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Finalists & Winners

Honoring the Best Games of 2003

For photos, please browse our albums.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Mark Cerny

Production genius and master collaborator on such successes as arcade classic Marble Madness, and the Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank series.

First Penguin Award

Masaya Matsuura

A pioneer of beat-rhythm games, with groundbreaking titles like Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy.

Maverick Award

Brian Fiete, Jason Kapalka and John Vechey

The founders of PopCap Games for bringing casual gaming to mainstream audiences.

IGDA Award for Community Contribution

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk

The joint CEOs of BioWare Corp., they contribute to both the developer community and charities at large.

Game of the Year

STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (BioWare Corp.)

BEYOND GOOD & EVIL (Ubisoft Pictures)
CALL OF DUTY (Infinity Ward)
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (Ubisoft Montreal)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER (Nintendo EAD)

Original Game Character of the Year

HK-47 from STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC

Glitch from METAL ARMS: GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM
Jade from BEYOND GOOD & EVIL
Joe from VIEWTIFUL JOE
Vince from VOODOO VINCE

Rookie Studio of the Year

Infinity Ward for CALL OF DUTY

Big Huge Games for RISE OF NATIONS
eGenesis for A TALE IN THE DESERT
S2 Games LLC for SAVAGE: THE BATTLE FOR NEWERTH
Swingin' Ape Studios for METAL ARMS: GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM

Excellence in Audio

Chuck Russom for sound effects in CALL OF DUTY

Koji Igarashi and Ms. Michiru Yamane for composition in CASTLEVANIA: LAMENT OF INNOCENCE
David Henry and Stan LePard for composition in CRIMSON SKIES: HIGH ROAD TO REVENGE
Laurent Betbeder, Paul Gorman, Howard Shore, Charles Stockley, and Don Veca for composition in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
Christopher L. Clanin and Tim Larkin for sound design in URU: AGES BEYOND MYST

Excellence in Game Design

David Chateauneuf, Patrice Desilets, Jordan Mechner and team for game design in PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME

Michel Ancel, Jacques Exertier, Frederic Houde, and Sebastien Morin for game design in BEYOND GOOD & EVIL
The Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando team for game design in RATCHET & CLANK: GOING COMMANDO
Casey Hudson, James Ohlen and team for game design in STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC
Goro Abe, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Kazuyoshi Ohsawa and Ko Takeuchi for game design in WARIOWARE INC.: MEGA MICROGAME$

Excellence in Programming

Dominic Couture, Feng Quan Wang and team for graphics programming in PRINCE OF PERSIA : THE SANDS OF TIME

Jak II team for programming in JAK II
Kim Salo, Markus Stein and Olli Tervo for physics programming in MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE
David Worswick for network programming in PROJECT GOTHAM RACING 2
Mike Rayner, Jon Spencer and team for programming in SSX 3

Excellence in Visual Arts

Masanao Arimoto, Yoshiki Haruhana, and Satoru Takizawa for art direction in THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER

Mickael Labat, Raphael Lacoste, Celine Tellier and team for art direction in PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
Akira Yamaoka for art direction in SILENT HILL 3
Eric Kohler and team for art direction in TRON 2.0
Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya and team for art direction in VIEWTIFUL JOE

Excellence in Writing

David Gaider, Drew Karpyshyn, Luke Kristjanson, and Peter Thomas for writing in STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC

Michel Ancel and Jacques Exertier for writing in BEYOND GOOD & EVIL
Charles Cecil, Steve Ince, Neil Richards, and Tony Warriner for writing in BROKEN SWORD: THE SLEEPING DRAGON
Sheldon Pacotti and Sarah Paetsch for writing in DEUS EX: INVISIBLE WAR
Takehiro Izushi for writing in FIRE EMBLEM

Game Innovation Spotlights

EYETOY: PLAY (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
VIEWTIFUL JOE (Capcom)
WARIOWARE INC.: MEGA MICROGAME$ (Nintendo)