Game Developers Conference Award Winners Revealed

Over in sunny San Jose, the annual Game Developers Conference has come to an end. As usual, the highlight of the event was the award ceremony on the last night.

There were few surprises this year, with GTA 3 scooping Game of the Year. Here’s the full list of awards:

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto III (DMA Design/Rockstar Games)

Rookie Studio of the Year
Bohemia Interactive Studio for Operation Flashpoint

Original Game Character of the Year
Daxter from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Excellence in Audio
Marty O'Donnell and team for sound effects in Halo: Combat Evolved

Excellence in Game Design
GTA3 team for game play in Grand Theft Auto III

Excellence in Level Design
Fumito Ueda and team for level design in Ico

Excellence in Programming
Richard Evans for artificial intelligence in Black and White

Excellence in Visual Arts
Fumito Ueda and team for art direction in Ico

Game Innovation Spotlights
Black and White (Lionhead Studios)
Grand Theft Auto III (DMA Design/Rockstar Games)
Ico (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Majestic (Electronic Arts)
Rez (United Game Artists)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Yuji Naka, president and CEO of Sega's Sonic Team, for the innovative and award-winning work he has produced during his career.

First Penguin Award
Hubert Chardot, for his risk-taking work on Alone in the Dark, the game that started the survival-horror genre.

IGDA Award for Community Contribution
Jeff Lander, for his writings on game development, community building efforts and student outreach.