IGDA Announces Recipients of 2004 Game Developers Choice Awards
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Takes Game of the Year
SAN JOSE, CA - March 25, 2004 - The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has announced the recipients of the Game Developers Choice Awards at the 4th annual ceremony during the 2004 Game Developers Conference (GDC).
The Pulitzers of interactive entertainment, the Choice Awards are the premier accolades for peer-recognition in game development, celebrating creativity, artistry and technological genius. Professional game developers around the world nominated and voted for the awards, free of charge and regardless of membership or affiliation, ensuring that the recipients reflect the community's opinions.
"There is no greater honor in the game developer community than to be a recipient of a Game Developers Choice Award," said Jason Della Rocca, program director, IGDA. "The accolade is a stamp of excellence, carrying the prestige of taking the video game industry to a new level."
The recipients for the 4th Annual Game Developer's Choice Awards are:
Game of the Year
STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (BioWare Corp.)
Original Game Character of the Year
HK-47 from STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC
Rookie Studio of the Year
Infinity Ward for CALL OF DUTY
Excellence in Audio
Chuck Russom for sound effects in CALL OF DUTY
Excellence in Game Design
David Chateauneuf, Patrice Desilets, Jordan Mechner and team for game design in PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
Excellence in Programming
Dominic Couture, Feng Quan Wang and team for graphics programming in PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
Excellence in Visual Arts
Masanao Arimoto, Yoshiki Haruhana and Satoru Takizawa for art direction in THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER
Excellence in Writing
David Gaider, Drew Karpyshyn, Luke Kristjanson and Peter Thomas for writing in STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC
Game Innovation Spotlights
EYETOY: PLAY (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
VIEWTIFUL JOE (Capcom)
WARIOWARE INC.: MEGA MICROGAME$ (Nintendo)
Four special honors, selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards advisory board, were also presented at the ceremony.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Mark Cerny: Production genius and master collaborator on such successes as arcade classic Marble Madness, and the Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank series.
First Penguin Award
Masaya Matsuura: A pioneer of beat-rhythm games, with groundbreaking titles like Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy.
Maverick Award
Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka and John Vechey: The founders of PopCap Games for bringing casual gaming to mainstream audiences.
IGDA Award for Community Contribution
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk: The joint CEOs of BioWare Corp., they contribute to both the developer community and charities at large.
For more information on the awards and recipients, please visit http://www.igda.org/awards.
About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)
The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit membership organization that advocates globally on issues related to digital game creation. The IGDA's mission is to strengthen the international game development community and effect change to benefit that community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.
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