] SAN FRANCISCO, CA - February 11, 2003 - The International
] Game Developers Association (IGDA) has announced the
] nominees for the Third Annual Game Developers Choice
] Awards.

There are several categories, covering things such as "Rookie Studio of the Year", "Most Original Game Character", Excellence in Audio, Game Design, Writing, Level Design, Programming, Visual Arts, and Writing.

As an IGDA member, I've been randomly selected as one of the official voters for this year's awards. I've done this before, and, as usual, there are several games on the ballot which I've never even heard of, let alone played. I'd like to make an informed decision though, so I'm asking around my circles of friends and colleagues for advice. If anyone on Memestreams would like to give me a review or opinion on any of the games on the ballot, please let me know, either by posting here or sending an Email to elonka@aol.com, by Wednesday, February 19th.

If you do decide to offer a suggestion, please be as detailed as possible -- I'm not interested in comments such as, "I hear this game is good," or "It was fun" (except possibly for the Level/Game Design categories) -- I want discussion of the production values involved, since, after all, these are awards being given to encourage quality game development, and not just mass popularity.

If there's enough interest, I'm fine on starting a thread for each of the categories, but for now, I'll just list the finalists for "Game of the Year":

- BATTLEFIELD 1942 (Digital Illusions)
- GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (Rockstar North)
- METROID PRIME (Retro Studios)
- NEVERWINTER NIGHTS (BioWare Corp.)
- TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL (Ubi Soft Montreal)

Thanks in advance for any help,

Elonka :)

Game Developers Choice Awards - Final Ballot