Uncharted 2 & Flower Lead GDC Award Nominees

The nominees are in for the 10th annual Game Developers Conference Awards and… they really aren’t all that surprising.

All of the big players are there: Uncharted 2 with seven nominations, Assassin’s Creed II with four, and other recognizable titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Borderlands also receiving nominations.

One surprise, however, is the downloadable title Flower from thatgamecompany getting the second most nominations with five. Apparently I need to check that one out and get my cross-pollination on.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Game Design

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)

Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)

Flower (thatgamecompany)

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Plans Vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Best Visual Art

Borderlands (Gearbox Software)

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)

Flower (thatgamecompany)

Best Technology

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)

Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition)

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)

Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Writing

Brutal Legend (Double Fine)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)

Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Halo 3: ODST (Bungie)

Best Audio

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)

Rock Band: The Beatles (Harmonix)

Flower (thatgamecompany)

Brutal Legend (Double Fine)

Innovation

Scribblenauts (5th Cell)

Flower (thatgamecompany)

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Demon’s Souls (From Software)

Best Debut

The Maw (Twisted Pixel)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)

Torchlight (Runic Games)

Zeno Clash (ACE Team)

Best Downloadable Game

Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Trials HD (RedLynx)

PixelJunk Shooter (Q Games)

Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment)

Flower (thatgamecompany)

Best New Social/Online Game

Restaurant City (Playfish)

Farmville (Zynga)

Dungeon Fighter Online (Neople/Nexon)

Free Realms (Sony Online Entertainment San Diego)

Bejeweled Blitz (PopCap)

Best Handheld Game

Scribblenauts (5th Cell)

Flight Control (Firemint)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo EAD)

Game of the Year

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)

Demon’s Souls (From Software)

Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)

Though I have opinions on most of these categories, I won’t bore you with my five thousand word essay on the intricacies of the writing in Dragon Age: Origins.

That said, I do have one thing to add:

Rocksteady. Yes, you. Do I have your attention? You almost did it. You almost gave me my personal game of the year. More varied and interesting boss fights and a better ending and you would have knocked Batman: Arkham Asylum out of the park. But, alas, I must give my GOTY to Dragon Age: Origins. Please remedy this situation for the sequel. Thank you.

So, if you made it this far, what do you think? Applause at the nominees? Any notable exclusions? What is your GOTY?

Source: Press Release