaider, Drew Karpyshyn, Luke Kristjanson, and Peter Thomas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

And the award goes to...

David Gaider, Drew Karpyshyn, Luke Kristjanson, and Peter Thomas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Excellence in Game Design

The Excellence in Game Design Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of game design - including, but not limited to, gameplay mechanics, puzzles, play balancing, scenarios, etc. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

Presenters (also for Excellence in Audio)

Chris Cross, EA	Marty O'Donnell, Bungie

The Nominees

• Michel Ancel, Jaques Exterier, Frederic Houde, and Sebastien Morin, Beyond Good & Evil
• David Chateauneuf, Patrice Desilets, Jordan Mechner and team, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• The Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando team, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
• Casey Hudson, James Ohlen and team, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Goro Abe, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Kazuyoshi Ohsawa and Ko Takeuchi, Warioware Inc.: Mega Microgame$

And the award goes to...

David Chateauneuf, Patrice Desilets, Jordan Mechner and team, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Excellence in Audio

The Excellence in Audio Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of game audio - including, but not limited to, sound effects, musical composition, sound design, etc. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

The Nominees

• Chuck Russom (sound effects), Call of Duty
• Koji Igarashi and Ms. Michiru Yamane (composition), Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
• David Henry and Stan Lepard (composition), Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
• Laurent Betbeder, Paul Gorman, Howard Shore, Charles Stockley and Don Veca (composition), The Lord of the Rings: Return on the King
• Christopher L. Clanin and Tim Larkin (sound design), Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

And the award goes to...

Chuck Russom (sound effects), Call of Duty

First Penguin Award

The First Penguin Award recognizes the courage and bravery of a developer who tested the proverbial "waters", uncertain of success or failure. A "first penguin" serves as a lesson, and inspiration, to the rest of the community. The Awards Advisory Board selects the recipient of this award. Read up on the origin and background of the First Penguin Award.

Presenter

	Phil Harrison is a close friend of Matsuura-san
Phil Harrison, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

Recipient

Masaya Matsuura - A pioneer of beat-rhythm games, with groundbreaking titles like Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy

Excellence in Visual Arts

The Excellence in Visual Arts Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of visual arts - including, but not limited to, animation, modeling, art direction, etc. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

Presenters (also for Original Game Character)

	Rats, wish I had more pics of Jade...
Dev Madan (Suckerpunch) and Jade Raymond (There Inc.)

The Nominees

• Mickael Labat, Raphael Lacoste, Celine Tellier and team (art direction), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• Akira Yamaoka (art direction), Silent Hill 3
• Masanao Arimoto, Yoshiki Haruhana and Satoru Takizawa (art direction), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• Eric Kohler and team (art direction), Tron 2.0
• Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya and team (art direction), Viewtiful Joe

And the award goes to...

Masanao Arimoto, Yoshiki Haruhana and Satoru Takizawa (art direction), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Original Game Character of the Year

The Original Game Character of the Year Award recognizes excellence in creating an original (non-licensed) character for games. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

The Nominees

• Glitch, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
• HK-47, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Jade, Beyond Good & Evil
• Joe, Viewtiful Joe
• Vince, Voodo Vince

And the award goes to...

	"HK-47 would like to thank all the organic [sods] that voted for him" - A member of the Lucas Arts team accepting the award on HK-47's behalf
HK-47, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

IGDA Award for Community Contribution

The IGDA Award for Community Contribution embodies the goals of the IGDA and recognizes the significant contributions that an individual developer has made in building community, sharing knowledge, speaking on behalf of developers and/or contributing to the art form of game development. The Awards Advisory Board selects the recipient of this award.

Presenter

Kathy Schoback (Eidos and IGDA Chairperson)

Recipients

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk: The joint CEOs of BioWare Corp., they contribute to both the developer community and charities at large

Maverick Award

The Maverick Award recognizes the achievements of a developer who exhibits independence in thought and action while experimenting with alternate/emerging forms of digital games. The Awards Advisory Board selects the recipient of this award.

Presenters (also for Excellence in Programming)

	A very animated Eric Zimmerman
Eric Zimmerman (gameLab) and Laura Fryer (XBox ATG)

Recipients

Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka and John Vechey: The founders of PopCap Games for bringing casual gaming to mainstream audiences.

Excellence in Programming

The Excellence in Programming Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of game programming - including, but not limited to, graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking, physics, etc. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

The Nominees

• Jak II team (programming), Jak II
• Kim Salo, Markus Stein, and Olli Tervo (physics programming), Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne
• Dominic Couture, Feng Quan Wang and team (graphics programming), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• David Worswick (network programming), Project Gotham Racing 2
• Mike Rayner, Jon Spencer and team (programming), SSX 3

And the award goes to...

Dominic Couture, Feng Quan Wang and team (graphics programming), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Lifetime Acheivement Award

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. The Awards Advisory Board selects the recipient of this award.

Presenter

Will Wright (Maxis)

Recipient

Mark Cerny: Production genius and master collaborator on such successes as arcade classic Marble Madness, and the Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank series.

Game of the Year Award

The Game of the Year Award recognizes the overall best – as interpreted by developers - game released during the year 2003. The worldwide game development community nominates and votes on this award.

Presenter

	Hey they pronounced his name right this year. Yay!
Warren Spector (Ion Storm)

The Nominees

• Beyond Good & Evil, Ubisoft Pictures
• Call of Duty, Infinity Ward
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ubisoft Montreal
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare Corp.
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendo EAD

And the award goes to...

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare Corp.

And That's A Wrap Folks!!

Well I didn't attend the show per se, but there was a press reception an hour before with free beer and sushi for us highfalootin' press types, so I did indulge myself in that. I grabbed a pic of the arena. They made it clear that no free T-shirts would be available until after the event, so I bailed in favor of an indies-only dinner at a nearby restaurant. Met some really nice folks there, both independent successes and wannabe-independent successes.

And, to be perfectly frank, the GDC itself seems to have an unnatural obsession with the "celebrities" of game development, so any further fan worship, like the Choice Awards, is just redundant.