Nominations Open For The 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards

Best Games of 2012 to be Selected and Evaluated by 22,000 Academy Members

CALABASAS, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) today announced it is now accepting submissions for the 16^th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Members of the interactive publishing and development communities are invited to submit titles for consideration from now through Monday, December 3, 2012, at 5:00 PM PST. Nominees will be announced the week of January 21, 2013; winners will be announced at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on February 7, 2013, at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas.

"Receiving a D.I.C.E. Award nomination is the highest form of recognition that can be bestowed upon any game developer or publisher," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "Unlike other video game award programs, the D.I.C.E. Awards are 100 percent peer-driven, peer-supported and peer-voted by active game makers from our 22,000-plus Academy membership."

The annual D.I.C.E. Awards (formally the Interactive Achievement Awards) recognize excellence in 26 different interactive game categories.   Key categories include Mobile Game of the Year, Web Based Game of the Year, Action Game of the Year, Adventure Game of the Year, and Outstanding Innovation in Gaming. The crafts are celebrated with awards including Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Animation, Original Music Composition, Sound Design and the show's penultimate award, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.  The evening culminates with the announcement of the Academy's top honor, Game of the Year, which celebrates a single title that resonates as the best of the year's many great accomplishments. Previous Game of the Year winners include The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), Mass Effect 2 (2010), Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), and Little Big Planet (2008).

To be eligible for nomination, a game must have been released to the public between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012. Corporate members of the Academy are allowed to submit titles for consideration with finalists chosen by developer driven peer panels. Winners are determined through a general vote by members at large. For the complete list of categories and to download a submission packet, visit www.interactive.org.

The annual D.I.C.E. Awards are held during the week of the D.I.C.E. Summit. For information about the Summit or to purchase tickets to the Awards show, please visit: www.dicesummit.org.

SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences