Top Contributors to Interactive Entertainment Earn 'Game Developers Choice Awards'
SAN JOSE, CA - March 24, 2001 - The Gama Network (formerly the CMP Game Media Group) and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) today announced the list of recipients of the 2001 Game Developers Choice Awards. The announcement was made during a ceremony Friday evening in the midst of the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, CA. Game developers honored their peers in celebration of games as an art form.
It's important that we pause every once in a while and recognize the efforts that go into making great video games," said Alan Yu, director, Game Developers Conference. "The Game Developers Choice Awards are about recognizing the innovators who help move the industry forward and keep it interesting.
These awards are truly heartfelt by the community since they are awarded by their peers - who are often the toughest critics," said Jason Della Rocca, program director of the IGDA.
The Game Developers Choice Awards focus on specific advances in the art form, as well as contributions made to the industry by the community. This year's recipients are:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Will Wright
The First Penguin Award
Chip Morningstar & Randy Farmer for Habitat/Club Caribe (LucasFilm)
Rookie Studio Award
Counter-Strike Team
IGDA Award for Community Contribution
John Carmack
Original Game Character of the Year
Yoot Saito for Seaman
Excellence in Audio
Matt Uelmen, Jason Hayes, Glenn Stafford & Andrea Pessino for Diablo II
Excellence in Game Design
Harvey Smith & Warren Spector for Deus Ex
Excellence in Level Design
American McGee, Jim Molinets & Team for American McGee's Alice
Excellence in Programming
Sims Programming Team for The Sims
Excellence in Visual Arts
Ryuta Ueda & Kazuki Hosokawa for Jet Grind Radio
Game of the Year
The Sims Team for The Sims
Without respect to genre or platform, five Game Spotlight Awards were granted to recognize games that demonstrate innovation and advancement in the state of the art of the interactive entertainment industry. This year's recipients are:
The Counter-Strike Team for Counter-Strike
Hitmaker for Crazy Taxi
ION Storm Austin for Deus Ex
Smilebit for Jet Grind Radio
Monolith for No One Lives Forever
The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit membership organization that advocates globally on issues related to digital game creation. The IGDA's mission is to strengthen the international game development community and effect change to benefit that community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.
About the CMP Game GroupA core provider of essential information and community to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group includes the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com.
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