Game Developers Choice 2014 Nominees

Over the next few months, gamers will be seeing a lot of awards nominations and winners from a wide range of organizations. Much like with the movies, this is the time of the year where key members of the video game industry celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues.

2013 was a banner year for video game hardware, but there were plenty of games worth highlighting from the year as well. To that point, we bring word from the Game Developers Choice Awards, who have today revealed their nominations for their 14th annual ceremony. Many of the usual suspects are peppered throughout the 10 categories, but read on to see if your favorite made the cut.

There's no denying that 2013 was an eclectic year for video game releases, as the triple-A stood shoulder to shoulder with some standout indies. Games like Gone Home and Brothers received almost as much recognition from the voters as titles like The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto 5. To be fair, Grand Theft Auto 5 and The Last of Us pulled in the most nominations, and are likely favorites for Game of the Year.

Also in contention for Game of the Year alongside GTA, Last of Us, and Gone Home are Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo's first 3D Mario title for the Wii U, and the stellar reboot of Tomb Raider. Crystal Dynamics' reinvention of Lara Croft was a huge surprise for us, especially after its poor showings at demo events, and it ending up being one of our 10 favorite games of the year.

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Other categories of note include Best Downloadable Game, which is a venerable who's who of the indie development scene, and Best Narrative, which recognizes a wide variety of storytelling approaches, from the unconventional (The Stanley Parable) to the harrowing (The Last of Us).

Check out the full list of nominees (and honorable mentions) below:

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
  • Grand Theft Auto 5 (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 (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo), Papers, Please (Lucas Pope), The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe), Tearaway (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).

While there aren't any glaring omissions from our perspective, it is interesting to see that the Advisory Committee wasn't so keen on BioShock Infinite making any of the major categories. Irrational Games' latest has been a source for endless debate as far as end-of-year awards are concerned, and it appears the Advisory Committee were impressed by the game's technical prowess, but were left disappointed by its story and gameplay.

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Other titles worth highlighting include Device 6, a fantastic mobile experience that is part novel and part puzzle game; the endlessly creative and playful Tearaway, which uses the Vita handheld to stunning effect; and Fire Emblem: Awakening, a 3DS title that got overlooked this year.

The winners in each category will be announced on March 19th at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Although it might seem like the awards are already pretty cut and dry as far as potential winners go, that is usually not the case with the Game Developers Choice Awards. Last year, for example, thatgamecompany's Journey practically swept the show, beating out high profile titles like Mass Effect 3, XCOM, and Far Cry 3. We'll see how this year's votes come down in March.

Which games/developers do you think will win in each category? Are there any glaring omissions from the nominations?

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Source: Game Choice Awards