Vote for Your Favorite Games on First Annual SXSW Gaming Awards

The SXSW Gaming Awards will take place this year for the first time on March 7-9 in Austin, Texas.

Below is the list of the 2014 finalists:

Game of the Year Award
Awarded to 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies gaming excellence. These games represent the penultimate of gamine achievement.

• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Ubisoft
• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games
• Gone Home, The Fullbright Company
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
• Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo of America
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Tomb Raider, Square Enix Inc.

Excellence in Gameplay Award Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in gameplay mechanics. These games are amongst the most memorable and fun; the cream of the crop.

• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 505 Studios
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Nintendo of America
• Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo of America
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Excellence in Art Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in art. These titles are beautiful, engaging, and visually amazing.

• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• Kentucky Route Zero, Cardboard Computer, LLC
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
• Rayman Legends, Ubisoft
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Excellence in Animation Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in animation.

• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
• Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo of America
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Tomb Raider, Square Enix Inc.

Excellence in Technical Achievement Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in technical achievement.

• Antichamber, Demruth
• Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games
• Papa Sangre II, Somthin’Else
• Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo of America
• The Swapper, Facepalm Games

Excellence in Narrative Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in game narrative.

• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 505 Studios
• Gone Home, The Fullbright Company
• Kentucky Route Zero, Cardboard Computer, LLC
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog

Excellence in Design and Direction Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in design and direction.

• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 505 Studios
• Gone Home, The Fullbright Company
• Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Excellence in Gaming Marketing Award
Awarded to 2013’s most memorable marketing campaign for a game title or hardware or company.

• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Ubisoft
• Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision
• Ridiculous Fishing, Vlambeer
• Saint’s Row IV, Deep Silver
• The Stanley Parable, Galactic Café

Excellence in SFX Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence game sound effects.

• Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, The Chinese Room
• Battlefield 4, Electronic Arts
• Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games
• Forza Motorsport 5, Microsoft
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog

Excellence in Musical Score Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score and how it is used to progress the narrative of a game.

• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
• Tearaway, Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Tomb Raider, Square-Enix

Convergence Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence and pure crossover appeal through multiple mediums.

• Injustice Gods Among Us, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• The Last of Us, Naughty Dog
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• The Walking Dead: Season Two, Episode One: All That Remains -Telltale Games
• The Wolf Among Us, Episode One: Faith – Telltale Games

Cultural Innovation Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that most challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character or gameplay.

• Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games
• Gone Home, The Fullbright Company
• Guacamelee, Drinkbox Studios
• Papers, Please, 3909 LLC
• Year Walk, Simogo

Best Multiplayer Game Award
Awarded to the 2013 indie or mainstream game that exemplifies excellence in multiplayer gaming.

• Battlefield 4, Electronic Arts
• Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision
• DOTA 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2), Valve
• StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard Entertainment
• Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo of America

Texas Arts Achievement Award Annual award a Texas-based studio or company for their achievements in game development, and its role in progressing game development awareness in Texas.

• Arkane Studios
• Galactic Café
• Gearbox Software
• Semi Secret Software
• Bioware / Electronic Arts
• Devolver Digital

SXSW Gamer’s Voice Award
Awarded to the favorite indie game in the Indie Corner Showcase, by gamers on the SXSW Gaming Expo floor

• BROFORCE, Free Lives
• CAVE! CAVE! DEUS VIDET: Episode 0, We Are Müesli
• Deck Around, Deck Around
• Disorder, Swagabyte Games
• Doggins, Brain&Brain
• Drei, Etter Studio
• Ephemerid, SuperChop Games
• Extrasolar, Lazy 8 Studios
• Framed, Loveshack
• Gorogoa, Jason Roberts
• Hermid Crab in Space, Golden Ruby Games
• ibb & obb, Sparpweed
• KAMI, State of Play
• Lost Toys, Barking Mouse
• MirrorMoon EP, Santa Ragione
• Mushroom 11, Untame
• Nidhogg, Messhof LLC
• The Novelist, Orthogonal Games
• Paper Sorcerer, Ultra Runaway Games
• Quadrilateral Cowboy, Blendo Games
• Rollers of the Realm, Phantom Compass Inc.
• Secrets of Rætikon, Broken Rules
• Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party, KnapNok Games
• Sully: A Very Serious RPG, Breadbros Games
• Tengami, Nyamyam
• TYPE: RIDER, ARTE France

The SXSW Gaming Awards are scheduled for the evening of Saturday, March 8 at 7:00 pm. You can go directly to the 2014 SXSW Gaming Awards website and choose from your favorite games that are listed.

Source: SXSW Gaming Awards

Gaming Cypher

Website | + posts

• Oddyssey: Your Space, Your Way Heading to Steam Early Access
• Genshin Impact Review for Android
• The TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX INVITATIONAL 2021 OPEN QUALIFIERS Opens Up Registrations
• Alto's Odyssey Review for Android