Journey Continues to Shine at BAFTA 2013 Game Awards

Posted By: Vincent Parisi In: Gaming News On: 06 Mar

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.

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Tags: Awards, BAFTA 2013, Gabe Newell, industry news, Journey, nominees, winners