'The Witcher 3' Bags Aother Game of The Year Award

By Juvy Garcia, Christian Post Contributor Friday, March 18, 2016

CD Projekt Red won two awards for its "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" at the recently concluded 16th annual Game Developers Choice Award (GDCA). The fantasy open-world role-playing game bagged the awards for Game of the Year and Best Technology during the ceremony held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

It's The Game Awards 2015 all over again for the developer as "The Witcher 3" beat mostly the same games it defeated in December. The other nominees include Bethesda's "Fallout 4" which won at the recent DICE Awards, Konami's "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain," From Software's "Bloodborne," and Psyonix's "Rocket League."

Sam Barlow's "Her Story" also emerged a winner and took home the most number of awards, including Innovation, Best Handheld/Mobile Game, and Best Narrative. "Her Story" is an indie game that features actress and musician Viva Seifert in an engaging interactive crime fiction. The game also won the Seumas McNally Grand Price and Excellence in Narrative awards during the 18th Annual IGF Awards, which is the indie game development counterpart of the GDCA.

The GDCA, which honors the very best games of the year as voted on by the developers themselves, also awarded Moon Studios "Ori and the Blind Forest" with two awards. The game won Best Debut and Best Visual Art. Best Design went to "Rocket League," while DONTNOD Entertainment's "Life is Strange" garnered the most support from online voters and won the Audience Award. Best Audio went to Brace Yourself Games' dungeon crawler "Crypt of the NecroDancer."

A couple of influential personalities in the gaming scene were also honored at the GDCA. Markus "Notch" Persson, creator of the popular sandbox game "Minecraft," won the Pioneer Award. Meanwhile, Tracy Fullerton, professor and director of the University of Southern California (USC) Games program, and leader of the Game Innovation Lab, received the Ambassador award for helping video games "advance to a better place." The Lifetime Achievement award was given to Todd Howard, director, designer, and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios.

"The world of video games can include every imaginable and unimaginable experience, from the vast world of The Witcher 3, to the intimate interrogations in Her Story, and the Choice Awards have evolved to honor this diversity of titles," said Meggan Scavio, general manager of the Game Developers Conference, in a press release. "All of these winning and nominated titles have expanded what we think what games can be, how to maturely handle story, and how to make games that are ridiculously fun. I'm excited to see all of these wonderful developers recognized for their amazing contributions, and I congratulate all of this year's winners and nominees."

The complete list of Game Developers Choice Awards winners follows:

Game of the Year
"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" (CD Projekt RED)

Best Debut
Moon Studios ("Ori and the Blind Forest")

Best Audio
"Crypt of the NecroDancer" (Brace Yourself Games)

Innovation Award
"Her Story" (Sam Barlow)

Best Technology
"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" (CD Projekt RED)

Best Visual Art
"Ori and the Blind Forest" (Moon Studios)

Best Narrative
"Her Story" (Sam Barlow)

Best Design
"Rocket League" (Psyonix)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game
"Her Story" (Sam Barlow)

Audience Award
"Life is Strange" (DONTNOD Entertainment)

Pioneer Award
Markus "Notch" Persson