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Mass Effect 2 Takes 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards’ Game of the Year

The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards took place this week, and as usual there were a number of stellar nominees this year. With blockbuster titles such as Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III and Angry Birds, there was speculation flying from day one as to which would shine the brightest. After a night of laughs, revelry and humble acceptances there was one that stood out amongst the rest – BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 took the spotlight as Game of the Year. Continuing the epic tale set forth in Mass Effect, the sequel brought storytelling, presentation and gameplay of an action-RPG to new heights.

Signaling a true sign of the times, the smash-hit Angry Birds took home rights to Casual Game of the Year. The break-out mobile and casual title has been on fire since it was released and has flown to new heights, proving that mobile and casual titles are a key component to the industry.

In addition, Red Dead Redemption caused quite a scene as well, mainly due to the horses, whiskey and stray bullets. Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption left the competition in the dust last night, storming the stage and making off with a total of five awards.

Hosted by comedian, actor and proud game enthusiast, Jay Mohr, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, industry luminaries, development personalities and talent from around the world came together to celebrate, share and comment on the status of the industry and where they see it going in 2011 and beyond.

The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards celebrates the games of great creative minds, but more importantly, the people behind these projects.  Bing Gordon was named the 5th Lifetime Achievement recipient for his incredible contributions during his 28 year career. Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk (a.k.a. “The Doctors”) were inducted into the Hall of Fame for their incredible work with BioWare and Bill Budge was named the 2nd annual AIAS Pioneer Award recipient for his critical work in founding and continuing to grow our industry.

“The Interactive Achievement Awards is the time for the games industry to gather and honor the creativity and craft that goes into game making,” said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “This year’s Award winning games demonstrate the depth of talent, passion and innovation that distinguishes this compelling medium.”

These awards, decided by a peer-based voting system, are given to the talented individuals and development teams that have added to, shaped and pushed the limits of what was once thought to be the boundaries of this multi-billion dollar worldwide electronic entertainment industry. The winners in each category are as follows:

Game of the Year

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Creative Director: Casey Hudson 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa 

Casual Game of the Year

Angry Birds

• Publisher: Chillingo
• Developer: Rovio
• Executive Producers: Niklas Hed, Mikael Hed
• Producer: Harro Gronberg
• Lead Designers: Jaakko Iisalo, Markus Tuppurainen 

Portable Game of the Year

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Ready at Dawn/SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Producer: Marc Turndorf
• Creative Director: Ru Weerasuriya
• Game Director: Dana Jan 

Fighting Game of the Year

Super Street Fighter IV

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom/Dimps
• Producer: Yoshinori Ono
• Creative Director: Daisuke Aoki
• Game Director: Takashi Tsukamoto 

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Creative Director: Casey Hudson 

Sports Game of the Year

FIFA Soccer 11

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: EA Canada
• Producer: David Rutter
• Creative Director: Gary Peterson 

Racing Game of the Year

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: Criterion
• Executive Producer: Fiona Sperry
• Creative Director: Craig Sullivan 

Adventure Game of the Year

LIMBO

• Publisher: Playdead
• Developer: Playdead
• Producers: Dino Patti, Mads Wibroe
• Creative Director: Arnt Jensen
• Game Director: Arnt Jensen 

Social Networking Game of the Year

CityVille

• Publisher: Zynga
• Developer: Zynga
• Producers: David Gray, Alex Le
• Creative Director: Sean Kelly
• Game Director: Mark Skaggs 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Production Director: Chris Sigaty
• Senior Art Director: Sam Didier
• Game Director: Dustin Browder 

Action Game of the Year

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Producers: Steve Martin, David Kunkler
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa 

Family Game of the Year

Dance Central

• Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games
• Developer: Harmonix Music Systems
• Producer: Naoko Takamoto
• Game Director: Kasson Crooker 

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Producer: Guillaume de Fondaumiere
• Creative Director: David Cage
• Game Director: David Cage 

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

God of War III

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Lead Animator: Bruno Velazquez 

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Technology Director: Damien Castelltort 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Art Director: Daren Bader 

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Mass Effect 2

• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Developer: BioWare
• Writers: Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn 

Outstanding Character Performance

Red Dead Redemption – John Marston

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Writers: Christian Cantamessa, Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth
• Voice Actor: Rob Wiethoff 

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack

Rock Band 3

• Publisher: MTV Games
• Developer: Harmonix Music Systems
• Music Supervisor: Eric Brosius 

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

LIMBO

• Publisher: Playdead
• Developer: Playdead
• Sound Design/Audio Lead: Martin Stig Andersen 

Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
• Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
• Executive VP Game Design: Rob Pardo
• Project Director Battle.net: Greg Canessa
• Battle.net Designer: Alex Sun
• Technical Director Battle.net: Matthew Versluys 

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

Heavy Rain

• Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Developer: Quantic Dream
• Composer: Norman Corbeil 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering

Red Dead Redemption

• Publisher: Rockstar Games
• Developer: Rockstar San Diego
• Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa