Second Annual SXSW Gaming Awards Announces Top Winners in 21 Categories
Dragon Age: Inquisition takes home Game of the Year followed by three award wins for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
AUSTIN, Texas (Mar. 14, 2015) — South by Southwest (SXSW) Gaming today announced the winners of the second-annual SXSW Gaming Awards – part of theSXSW Gaming Expo – presented by iam8bit, Logitech, Porter Novelli, Twitch and Wikia. Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater hosted the ceremony which was co-emceed by actress and comedian Janet Varney and popular YouTube personality Markiplier.
In all, 21 awards were handed out, with Dragon Age: Inquisition taking the top honor as Game of the Year. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor followed with three award wins, including Excellence in Gameplay and Excellence in Animation.
Speedrunners was chosen by gamers on the show floor to take home the Gamer’s Voice Award, beating out 29 other games showcased in the SXSW Gaming Indie Corner. To be considered for the Gamer’s Voice Award, games must have had less than $1 million in funding; a working and playable demo; and be released by the end of 2015 or shortly thereafter.
“We’re ecstatic to see the gaming industry and gamers alike embrace the SXSW Gaming Awards,” said Justin Burnham, SXSW Gaming Project Manager. “Our awards bring together the voice of gamers everywhere with those of industry experts to decide the best of the best. Congrats to the team behind Dragon Age: Inquisition for its Game of the Year win and to the rest of this year’s winners for making 2014 another stellar year for gaming!”
The submission process opened in August 2014 through the official Gaming Awards page and closed in December. Finalists for the SXSW Gaming Awards categories were selected and voted on by the SXSW Gaming Advisory Board, consisting of more than 40 gaming, comic and geek culture industry experts, and represent the game titles that demonstrate the best and most innovative of the year in each respective category. Once finalists were revealed, the general public, along with the Advisory Board, were invited to cast their vote on Wikia.com to help determine the winners in each category, which were revealed and honored at tonight’s SXSW Gaming Awards ceremony.
Here are the winners of the second-annual SXSW Gaming Awards:
Game of the Year: Awarded to the indie or mainstream game that exemplifies gaming excellence.
WINNER: Dragon Age: Inquisition – Electronic Arts/BioWare
Mobile Game of the Year: Awarded to the mobile game that exemplifies gaming excellence
WINNER: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – Blizzard Entertainment
Table Top Game of the Year: Awarded to the table top game that exemplifies gaming excellence
WINNER: Star Realms – White Wizard Games
Excellence in Gameplay: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in gameplay mechanics
WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in Art: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in art and design
WINNER: Child of Light – Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal
Excellence in Animation: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in animation
WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in Technical Achievement: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in technical achievement
WINNER: Destiny – Activision/Bungie
Excellence in Visual Achievement: Awarded to the game that best exemplifies stunning visuals
WINNER: Far Cry 4 – Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal
Excellence in Narrative: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in game narrative
WINNER: The Wolf Among Us – Telltale Games
Excellence in Design and Direction: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence design and direction
WINNER: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Warner Bros. Interactive/Monolith Productions
Excellence in SFX: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence game sound effects
WINNER: Alien: Isolation – SEGA/The Creative Assembly
Excellence in Musical Score: Awarded to the title that exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score, and how it is used to progress the narrative of a game
WINNER: Transistor – Supergiant Games
Excellence in Multiplayer: Awarded to the title that exemplifies excellence in multiplayer gaming
WINNER: Super Smash Bros. Wii U – Nintendo
Excellence in Convergence: Awarded to the game that best exemplifies excellence in the crossover to other entertainment mediums such as film, music, toys, animation, sports and more
WINNER: South Park: The Stick of Truth – Ubisoft/Obsidian Entertainment
Most Valuable Character: Awarded to the best game character that left an overwhelming impression
WINNER: Ellie, The Last of Us: Left Behind – Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog
Most Valuable Esports Team: Awarded to the professional team that excelled in performance and provided the most valuable impact in its competitive scene(s)
WINNER: Cloud9
Most Valuable Online Channel: Awarded to the gaming-related channel that consistently entertains and keeps us watching with its humor, stories, special effects and more
WINNER: Rooster Teeth
Most Valuable Add-On Content: Awarded to the best additional content or DLC that added even more value to a great game making the experience that much better
WINNER: The Last of Us: Left Behind – Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog
Most Anticipated Crowdfunded Game: Awarded to the most highly-anticipated crowdfunded game, through such platforms as Kickstarter, Early Access, Indiegogo, that lived up to expectations or has yet to grace our collections
WINNER: Star Citizen – Cloud Imperium Games
Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award: Awarded to the title that most challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming, and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character or gameplay
WINNER: This War of Mine – 11 Bit Studios
Gamer’s Voice Award: Awarded to the favorite game in the Indie Corner as decided exclusively by gamers on the SXSW Gaming Expo floor
WINNER: Speedrunners – tinyBuild
Related: SXSW 2014 Gaming Awards Winners List
Source: Press Release
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