Posted December 31, 1969 by Rick Bushie

The Game Developers Choice Awards featured the best and brightest of the mainstream gaming industry. Not only did the awards celebrate the excellence of games, but it recognized the individuals responsible for the level of excellence found in the most popular games in the industry.

The Game Developers Choice Awards had thirteen total categories with which they awarded developers from all over the world. The awards ranged from Innovation to The Maverick Award which was awarded to the "Outsiders" of the gaming industry.

The awards, and their winners, were as follows:

Innovation Award - Awarded to three developers found to be the most innovative.

I Love Bees - Elan Lee from 4orty2wo Entertainment
Donkey Konga - Hiroshi Igarashi and Hiroyuki Onoda from Namco
Katamari Damacy - Keita Takahashi from Namco

New Studio Award - Awarded for outstanding achievement of a new game studio.

Crytek - Avni Yerli, Cevat Yerli and Faruk Yerli from Far Cry

Writing Award - Awarded for excellence in writing.

Half-Life 2 - Marc Laidlaw from Valve Software

Game Design Award - Awarded for overall excellence in Game Design.

Katamari Damacy - Keta Takahashi from Namco

Audio Award - Awarded for excellence in Audio.

Halo 2 - C Paul Johnson, Marty O'Donnell and Jay Weinland from Bungie Software

Character Design - Awarded for excellence in overall character (non licensed) design.

Half-Life 2 - Ted Backman, Dhabih Eng, Bill Fletcher and Bill Van Buren from Valve Software

Maverick Award - Awarded to developer who exhibis independence in thought and action

Uncle Roy All Around You - Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr, Nick Tandavanitj

Technology - Recognizes overall excellence in technology in game design

Half-Life 2 - Yahn Berner and Brian Jacobson from Valve Software

Visual Art - Awarded for excellence in video design

World of Warcraft - Sam Didier, William Petras, and Justin Thavirat from Blizzard Entertainment

Best Game - Awarded to the overall best game.

Half-Life 2 - Ken Birdwell, Gabe Newell, Jay Stelly of Valve Software and Vivendi Universal Games

On top of the general awards the Game Developers Choice Awards recognized three individuals.

The Community Contribution Award went to Sheri Graner Ray, a woman in the industry who has held over a dozen positions in the span of her career. She is a big advocate for women in gaming and has helped the industry make huge strides.

The First Penguin Award is an award for those in the industry who left the "warmth" of the group to take a dive into the freezing water to get to the fish, thus initiating the movement of the rest of the group. Whether the first penguin jumped in because he was starving, didn't know the water was cold, or as in Richard Bartle's case, simply liked to "hop", the end result is the same; the first penguin inspires the rest of the commnity to take the same leap.

Finally, the Lifetime Acheivement Award went to Eugene Jarvis, the creator of such great hits from our childhood (Defender, SmashTV). Eugene has been an inspiration for game developers all over the world.

At the end of the day, the Game Developers Choice Awards helped to recognize the men and women directly responsible for the games we have all grown to love. One can only hope that developers continue to receive the recognition they deserve.

By Rick Bushie, News Editor
Photography and Edited by Tim Bradshaw, Managing Editor