La GDC è ancora in pieno svolgimento a San Francisco, come testimoniano le ultime novità in arrivo dalla conferenza, i Game Developer Choice Awards però sono già stati distribuiti ai giochi che nell’arco dello scorso anno si sono guadagnati il favore non dei fan, ma degli sviluppatori stessi.
Cosa pensano gli addetti ai lavori dei capolavori del 2018? Beh, God of War ritiene il suo piedistallo di gioco dell’anno, ma almeno non tutti i premi sono targati Santa Monica o Rockstar Games. Andiamo a vedere tutti i nominati e i vincitori nel dettaglio:
Game of the Year
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
Honorable Mentions: Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios & Sora / Nintendo), Into the Breach (Subset Games), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
Best Audio
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games), Wandersong (Greg Lobanov / Humble Bundle), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
Best Debut
- Mountains (Florence)
- Polyarc (Moss)
- Nomada Studio (Gris)
- Villa Gorilla (Yoku’s Island Express)
- Sabotage (The Messenger)
Honorable Mentions: Beat Games (Beat Saber), Digital Sun (Moonlighter), Two Point Studios (Two Point Hospital), Okomotive (Far: Lone Sails)
Best Design
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Frostpunk (11 bit studios), Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
Best Mobile Game
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Alto’s Odyssey (Snowman)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
Honorable Mentions: Furistas Cat Cafe (Runaway), The Room: Old Sins (Fireproof Studios), Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage), Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox), Twinfold (Kenny Sun)
Innovation Award
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Honorable Mentions: Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann / Devolver Digital), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Moss (Polyarc), A Way Out (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)
Best Narrative
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Honorable Mentions: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Celeste (Matt Makes Games), Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games and Serenity Forge / Good Shepherd Entertainment)
Best Technology
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios), Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft), Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Best Visual Art
- Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield V (EA DICE / Electronic Arts), Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance), Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft), Below (Capybara Games)
Best VR/AR Game
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Jurassic World Alive (Ludia), In Death (Sólfar Studios), Tendar (Tender Claws), Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Deracine (FromSoftware / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Infine chiudiamo con gli award dedicati alle personalità che hanno avuto grande impatto e hanno portato innovazione nella scena videoludica mondiale:
- Il Lifetime Achievement Award di quest’anno va a Amy Henning. Autrice dei primi tre capitoli di Uncharted, ha lavorato a serie iconiche come Jak & Dexter e Legacy of Kain. È considerata una delle donne più influenti del mondo dei videogiochi.
- Il Pioneer Award va invece a Rieko Kodama. Chiamata la First Lady degli RPG è conosciuta per aver lavorato come graphic designer a SEGA negli anni d’oro di Phantasy Star, 7th Dragon e Skies of Arcadia. Ha anche contribuito alla realizzazione di Sonic the Hedgehog e Altered Beast e lavora tutt’ora come Producer presso SEGA.
