Nominees Named for Game Developers Choice Awards

Recipients to Be Announced at CMP Media’s Game Developers Conference

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - February 11, 2003 - The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has announced the nominees for the Third Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The recipients will be announced at the ceremony on March 6, during the Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 4-8 in San Jose, Calif.

Nominations were free of charge and open to all professional game developers, regardless of membership or affiliation, ensuring that the nominees reflect the international development community's opinions.

"To be recognized by our peers is, without a doubt, one of the greatest forms of recognition we can receive," proclaimed Chris Taylor, President of Rookie Studio nominee Gas Powered Games. "As our industry grows and develops, we are happy to be a part of and recognized by, the great wealth of talent that is all around us."

The nominees are:

Game of the Year

• BATTLEFIELD 1942 (Digital Illusions)
• GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (Rockstar North)
• METROID PRIME (Retro Studios)
• NEVERWINTER NIGHTS (BioWare Corp.)
• TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL (Ubi Soft Montreal)

Original Game Character of the Year

• Blinx from BLINX THE TIME SWEEPER
• Ratchet from RATCHET AND CLANK
• Rau from THE MARK OF KRI
• Sam Fisher from TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL
• Sly Cooper from SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS

Rookie Studio of the Year

• Arkane Studios for ARX FATALIS
• Day 1 Studios for MECHASSAULT
• Gas Powered Games for DUNGEON SIEGE
• Pipeworks Software for GODZILLA: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS MELEE
• Retro Studios for METROID PRIME

Excellence in Audio

• GTA Team for sound design in GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
• Takayuki Kawagoe, Hideki Naganuma and Fumitaka Shibata for sound design in JET SET RADIO FUTURE
• Jack Grillo, Rebecca Hanck, Erik Kraber and Yuan Liu for sound effects in MEDAL OF HONOR: ALLIED ASSAULT
• Metroid Team for sound effects in METROID PRIME
• Andrew Boyd, Chris Hegstrom, Robb Mills and Howard Shore for composition in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

Excellence in Game Design

• Romain de Waubert de Genlis and Team for game design in BATTLEFIELD 1942
• GTA Team for game design in GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
• Metroid Team for game design in METROID PRIME
• Satoru Iwata, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka and Kenta Usui for game design in SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE
• Splinter Cell Team Leaders for game design in TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL

Excellence in Level Design

• Metroid Team for level design in METROID PRIME
• Brian Allgeier, Mark Cerny, Lesley Mathieson and Colin Munson for level design in RATCHET & CLANK
• Brendan McNamara, Chun Wah Kong and the SCEE Design Team for level design in THE GETAWAY
• François Pelland and Team for level design in TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL
• Pancho Eekels, Dave Ewing and James Schmalz for level design in UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2003

Excellence in Programming

• Mike Biddlecombe, Scott Bilas, Bartosz Kijanka, James Loe, Eric Tams and Chad Queen for programming in DUNGEON SIEGE
• Metroid Team for programming in METROID PRIME
• Mark Brockington, Scott Greig, Jason Knipe, Don Moar and Don Yakielashek for network programming in NEVERWINTER NIGHTS
• Antoine Dodens and Team for graphics programming in TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL
• Warcraft III Team for programming in WARCRAFT III: REIGN OF CHAOS

Excellence in Visual Arts

• Jonathan Chey, Ken Levine and Team for art direction in FREEDOM FORCE
• Tetsuya Nomura for art direction in KINGDOM HEARTS
• Hokyo Lim, Suzanne Kaufman, Dev Madan, Augie Pagan and Karin Yamagiwa for art direction in SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS
• Nicolas Cantin, Frédérick Gagné and Benoit Sokal for art direction in SYBERIA
• Jay Beard, Erik Medina, Jeff Merghart, Dan Mueller and Tim Neveu for animation in THE MARK OF KRI

Excellence in Writing

• Denis Dyack and Ken McCulloch for writing in ETERNAL DARKNESS: SANITY'S REQUIEM
• GTA Team for writing in GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
• Daniel Vavra for writing in MAFIA: THE CITY OF LOST HEAVEN
• Craig Hubbard and Team for writing in NO ONE LIVES FOREVER 2: A SPY IN H.A.R.M.S. WAY
• Clint Hocking and JT Petty for writing in TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL

An advisory committee from the IGDA will select the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, First Penguin Award and the IGDA Award for Community Contribution.

All registered GDC attendees are invited to attend the ceremony. Produced by the Gama Network, the GDC is the largest annual event exclusively for the game development professionals driving the $10 billion video game industry.

About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)

The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit association established by game developers to foster the creation of a worldwide game development community. The IGDA's mission is to build a community of game developers which leverages the expertise of its members for the betterment of the industry and the development of the art form. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.

About the Gama Network

Providing resources for game development for more than 10 years, the Gama Network is where professional creators of interactive entertainment come for information, interaction and inspiration. The Gama Network includes the Game Developers Conference, the Independent Games Festival, Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com. For more information, please visit www.gamanetwork.com.

About CMP Media LLC

CMP Media LLC (www.cmp.com) is a leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum, including the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, custom publishing, testing and consulting.