thatgamecompany’s emotionally-charged game Journey swept tonight’s Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony during GDC 2013 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, winning six of the evening’s eleven main awards, including Best Audio, Best Game Design, Best Visual Arts, Best Downloadable Game, the Innovation Award, and the coveted Game of the Year Award tonight.
The downloadable PlayStation Network title Journey received universal acclaim throughout 2012, and is a high point in a developer journey that started with IGF Student Showcase-nominated title Cloud in 2005, and spanned acclaimed titles fl0w and Flower.
Journey takes players on a trek towards a mysterious mountain across a desert, with wordless gameplay and serene natural visuals. Players can randomly encounter other travelers on the way to the temple, allowing them to share their voyage together, with a unique and touching experience changing on every playthrough.
Arkane Studios’ fantastical stealth adventure game, Dishonored, won the inaugural Game Developers Choice Awards Audience Award category, after thousands of votes were cast. The critically lauded Dishonored shares the story of a magic wielding assassin clearing his name for a murder he did not commit. The narrative commitment to multiple paths and player choice endeared itself to many game players in 2012.
Elsewhere, strategic space adventure FTL: Faster than Light won Best Debut at tonight’s ceremony. Developed by a two-man core team at Subset Games, the title began as a Kickstarter project and IGF China honoree prior to winning in categories at both the Game Developers Choice Awards and the Independent Games Festival tonight.
Other notable winners include the Best Narrative, awarded to Telltale Games’ critically and commercially-acclaimed The Walking Dead, Best Handheld/Mobile, won by Fireproof Studios’ puzzle game, The Room, and Best Technical, won by Ubisoft’s Far Cry 3.
The Game Developers Choice Awards, which honor the very best games of the year, was created for and voted on by developers. Winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only group, comprised of 700 leading game creators from all parts of the video game industry.
In addition this year, BioWare founders, Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, were honored by the Choice Awards Advisory Committee with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to the game development community. The two are responsible for a catalog full of classic RPG titles that inspired a generation, including Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Chris Melissinos, the creator and guest curator of the Smithsonian American Art Museum‘s The Art of Video Games was presented with the Ambassador Award for his efforts on the major exhibition, which is now touring the U.S. The installation, which features playable games alongside visual depictions of dozens of notable titles, has helped further establish video games as a creative medium that deserves to stand alongside all other artforms as an equal.
Finally, Spacewar! creator Steve Russell received the Pioneer Award at the awards, more than 50 years after the multiplayer space game he co-created first ran on a mainframe computer, for helping to create a vitally important precursor to today’s video game industry.
“This year we saw some amazing titles developed in the indie and downloadable game space, and the critical acclaim that titles like Journey, FTL: Faster Than Light, The Walking Dead, and The Room received could not have been more deserved,” said Meggan Scavio, General Manager of the Game Developers Conference. “2012 saw many exciting developments in the video game industry; I can’t wait to see what surprises 2013 will hold.”
The full list of recipients for the 13th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:
Best Downloadable Game Journey (thatgamecompany)
Best Narrative The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Best Visual Arts Journey (thatgamecompany)
Ambassador Award
Chris Melissinos
Best Technology Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
Best Game Design Journey (thatgamecompany)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game The Room (Fireproof Studios)
Best Audio Journey (thatgamecompany)
Pioneer Award
Steve Russell
Best Debut FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
Innovation Award Journey (thatgamecompany)
Audience Choice Award Dishonored (Arkane Studios)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk
Game of the Year Journey (thatgamecompany)
For more information about the 13th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, please visit the award website. For information about the 2013 Game Developers Conference, please visit its official website.
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I'm not quite sure what your problem is with journey,
I found the gameplay quite innovative, especially the communication mechanics, and overall it just feels "good" something that has been long forgotten in the industry....
also the music is great, never demanding too much attention, but keeping the atmosphere just right. could you atleast elaborate on your statement and clarify why you believe another game (and what other game) should have won?
@Freek: The implementation of multiplayer is innovative, sure. But that's it. Otherwise, the gameplay is way too simple, and the level design is nothing special. I don't know about "feeling good," all I can say is that wasn't my experience, but I really don't see anything special about the game design, or anything amazingly innovative about this game.
