Game Developers Choice Awards

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The Game Developers Conference has annually hosted the Game Developers Choice Awards presented by the International Game Developers Association for outstanding developers of video game entertainment since 2001. Prior to the GDC awards, the Game Developers Conference hosted another award ceremony called the Spotlight Awards from 1997 to 1999.

The Choice Awards are nominated and chosen by members of the IGDA with a few exceptions. The nomination process invites all members in good standing with the IGDA to submit nominations for each category. With these suggestions, an advisory board selected by the IGDA picks five finalists in each category. The final award recipient is voted based on these five by all IGDA members for each category.

The Lifetime Achievement, First Penguin, Maverick, and First Penguin awards, are awarded by the Advisory board.

The Best Game award recognized the overall best - as interpreted by developers - game released during the calendar year.

2007 : Gears of War

2006 : Shadow of the Colossus

2005 : Half-Life 2

2004 : Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2003 : Metroid Prime

2002 : Grand Theft Auto III

2001 : The Sims

The Character Design award recognizes the overall excellence of non-licensed character design in a game - including but not limited to, originality, character arc, emotional depth, etc.

2007 : Okami

2006 : Shadow of the Colossus

2005 : Half-Life 2

The New Studio award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a 'new' game development studio and the obstacles it overcame in releasing its first publicly available game in the calendar year.

2007 : Iron Lore Entertainment (for Titan Quest)

2006 : Double Fine Productions (for Psychonauts)

2005 : Crytek (for Far Cry)

2004 : Infinity Ward (for Call of Duty)

2003 : Retro Studios (for Metroid Prime)

2002 : Bohemia Interactive Studio (for Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis)

2001 : Counter-Strike (for Counter-Strike)

The Audio award recognizes the overall excellence of audio in a game - including, but not limited to, sound effects, musical composition, sound design, orchestration, etc.

2007 : Guitar Hero 2

2006 : Guitar Hero

2005 : Halo 2

2004 : Call of Duty

2003 : Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

2002 : Halo: Combat Evolved

2001 : Diablo II

The Game Design award recognizes the overall excellence of design in a game - including, but not limited to, gameplay, mechanics, puzzles, play balancing, scenarios, etc.

2007 : Wii Sports

2006 : Shadow of the Colossus

2005 : Katamari Damacy

2004 : Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2003 : Battlefield 1942

2002 : Grand Theft Auto III

2001 : Deus Ex

The Technology award recognizes the overall excellence of technology in a game - including, but not limited to, graphics programming, artificial intelligence, networking, physics, etc.

2007 : Gears of War

2006 : Nintendogs

2005 : Half-Life 2

The Visual Arts award recognizes the overall excellence of visual art in a game - including, but not limited to, animation, modeling, art direction, textures, etc.

2007 : Gears of War

2006 : Shadow of the Colossus

2005 : World of Warcraft

2004 : The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2003 : Kingdom Hearts

2002 : ICO

2001 : Jet Grind Radio

The Writing award recognizes the overall excellence of writing in a game - including, but not limited to, story, plot construction, dialogue, branching narratives, etc.

2007 : The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2006 : Psychonauts

2005 : Half-Life 2

2004 : Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2003 : Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

The Innovation awards recognize games that demonstrate true innovation, advance the state of the art, and push the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. In essence, these are the games that are leading the way as the medium continues to evolve. Up to three innovation awards may be bestowed on games that contain such outstanding contributions.

2007 : Line Rider; Okami; Wii Sports

2006 : Nintendogs; Guitar Hero

2005 : Donkey Konga; I Love Bees; Katamari Damacy

2004 : EyeToy: Play; Viewtiful Joe; WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$

2003 : Animal Crossing; Battlefield 1942; Medal of Honor: Allied Assault; The Thing

2002 : Black and White; Grand Theft Auto III; ICO; Majestic; Rez

2001 : Counter-Strike; Crazy Taxi; Deus Ex; Jet Grind Radio; No One Lives Forever

The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole.

2007 : Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda)

2006 : Richard Garriott (Ultima)

2005 : Eugene Jarvis (Defender and Robotron: 2084)

2004 : Mark Cerny (SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog)^{[disambiguation needed]}

2003 : Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) (Game Boy, Super Mario Land series)

2002 : Yuji Naka (Sonic the Hedgehog, EyeToy)

2001 : Will Wright (Sim games)

The First Penguin award looks back to the industry's history to recognize the courage and bravery of a developer who tested the proverbial 'waters', uncertain of success or failure. A 'first penguin' served as a lesson, and inspiration, to the rest of the community over the years. More background on the award.

2007 : Alexey Pajitnov

2006 : Don Woods, Will Crowther (creators of the early text game Adventure)

2005 : Richard Bartle

2004 : Masaya Matsuura

2003 : David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Jim Levy, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead (Activision)

2002 : Hubert Chardot

2001 : Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer

The Maverick award recognizes the current achievements of a developer who exhibits independence in thought and action while experimenting with alternate/emerging forms of digital games.

2007 : Greg Costikyan

2005 : Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr, and Nick Tandavanitj (Blast Theory)

2004 : Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka, and John Vechey (PopCap Games)

2007 : George Sanger

2006 : Chris Hecker

2005 : Sheri Graner Ray

2004 : Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk

2003 : Doug Church (Eidos Interactive)

2002 : Jeff Lander

2001 : John Carmack

The following award categories have been retired or replaced with a different focus.

2003 : Metroid Prime