Journey Reaches the Top With Eight Awards, Including Game of the Year, at 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards

Top Honors Also Awarded to The Walking Dead, Halo 4, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Downloadable games stole the spotlight at this evening's 16^th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, as the epic PlayStation 3 exclusive Journey, from thatgamecompany, nabbed eight awards including Game of the Year, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction. The Walking Dead sauntered home with four awards, including Adventure Game of the Year and Downloadable Game of the Year. Since 1996, the D.I.C.E. Awards have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that are pushing the boundaries of technology, creativity and artistic expression in the worldwide interactive entertainment industry.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130208/DC56727 )

Other multi-award winners include Halo 4, honored for visual engineering and connectivity, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown, recognized for its feats in gameplay engineering as well as Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year. The full list of winners illustrates the diversity in interactive experiences available today, including Web-Based Game of the Year SimCity Social, Family Game of the Year Skylanders Giants, Mobile Game of the Year Hero Academy, and Action Game of the Year Borderlands 2.

"For the past 16 years, the D.I.C.E. Awards have brought together the brightest and most creative minds in games to celebrate outstanding achievement in interactive entertainment. This year is no exception as the hottest players representing all facets of the industry - from downloadable to console to mobile games -- took center stage," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.  "From our many category winners to our distinguished honorees Gabe Newell, Dave Lebling and Marc Blank, we congratulate all the talented developers and publishers whose contributions led to another exceptional year in games."

Hosted by actor, comedian, television host and Nerdist Chris Hardwick, the D.I.C.E. Awards took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas during the 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2013), which is produced by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences in conjunction with PMC/Variety. The event streamed live on MachinimaLive.com, and is now available to view at youtube.com/machinima.

Also during the Awards ceremony, industry legend, Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve Corporation, became the 17^th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame, and Infocom co-founders Dave Lebling and Marc Blank received the 2013 AIAS Pioneer Award. 

Since 1996, the D.I.C.E. Awards have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry. Over a hundred 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. D.I.C.E. recipients are determined by a vote of qualified Academy 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 D.I.C.E. Awards the most credible, respected and recognized awards for interactive entertainment software.

The complete list of winners, as decided by a peer-based voting system, is as follows:

Action Game of the Year

Borderlands 2

• Publisher:  2K Games
• Developer: Gearbox Software

Mobile Game of the Year

Hero Academy

• Publisher: Robot Entertainment
• Developer: Robot Entertainment

Handheld Game of the Year

Paper Mario Sticker Star

• Publisher: Nintendo of America, Inc.
• Developer: Intelligent Systems

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Outstanding Achievement in Story

The Walking Dead

• Publisher: Telltale Games
• Developer: Telltale Games

Outstanding Character Performance

The Walking Dead: Lee Everett

• Publisher: Telltale Games
• Developer: Telltale Games

Downloadable Game of the Year

The Walking Dead

• Publisher: Telltale Games
• Developer: Telltale Games

Casual Game of the Year

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Web Based Game of the Year

SimCity Social

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Maxis, Playfish

Family Game of the Year

Skylanders Giants

• Publisher: Activision
• Developer: Toys for Bob

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

Mass Effect 3

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Bioware

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

• Publisher: 2K Games
• Developer: Firaxis Games

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Sports Game of the Year

FIFA Soccer 13

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: EA Canada

Racing Game of the Year

Need for Speed Most Wanted

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Criterion Games

Fighting Game of the Year

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: SuperBot Entertainment, Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity

Halo 4

• Publisher: Microsoft Studios
• Developer: 343 Industries

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Assassin's Creed III

• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Developer: Ubisoft

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering

Halo 4

• Publisher: Microsoft Studios
• Developer: 343 Industries

Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

• Publisher: 2K Games
• Developer: Firaxis Games

Adventure Game of the Year

The Walking Dead

• Publisher: Telltale Games
• Developer: Telltale Games

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

Game of the Year

Journey

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: thatgamecompany

About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote, advance and recognize the outstanding achievements in the interactive entertainment industry worldwide. The Academy conducts its annual awards show, the D.I.C.E. Awards, to celebrate and honor creative accomplishments in the field. To further enhance awareness of the Academy's vision, the organization created the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit in 2002, 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. With more than 22,000 members, including Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Google, Bethesda Game Studios, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Double Fine, Gearbox Software, Nexon and Insomniac Games, among others. More information can be found at http://www.interactive.org and http://www.dicesummit.org. Follow the Academy on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+.

SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences