14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards winners announced; Mass Effect 2 wins Game of the Year

Red Dead Redemption Rides Off into the Sunset with Five IAAs, Angry Birds Snags Casual Game of the Year

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards took place this evening, and as usual there were a number of stellar nominees this year. With blockbuster titles such as Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III and Angry Birds, there was speculation flying from day one as to which would shine the brightest. After a night of laughs, revelry and humble acceptances there was one that stood out amongst the rest – BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 took the spotlight as Game of the Year. Continuing the epic tale set forth in Mass Effect, the sequel brought storytelling, presentation and gameplay of an action-RPG to new heights.

Signaling a true sign of the times, the smash-hit Angry Birds took home rights to Casual Game of the Year. The break-out mobile and casual title has been on fire since it was released and has flown to new heights, proving that mobile and casual titles are a key component to the industry.

In addition, Red Dead Redemption caused quite a scene as well, mainly due to the horses, whiskey and stray bullets. Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption left the competition in the dust last night, storming the stage and making off with a total of five awards.

Hosted by comedian, actor and proud game enthusiast, Jay Mohr, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, industry luminaries, development personalities and talent from around the world came together to celebrate, share and comment on the status of the industry and where they see it going in 2011 and beyond. Additionally, for those who may have missed the live same-day webcast of the IAAs in its entirety on G4tv.com/DICE2011, this year’s IAAs will be also be broadcasted on G4 with a one-hour special on Saturday, February 12th at 4pm ET / PT.

The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards celebrates the games of great creative minds, but more importantly, the people behind these projects. Bing Gordon was named the 5th Lifetime Achievement recipient for his incredible contributions during his 28 year career. Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk (a.k.a. “The Doctors”) were inducted into the Hall of Fame for their incredible work with BioWare and Bill Budge was named the 2nd annual AIAS Pioneer Award recipient for his critical work in founding and continuing to grow our industry.

“The Interactive Achievement Awards is the time for the games industry to gather and honor the creativity and craft that goes into game making,” said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “This year’s Award winning games demonstrate the depth of talent, passion and innovation that distinguishes this compelling medium.”

These awards, decided by a peer-based voting system, are given to the talented individuals and development teams that have added to, shaped and pushed the limits of what was once thought to be the boundaries of this multi-billion dollar worldwide electronic entertainment industry. The winners in each category are as follows:

Game of the Year

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Creative Director: Casey Hudson

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa

Casual Game of the Year

Angry Birds

• Publisher: Chillingo
• Developer: Rovio
• Executive Producers: Niklas Hed, Mikael Hed
• Producer: Harro Gronberg
• Lead Designers: Jaakko Iisalo, Markus Tuppurainen

Portable Game of the Year

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Ready at Dawn/SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Producer: Marc Turndorf
• Creative Director: Ru Weerasuriya
• Game Director: Dana Jan

Fighting Game of the Year

Super Street Fighter IV

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom/Dimps
• Producer: Yoshinori Ono
• Creative Director: Daisuke Aoki
• Game Director: Takashi Tsukamoto

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Creative Director: Casey Hudson

Sports Game of the Year

FIFA Soccer 11

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: EA Canada
• Producer: David Rutter
• Creative Director: Gary Peterson

Racing Game of the Year

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Criterion
• Executive Producer: Fiona Sperry
• Creative Director: Craig Sullivan

Adventure Game of the Year

LIMBO

• Publisher: Playdead
• Developer: Playdead
• Producers: Dino Patti, Mads Wibroe
• Creative Director: Arnt Jensen
• Game Director: Arnt Jensen

Social Networking Game of the Year

CityVille

• Publisher: Zynga
• Developer: Zynga
• Producers: David Gray, Alex Le
• Creative Director: Sean Kelly
• Game Director: Mark Skaggs

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Production Director: Chris Sigaty
• Senior Art Director: Sam Didier
• Game Director: Dustin Browder

Action Game of the Year

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Producers: Steve Martin, David Kunkler
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa

Family Game of the Year

Dance Central

• Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games
• Developer: Harmonix Music Systems
• Producer: Naoko Takamoto
• Game Director: Kasson Crooker

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Producer: Guillaume de Fondaumiere
• Creative Director: David Cage
• Game Director: David Cage

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

God of War III

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Lead Animator: Bruno Velazquez

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Technology Director: Damien Castelltort

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Art Director: Daren Bader

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Writers: Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn

Outstanding Character Performance

Red Dead Redemption – John Marston

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Writers: Christian Cantamessa, Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth
• Voice Actor: Rob Wiethoff

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack

Rock Band 3

• Publisher: MTV Games
• Developer: Harmonix Music Systems
• Music Supervisor: Eric Brosius

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

LIMBO

• Publisher: Playdead
• Developer: Playdead
• Sound Design/Audio Lead: Martin Stig Andersen

Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Executive VP Game Design: Rob Pardo
• Project Director Battle.net: Greg Canessa
• Battle.net Designer: Alex Sun
• Technical Director Battle.net: Matthew Versluys

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Composer: Norman Corbeil

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa

Since 1996, the Interactive Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry. More than 160 titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy’s Peer Panels. The panels are comprised of the game industry’s most experienced and talented men and women. Each panel is responsible for evaluating one award category. Interactive Achievement Award recipients are determined by a vote of qualified Academy and IGDA members. Award voting is confidential, conducted online and supervised and certified by VoteNet Solutions, Inc. The integrity of the system, coupled with a broad-based voting population of AIAS members, makes the Interactive Achievement Awards the most credible, respected and recognized awards for interactive entertainment software.

About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts. The Academy’s mission is to promote and advance common interests in the worldwide interactive entertainment community; recognize outstanding achievements in the interactive arts and sciences; and conduct an annual awards show (Interactive Achievement Awards) to enhance awareness of the interactive art form. The Academy also strives to provide a voice for individuals in the interactive entertainment community. In 2002 the Academy created the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment. The Academy has over 20,000 members, with the board comprised of senior executives from the major videogame companies including BioWare/Pandemic, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and Ubisoft. More information on AIAS and the D.I.C.E. Summit can be found at http://www.interactive.org and http://www.dicesummit.org.