The 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

The Game Developers Choice Awards are the premier accolades for peer recognition in the digital games industry. Each year, the Choice Awards recognize and celebrate the creativity, artistry and technical genius of the finest developers and games created in the last year.

The 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards will be held at the Moscone Convention Center, North Hall D on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, and we'll be bringing you coverage directly from the show.

The Game Developers Choice Awards are the premier accolades for peer-recognition in the video game industry, celebrating creativity, artistry and technological genius. Industry professionals from around the world nominate for the awards, free of charge, ensuring that the recipients reflect the community's opinions.

Awards in 13 categories will be given at the ceremony produced by the Think Service’s Game Developers Conference® (GDC) and presented by Gamasutra.com and Game Developer Magazine. 

The Awards include:

Lifetime Achievement

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.

Winner: Peter Molyneaux

Pioneer Award

The Pioneer Award (formerly known as the First Penguin Award) celebrates those individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design at a crucial juncture in video game history - paving the way for the myriads who followed them.

Winner:Yu Suzuki

Ambassador Award

The Ambassador Award honors an individual or individuals who have helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to be an advocate for video games and help further our art.

Winner: Tim Brengle and Ian MacKenzie

Game of the Year

The Game of the Year Award recognizes the choice of game developers for the overall best game release during 2010.

Winner: Red Dead Redemption

Innovation Award

The Innovation Award recognizes the single game that demonstrates true innovation, advances the state of the art, and pushes the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. 

Winner: Minecraft

Best Debut Game

The Best Debut Game Award recognizes the best game from any development studio which released its first publicly available title in the year 2010.

Winner: Minecraft

Best Audio

The Best Audio Award recognizes the overall excellence of audio in a game - including, but not limited to, sound effects, musical composition, sound design, orchestration, etc.

Winner: Red Dead Redemption

Best Game Design

The Best Game Design Award recognizes the overall excellence of design in a game - including, but not limited to, gameplay mechanics, playability, play balancing, and level design.

Winner: Red Dead Redemption

Best Technology

The Best Technology Award recognizes the overall excellence of technology in a game - including, but not limited to, graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking, and physics.

Winner: Red Dead Redemption

Best Visual Arts

The Best Visual Arts Award recognizes the overall excellence of visual art in a game - including, but not limited to, art direction, animation, modeling, character design, texture creation, and so on.

Winner: Limbo

Best Writing

The Best Writing Award recognizes the overall excellence of storytelling in a game - including, but not limited to, scenario, plot construction, story, dialogue, and other major factors.

Winner: Mass Effect 2

Best Downloadable Game

Best Downloadable Game Award recognizes the overall best game released on console or PC platforms specifically and solely for digital download - with an emphasis on smaller, more 'casual'-friendly titles.

Winner: Minecraft

Best Handheld Game

Best Handheld Game Award recognizes the overall best game commercially released on any handheld platform during 2010.

Winner: Cut The Rope