And I really, strongly dislike the soundtrack. "Never demanding too much attention"? Quite the contrary, I found it to be almost obnoxious in it's heavy-handedness. It's also very one note, and the composition is nothing special. I didn't find it to be particularly memorable either. As I said, I believe Lollipop Chainsaw should have been a lock for best soundtrack, it's one of the best I've heard in any game for years.
@John It's absolutely not a joke. I don't think Journey is a bad game, per se, it's just incredibly overrated IMO. Sure, the art design is stellar, and the multiplayer is novel. But as a game, there just simply isn't much there.
Good choice on Journey for top game of the year. Definitely my pick (as well as game of this generation so far). Simply one of the single best games I have played. Glad to see it win the awards that it so rightly deserves.
I'm still not thrilled that the handheld and mobile categories are one (I really think that they are separate entities), but congrats to the winners, nonetheless.
Sort of a sad year for the games industry when one small downloadable title is so much better than everything else, that the only "mainstream" game to win an award gets it for technology.
I was going to say something about how while Journey was great, it didn't deserve this many awards. But then I tried to figure out which game *should* have gotten those awards, and I can't think of anything. Dishonored is the only game that came close last year. I'd probably have given the Gameplay award to it, but that's about it.
I don't think it's sad. Money might buy flashier graphics and licensed soundtracks, but it can't buy good game design. If anything I'm glad that we're seeing smaller studios get recognition and good sales for the great work that they're doing.
I am 45 years old. Let me tell you, 2012 was an amazing year in video games! From Indie to AAA titles, mobile, online, console, even PC. The industry is changing by the minute. More, better quality titles, than ever before.
Winning 6 awards does not make the game 6x better than any other game. It just acknowledges its popularity (among peers, btw!).
If you look down on games and judge them condescending by "downloadable" and "small" you are using wrong parameters. You have to adapt quickly, if you want to be a game developer in the future (I read your bio).
What I think is the saddest is that even though Journey has won all these awards, it still pretty much bankrupted the company (their words) : http://www.gamespot.com/news/journey-development-bankrupted-studio-6403711
I've just been playing Papo & Yo, and it's much more of a game than the short Journey.
Sure, Journey should win for it's art, but it's an on-rails experience, without much thinking involved at all. I felt amazed but strangely let down by the time it ended. All I really did was travel forward and light up some physics scarves! Although they were clever by not including things that couldn't be done perfectly.
Papo & Yo on the other hand is so full of heart, soul, wonder AND puzzles. It really deserves more, much more consideration. They really threw themselves at this game, and I'm looking forward to seeing more stuff from them.
I found the gameplay quite innovative, especially the communication mechanics, and overall it just feels "good" something that has been long forgotten in the industry....
also the music is great, never demanding too much attention, but keeping the atmosphere just right. could you atleast elaborate on your statement and clarify why you believe another game (and what other game) should have won?
And I really, strongly dislike the soundtrack. "Never demanding too much attention"? Quite the contrary, I found it to be almost obnoxious in it's heavy-handedness. It's also very one note, and the composition is nothing special. I didn't find it to be particularly memorable either. As I said, I believe Lollipop Chainsaw should have been a lock for best soundtrack, it's one of the best I've heard in any game for years.
@John It's absolutely not a joke. I don't think Journey is a bad game, per se, it's just incredibly overrated IMO. Sure, the art design is stellar, and the multiplayer is novel. But as a game, there just simply isn't much there.
Sorry you feel that way, but I think it's well deserved. Journey is a fantastic game.
Great narrative.
I was going to say something about how while Journey was great, it didn't deserve this many awards. But then I tried to figure out which game *should* have gotten those awards, and I can't think of anything. Dishonored is the only game that came close last year. I'd probably have given the Gameplay award to it, but that's about it.
Winning 6 awards does not make the game 6x better than any other game. It just acknowledges its popularity (among peers, btw!).
If you look down on games and judge them condescending by "downloadable" and "small" you are using wrong parameters. You have to adapt quickly, if you want to be a game developer in the future (I read your bio).
Sure, Journey should win for it's art, but it's an on-rails experience, without much thinking involved at all. I felt amazed but strangely let down by the time it ended. All I really did was travel forward and light up some physics scarves! Although they were clever by not including things that couldn't be done perfectly.
Papo & Yo on the other hand is so full of heart, soul, wonder AND puzzles. It really deserves more, much more consideration. They really threw themselves at this game, and I'm looking forward to seeing more stuff from them.