LAS VEGAS — Indie darling Journey destroyed its fellow nomines at the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit winning Game of the Year to go along with seven other awards Thursday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Above: thatgamecompany accepting the 2013 DICE Awards GOTY.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Now in its 16th year and put on by the Academy of Interactive & Science, the awards ceremony wasn’t without a little controversy, as a series of montages glossed the announcements of a number of winners, preventing people from coming up to accept an award or give a speech. At one point, an apparently slightly intoxicated member of the Skylanders team rushed the stage to request his fellow montage winners be allowed to join him and thank their hard-working dev teams.
From the D.I.C.E. Award nominations press release: “Titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy’s Peer Panels to determine final nominees. These panels, one for each award category, are comprised of the game industry’s most experienced and talented men and women who are experts in their chosen fields. All Academy members are eligible to vote for the winners in every category.”
Below you’ll find the full list of nominees, their corresponding publisher/developer, and the winner for each category (in bold). I found it a bit reductive of the Academy to merge the RPG and MMO genres into one category and that it didn’t consider many important releases, such as Xenoblade Chronicles.
Game of the Year
- Borderlands 2 (2k Games/Gearbox Software)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2k Games/Firaxis Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- The Unfinished Swan (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Giant Sparrow)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Nintendo Land (Nintendo of America Inc./Nintendo)
- Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Queasy Games)
- The Unfinished Swan (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Giant Sparrow)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Downloadable Game of the Year
- Fez (Microsoft Studios/Polytron Corporation)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Mark of the Ninja (Microsoft Studios/Klei Entertainment)
- The Unfinished Swan (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Giant Sparrow)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Handheld Game of the Year
- Gravity Rush (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Japan Studio)
- Paper Mario Sticker Star (Nintendo of America Inc./Intelligent Systems)
- Resident Evil Revelations (Capcom USA/Capcom Co., Ltd.)
- Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Queasy Games)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Sony Bend Studio)
Mobile Game of the Year
- Fairway Solitaire (Big Fish)
- Hero Academy (Robot Entertainment)
- Horn (Zynga Inc./Phosphor Games Studio)
- Rayman: Jungle Run (Ubisoft/Pastagames, Ubisoft Montpellier)
Web Based Game of the Year
- Bingo Bash (BitRhymes Inc.)
- Burrito Bison Revenge (Adult Swim/Juicy Beast Studio)
- CityVille 2 (Zynga)
- Sim City Social (Electronic Arts/Maxis, Playfish)
- Song Pop (FreshPlanet Inc.)
Action Game of the Year
- Borderlands 2 (2k Games/Gearbox Software)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Hitman: Absolution (Square Enix, Inc./IO Interactive)
- Sleeping Dogs (Square Enix, Inc./United Front Games)
Adventure Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft)
- Darksiders II (THQ/Vigil Games)
- Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Casual Game of the Year
- Fairway Solitaire (Big Fish)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Puzzle Craft (Electronic Arts/Ars Thanea)
- Rayman Jungle Run (Ubisoft/Pastagames, Ubisoft Montpellier)
- Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Queasy Games)
Family Game of the Year
- Dance Central 3 (Microsoft Studios/Harmonix Music Systems)
- Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Bune, Ubisoft Milan)
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment/ TT Games)
- Nintendo Land (Nintendo of America Inc./Nintendo)
- Skylanders Giants (Activision Publishing, Inc./Toys for Bob)
Fighting Game of the Year
- Persona 4 (Arena Atlus Co./Arc System Works)
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/SuperBot Entertainment, Inc.)
- Soulcalibur V (Namco/Project Soul)
- Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom USA/Capcom Co., Ltd.)
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai Games)
Racing Game of the Year
- Forza Horizon (Microsoft Studios/Turn 10 Studios Playground Games)
- LittleBigPlanet Karting (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/United Front Games)
- MotorStorm RC (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe/Evolution Studios)
- Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
- Trials: Evolution (Microsoft Studios/RedLynx Ltd.)
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
- Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Dust: An Elysian Tale (Microsoft Studios/Humble Hearts)
- Guild Wars 2 (NC Soft/ArenaNet)
- Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
- Torchlight 2 (Runic Games)
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA Soccer 13 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
- MLB The Show 2012 (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/San Diego Studios)
- NBA 2K13 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- FTL (Subset Games)
- Minecraft 360 (Microsoft Studios Mojang/4J Studios)
- Orcs Must Die 2 (Robot Entertainment)
- Total War: SHOGUN 2- Fall of the Samurai (SEGA of America Inc./The Creative Assembly)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2k Games/Firaxis Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Hitman: Absolution (Square Enix, Inc./IO Interactive)
- Mark of the Ninja (Microsoft Studios/Klei Entertainment)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Sony Bend Studio)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Borderlands 2 (2k Games/Gearbox Software)
- Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
Outstanding Character Performance
- Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina (2k Games/Gearbox Software)
- Far Cry 3: Vaas Montenegro (Ubisoft)
- Halo 4: Cortana (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Mass Effect 3: Female Commander Shepard (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
- The Walking Dead: Lee Everett (Telltale Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision/Treyarch)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Nike+ Kinect Training (Microsoft Studios/Sumo Digital Lrd.)
Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering
- Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)
- Gravity Rush (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/Japan Studio)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2k Games/Firaxis Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
- Borderlands 2 (2k Games/Gearbox Software)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision/Treyarch)
- Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
- World Of Warcraft Mists Of Pandaria (Blizzard Entertainment)
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
- Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft/Ubisoft)
- Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment)
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Medal of Honor: Warfighter (Electronic Arts/Danger Close Games)
- Syndicate (Electronic Arts/Starbreeze Studios)
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Dishonored Bethesda Softworks Arkane Studios
- Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC/thatgamecompany)
- Sleeping Dogs (Square Enix, Inc./United Front Games)
- Spec Ops: The Line (2k Games/YAGER Development GmbH)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games/Telltale Games)
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision/Treyarch)
- Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
- Hitman: Absolution (Square Enix, Inc./IO Interactive)
- Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
- Total War: SHOGUN 2- Fall of the Samurai (SEGA of America Inc./The Creative Assembly)