Vancouver inaugurated its very first Canadian Videogame Awards by crowning BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins Game of the Year, one of two nods the RPG received.
At the Vancouver Convention Center ceremony, held ahead of GDC Canada, which starts today at the same location, the game beat out Assassin's Creed II, Dawn of War II, FIFA 10 and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes for the award, and also won in the Best Writing category.
Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed II took home three awards, in the Best Console, Best Game Design and Best Visual Arts categories. It also shared the Best Technology award with Radical Entertainment's Prototype.
The Canadian Videogame Awards are produced by the Digital Media and Wireless Association of British Columbia -- or DigiBC -- and its partners, including Reboot Communications (who also co-produce GDC Canada) and Greedy Productions.
"This first event was an excellent showcase of the amazing talent of our videogame developers in Canada," says DigiBC president Michael Bidu.
The winners in each category are as follows:
Game of the Year:Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
Best Console:Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Handheld Game:Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (Capybara Games)
Best Downloadable Game:Critter Crunch (Capybara Games)
Best Audio:Dawn of War II (THQ/Relic)
Best Game Design:Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Technology: Prototype (Radical Entertainment) & Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Visual Arts:Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Writing:Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
In-Game Cinematic:Ghostbusters: The Video Game Cinematics (Rainmaker)
Most Promising Game:ModNation Racer (United Front Games)
Awards sponsors this year included Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation and the Georgia Straight, in addition to television network G4, which will premiere the awards on G4 Canada May 16.
"Interactive entertainment is one of our country’s leading industries where we are clearly world-renowned, and this world-class event was a fitting way to showcase to the globe the great work done in Canadian studios coast to coast," Bidu says.
It could potentially be viewed as confusing, but these aren't claimed to be the first video game awards in canada, they're the first Canadian Video Game Awards - it's simply what the awards are called!
I had the awesome pleasure of working this show (I was one of the people that got to man the door and take tickets), and it was amazing working with Victor and Tommy... so much better than working for Jack and Holly (I have also worked The Elans Awards). And good to know that the industry in Canada is finally receiving the legitimate acknowledgment that it deserves.
http://www.straight.com/article-301668/vancouver/troubled-elans-head-south
In any case, it's good to see that there continues to be a Canadian award ceremony for our industry, bureaucracy be damned.