The Last of Us, Gone Home and Tearaway headline this year’s Game Developers’ Choice Awards.
UBM, the organizers of the Game Developers’ Conference, have released the nominees for the fourteenth annual Game Developer’s Choice Awards. The full list, provided below, features five nominees for each award, as well as a number of honorable mentions highlighting more of the year’s notable works.
The three most nominated games – Tearaway, The Last of Us and Gone Home were each nominated in five categories. Other multi-nominees include Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Papers, Please, Tomb Raider, The Stanley Parable and Grand Theft Auto V and were all nominated for three awards.
On the other hand, games like Metro: Last Light, Gunpoint and DOTA 2 barely made the list: Each walking away with two honorable mentions and zero nominations.
The award winners, picked by a panel of developers and GDC organizers, will be announced on March 19 as part of GDC 2014. Until then, here are the nominees:
Game of the Year
- Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
- The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)
Honorable Mentions: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds[/i] (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo), Papers, Please[/i] (Lucas Pope), The Stanley Parable[/i] (Galactic Cafe), Tearaway[/i] (Media Molecule/Sony).
Innovation Award
- DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
- Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
- Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
- The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)
Honorable Mentions: Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Starbreeze/505 Games), Candy Box (Aniwey), Kerbal Space Program (Squad), The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony), Proteus (Ed Key/David Kanaga).
Best Audio
- BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games)
- Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Games)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
- Saints Row IV (Volition/Deep Silver)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
Honorable Mentions: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo), Battlefield 4 (DICE/Electronic Arts), Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft), Gone Home (The Fullbright Company), Metro: Last Light (4A Games/Deep Silver).
Best Debut
- Blue Manchu (Card Hunter)
- The Fullbright Company (Gone Home)
- Galactic Cafe (The Stanley Parable)
- Squad (Kerbal Space Program)
- Undead Labs (State Of Decay)
Honorable Mentions: Facepalm Games (The Swapper), Frogmind Games (Badland), Grinding Gear Games (Path Of Exile), Suspicious Developments (Gunpoint), Warner Bros. Games Montreal (Batman: Arkham Origins).
Best Downloadable Game
- Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Starbreeze/505 Games)
- Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
- Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
- Resogun (Housemarque/Sony)
- The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)
Honorable Mentions: Guacamelee (DrinkBox Studios), Gunpoint (Suspicious Developments), State Of Decay (Undead Labs), SteamWorld Dig (Image & Form), TowerFall (Matt Thorson/Miniboss/Alec Holowka), The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games).
Best Design
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
- The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)
Honorable Mentions: DOTA 2 (Valve) Pokemon X & Y (Game Freak/Nintendo), Rogue Legacy (Cellar Door Games), The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe), SteamWorld Dig (Image & Form), TowerFall (Matt Thorson/Miniboss/Alec Holowka).
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
- Fire Emblem: Awakening (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
- Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
Honorable Mentions: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo), 868-HACK (Michael Brough), Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games/Nintendo), Plants Vs. Zombies 2 (PopCap/Electronic Arts), The Room Two (Fireproof Games), SteamWorld Dig (Image & Form).
Best Narrative
- Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Starbreeze/505 Games)
- Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
- The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)
- The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)
Honorable Mentions: Attack Of The Friday Monsters (Millennium Kitchen/Level 5), BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games), The Cave (DoubleFine Games), Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Level 5/Namco Bandai), Shadowrun Returns (Harebrained Schemes).
Best Technology
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
- The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerrilla Games/Sony)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield 4 (DICE/Electronic Arts), DOTA 2 (Valve), Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Games), Metro: Last Light (4A Games/Deep Silver), Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix).
Best Visual Arts
- BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games)
- DmC (Ninja Theory/Capcom)
- The Last Of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
- Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Level 5/Namco Bandai)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
Honorable Mentions: Don’t Starve (Klei Entertaintment), Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games), Papers, Please (Lucas Pope), Puppeteer (SCE Japan/Sony), Ryse: Son Of Rome (Crytek/Microsoft), Wonderful 101 (Platinum Games/Nintendo).
Source: Game Developers’ Choice Awards
