For those who don’t know, the British Academy Games Awards took place last night, and once again thatgamecompany’s Journey took home a number of awards. Other notable winners included Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead and Journey’s fellow PSN-exclusive, The Unfinished Swan.
Here is the full list of nominees, and winners, of the 2013 BAFTAs:
Category: Action
- Borderlands 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
- Far Cry 3
- Halo 4
- Hitman: Absolution
- Mass Effect 3
The Winner is: Far Cry 3
Category: Artistic Achievement
- Borderlands 2
- Dear Esther
- Far Cry 3
- Halo 4
- Journey
- The Room
The Winner is: Journey
Category: Audio Achievement
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Beat Sneak Bandit
- Dear Esther
- Far Cry 3
- Halo 4
- Journey
The Winner is: Journey
Category: Best Game
- Dishonored
- Far Cry 3
- FIFA 13
- Journey
- Mass Effect 3
- The Walking Dead
The Winner is: Dishonored
Category: British Game
- Dear Esther
- Forza Horizon
- LEGO: The Lord of the Rings
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- The Room – WINNER!
- Super Hexagon
The Winner is: The Room
Category: Debut Game
- Deadlight
- Dear Esther
- Forza Horizon
- Proteus
- The Room
- The Unfinished Swan
The Winner is: The Unfinished Swan
Category: Game Design
- Borderlands 2
- Dishonored
- Far Cry 3
- Journey
- The Walking Dead
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The Winner is: Journey
Category: Family
- Clay Jam
- Just Dance 4
- LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
- LEGO The Lord of the Rings
- Minecraft: XBOX 360 Edition
- Skylanders Giants
The Winner is: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Category: Game Innovation
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Fez
- Journey
- Kinect Sesame Street TV
- The Unfinished Swan
- Wonderbook: Books of Spells
The Winner is: The Unfinished Swan
Category: Mobile & Handheld
- Incoboto
- LittleBigPlanet (Vita)
- New Star Soccer
- The Room
- Super Monsters Ate My Condo
- The Walking Dead
The Winner is: The Walking Dead
Category: Online – Browser
- Amateur Surgeon Hospital
- Dick and Dom’s HOOPLA!
- Merlin: The Game
- Runescape
- The Settlers Online
- SongPop
The Winner is: SongPop
Category: Online – Multiplayer
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Borderlands 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Halo 4
- Journey – WINNER!
- Need For Speed: Most Wanted
The Winner is: Journey
Category: Original Music
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Diablo III
- Journey
- Thomas Was Alone
- The Unfinished Swan
- The Walking Dead
The Winner is: Journey
Category: Performer
- Adrian Hough (Haytham) – Assassin’s Creed III
- Danny Wallace (The Narrator) – Thomas Was Alone
- Dave Fennoy (Lee Everett) – The Walking Dead
- Melissa Hutchison (Clementine) – The Walking Dead
- Nigel Carrington (The Narrator) – Dear Esther
- Nolan North (Nathan Drake) – Uncharted: Golden Abyss
The Winner is: Danny Wallace (The Narrator) – Thomas Was Alone
Category: Sports/Fitness
- FIFA 13
- F1 2012
- Forza Horizon
- New Star Soccer – WINNER!
- Nike+ Kinect Training
- Trials Evolution
The Winner is: New Star Soccer
Category: Story
- Dishonored
- Far Cry 3
- Journey
- Mass Effect 3
- Thomas was Alone
- The Walking Dead
- Development Team
The Winner is: The Walking Dead
Category: Strategy
- Dark Souls: Prepare to Die
- Diablo III
- Football Manager 2013
- Great Big War Game
- Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The Winner is: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Category: BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital
- Pixel Story
- Project Thanatos
- Starcrossed
The Winner is: Starcrossed
In addition to last night’s award winners, it should also be noted that Valve boss Gabe Newell was awarded the Academy Fellowship . According to the official BAFTA site, “He follows in the footsteps of Peter Molyneux (Populous, Theme Park), Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario, The Legend of Zelda), Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari, Pong) and Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims)”, all of whom have obviously contributed significantly to the video game industry.
I have to agree with the majority of the awards that went out this year. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Journey, and Dishonored was a wonderful game as well, so they are certainly more than worthy of the accolades they’re receiving. I only hope that with the coming generation of consoles, publishers aren’t afraid to take chances on fresh and interesting IPs, as well as young, indie and smaller development teams, so that creativity can flourish just as it did this generation.
What are your thoughts on the award winners? Did your favorites make the nominations list? Let us know in the comments below.
