2008

National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers

2008

*Creative/Technical Categories* Animation in a Game Cinema - Dead Space - WINNER Animation in a Game Cinema - Devil May Cry 4 Animation in a Game Cinema - Gears of War 2 Animation in a Game Cinema - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Animation in a Game Cinema - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ----------------------------------------- Animation in a Game Engine - Castle Crashers Animation in a Game Engine - Mirror’s Edge Animation in a Game Engine - Prince of Persia - WINNER Animation in a Game Engine - Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy Animation in a Game Engine - Spore Animation in a Game Engine - World of Goo ----------------------------------------- Art Direction in a Game Cinema - Dead Space Art Direction in a Game Cinema - Final Fantasy IV Art Direction in a Game Cinema - Gears of War 2 - WINNER Art Direction in a Game Cinema - Lego Indiana Jones Art Direction in a Game Cinema - Tomb Raider: Underworld ----------------------------------------- Art Direction in a Game Engine - Braid Art Direction in a Game Engine - Fallout 3 - WINNER Art Direction in a Game Engine - Little Big Planet Art Direction in a Game Engine - PixelJunk Eden Art Direction in a Game Engine - Tales of Vesperia ----------------------------------------- Camera Direction in a Game Engine - Dead Space - WINNER Camera Direction in a Game Engine - Gears of War 2 Camera Direction in a Game Engine - Mirror’s Edge Camera Direction in a Game Engine - Ninja Gaiden II Camera Direction in a Game Engine - Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy ----------------------------------------- Character Design - Castle Crashers - WINNER Character Design - Chrono Trigger Character Design - Fable II Character Design - Grand Theft Auto IV Character Design - Little Big Planet ----------------------------------------- Control Design - Boom Blox - WINNER Control Design - Little Big Planet Control Design - Mirror’s Edge Control Design - Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword Control Design - Tom Clancy's End War ----------------------------------------- Control Precision - Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts Control Precision - Boom Blox Control Precision - Mirror’s Edge Control Precision - PixelJunk Eden Control Precision - World of Goo - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Costume Design - Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice Costume Design - Fable II - WINNER Costume Design - Lost Odyssey Costume Design - Soul Calibur IV Costume Design - The World Ends With You ----------------------------------------- Direction in a Game Cinema - Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Direction in a Game Cinema - Dead Space Direction in a Game Cinema - Dynasty Warriors 6 Direction in a Game Cinema - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - WINNER Direction in a Game Cinema - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ----------------------------------------- Game Design - Left 4 Dead Game Design - Little Big Planet - WINNER Game Design - Mirror’s Edge Game Design - Patapon Game Design - Spore ----------------------------------------- Graphics/Technical - Far Cry 2 Graphics/Technical - Little Big Planet - WINNER Graphics/Technical - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Graphics/Technical - Mirror’s Edge Graphics/Technical - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ----------------------------------------- Innovation in Game Play - Auditorium Innovation in Game Play - Boom Blox Innovation in Game Play - Little Big Planet - WINNER Innovation in Game Play - Mirror’s Edge Innovation in Game Play - World of Goo ----------------------------------------- Innovation in Game Technology - Fallout 3 - WINNER Innovation in Game Technology - Gamebryo 2.5 Innovation in Game Technology - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Innovation in Game Technology - Mirror’s Edge Innovation in Game Technology - Torque Game Engine Advanced 1.7.1 ----------------------------------------- Lighting/Texturing - Condemned 2: Bloodshot Lighting/Texturing - Dead Space - WINNER Lighting/Texturing - Little Big Planet Lighting/Texturing - Mirror’s Edge Lighting/Texturing - Siren: Blood Curse ----------------------------------------- Original Musical Score - Castle Crashers Original Musical Score - Chrono Trigger Original Musical Score - Patapon - WINNER Original Musical Score - Resistance 2 Original Musical Score - World of Goo Original Musical Score - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King ----------------------------------------- Original/Adapted Song - "Haze," Haze Original/Adapted Song - "Never More," Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Original/Adapted Song - ”The One Star,” The World Ends With You - WINNER Original/Adapted Song - ”Twister,” The World Ends With You ----------------------------------------- Song Collection - Braid Song Collection - Grand Theft Auto IV - WINNER Song Collection - Rock Band 2 Song Collection - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Song Collection - The World Ends With You ----------------------------------------- Sound Editing in a Game Cinema - Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Sound Editing in a Game Cinema - Dead Space - WINNER Sound Editing in a Game Cinema - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ----------------------------------------- Sound Effects - Dead Space - WINNER Sound Effects - Gears of War 2 Sound Effects - Left 4 Dead Sound Effects - Mirror’s Edge Sound Effects - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ----------------------------------------- Lead Performance in a Comedy - Grant Albrecht, "Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon" Lead Performance in a Comedy - Robin Atkin Downes, "No More Heroes" - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Lead Performance in a Drama - Keeley Hawes, “Tomb Raider: Underworld” Lead Performance in a Drama - Liam Neeson, “Fallout 3” - WINNER Lead Performance in a Drama - Michael Hollick, “Grand Theft Auto IV” ----------------------------------------- Supp Performance in a Comedy - James Horan, "Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon" Supp Performance in a Comedy - Jim Ward, "Secret Agent Clank" Supp Performance in a Comedy - Nolan North, “Crash: Mind over Mutant” Supp Performance in a Comedy - Richard Horvitz, "Destroy All Humans: PotF" Supp Performance in a Comedy - Stephen Fry, “Little Big Planet” - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Supp Performance in a Drama - Gideon Emery, "Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway" Supp Performance in a Drama - Jason Zumwalt, “Grand Theft Auto IV” Supp Performance in a Drama - Mike Neumann, "Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway" Supp Performance in a Drama - Nathalie Cox, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” Supp Performance in a Drama - Timothy Adams, "Grand Theft Auto IV" - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Use of Sound - Auditorium Use of Sound - Dead Space - WINNER Use of Sound - Fallout 3 Use of Sound - Gears of War 2 Use of Sound - Patapon ----------------------------------------- Writing in a Comedy - American McGee’s Grimm Writing in a Comedy - Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Writing in a Comedy - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Writing in a Comedy - Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law Writing in a Comedy - No More Heroes Writing in a Comedy - Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Writing in a Drama - Braid Writing in a Drama - Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway Writing in a Drama - Chrono Trigger Writing in a Drama - Fallout 3 - WINNER Writing in a Drama - Lost Odyssey *Genre Categories* Game Classic Revival - Chrono Trigger - WINNER Game Classic Revival - Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen Game Classic Revival - Final Fantasy IV Game Classic Revival - Samba de Amigo Game Classic Revival - Space Invaders Extreme ----------------------------------------- Game Music or Performance - Audiosurf Game Music or Performance - Auditorium Game Music or Performance - Lips Game Music or Performance - Rock Band 2 - WINNER Game Music or Performance - SingStar Abba ----------------------------------------- Game Original Action - Braid Game Original Action - Castle Crashers Game Original Action - Dead Space Game Original Action - Mirror’s Edge - WINNER Game Original Action - PixelJunk Eden ----------------------------------------- Game Orig Adventure - Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law Game Orig Adventure - Professor Layton and the Curious Village - WINNER Game Orig Adventure - Penny Arcade Adv. Ep 1: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness ----------------------------------------- Game Original Children's - Boom Blox Game Original Children's - de Blob Game Original Children's - Little Big Planet - WINNER Game Original Children's - Mechanic Master Game Original Children's - World of Goo ----------------------------------------- Game Original Fighting - No nominations. ----------------------------------------- Game Original Racing - Baja: Edge of Control Game Original Racing - Grid Game Original Racing - Pure - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Game Original RPG - No nominations. ----------------------------------------- Game Original Sports - No nominations. ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Action - Battlefield: Bad Company Game Sequel Action - Gears of War 2 Game Sequel Action - Grand Theft Auto IV - WINNER Game Sequel Action - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Game Sequel Action - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Adventure - Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Game Sequel Adventure - Mortimer Beckett and the Time Paradox Game Sequel Adventure - Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst Game Sequel Adventure - Prince of Persia - WINNER Game Sequel Adventure - Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Children's - Animal Crossing: City Folk Game Sequel Children's - Lego Batman Game Sequel Children's - Lego Indiana Jones Game Sequel Children's - Mega Man 9 Game Sequel Children's - Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Fighting - Bleach: Dark Souls Game Sequel Fighting - Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Game Sequel Fighting - Naruto: The Broken Bond Game Sequel Fighting - Soul Calibur IV Game Sequel Fighting - Super Smash Bros. Brawl - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Racing - Burnout Paradise - WINNER Game Sequel Racing - FlatOut: Head On Game Sequel Racing - Mario Kart Wii Game Sequel Racing - Midnight Club: Los Angeles Game Sequel Racing - WipeOut HD ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel RPG - Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice Game Sequel RPG - Fable II Game Sequel RPG - Fallout 3 - WINNER Game Sequel RPG - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Game Sequel RPG - Valkyria Chronicles ----------------------------------------- Game Sequel Sports - FIFA Soccer 09 Game Sequel Sports - Madden NFL 09 Game Sequel Sports - Mario Super Sluggers - WINNER Game Sequel Sports - NHL 09 Game Sequel Sports - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 ----------------------------------------- Game Simulation Game - Air Traffic Chaos Game Simulation Game - Spore - WINNER ----------------------------------------- Game Special Class - Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking Game Special Class - Buzz! Quiz TV - WINNER Game Special Class - Cooking: Personal Trainer Game Special Class - My Weight Loss Coach Game Special Class - Scene It? Seinfeld Deluxe Game Special Class - Wii Fit ----------------------------------------- Game Strategy - Age of Booty Game Strategy - Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath Game Strategy - Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Game Strategy - Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization - WINNER Game Strategy - Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning ----------------------------------------- Game of the Year - Gears of War 2 Game of the Year - Left 4 Dead Game of the Year - Little Big Planet - WINNER Game of the Year - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Game of the Year - Mirror’s Edge *Special Awards* Honorary Awards – Mike Acton, Andy Burke, and Geoff Evans for their outstanding community contribution to Insomniac’s Nocturnal Initiative, a free open-source code, tools, and information sharing effort that encourages better communication and lower development costs through the sharing of resources. Most Developer Wins as of February 28, 2009 21…Nintendo 20…Square Enix 20…Rockstar 18…Electronic Arts 17…Sony 16…Ubisoft 15…Konami 12…Namco Bandai 11…Harmonix 10…Valve 9…Bioware 9…Bethesda Game Studios 8…Capcom 8…2K Games 6…Sucker Punch 6…Media Molecule 6…Infinity Ward 6…Epic 5…Clover 5…Bungie 4…Team Ninja 4…id software 4…Double Fine 4…Criterion 4…Blizzard		NATIONAL ACADEMY OF VIDEO GAME TESTERS AND REVIEWERS CORP.™ ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR 8th ANNUAL NAViGaTR AWARDS TOP 3 WINNERS ARE LITTLE BIG PLANET, DEAD SPACE, AND FALLOUT 3 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: THOMAS J. ALLEN PHONE: 410.721.8895 E-MAIL: INFO AT NAVGTR DOT ORG February 28, 2009 --- The winners of the 2008 NAViGaTR Awards were announced today, revealing the winners in 44 categories. Multiple awards went to Andrew Lackey, Claire Boissiere, Dave Feise, David Smith, David Swenson, Don Veca, Luci Black, Mark Healey, Martin Lynagh, and Michelle Ducker, which are three more than last year. Out of its ten nominations, Little Big Planet won six (6) awards: Game of the Year, Game Design, Graphics/Technical, Innovation in Game Play, Original Children’s Game, and Supporting Performance in a Comedy for Stephen Fry. Dead Space also won six (6) awards: Animation in a Game Cinema, Camera Direction in a Game Engine, Lighting/Texturing, Sound Editing in a Game Cinema, Sound Effects, and Use of Sound. Rounding out the top three is Fallout 3 with five (5) awards: Art Direction in a Game Engine, Innovation in Game Technology, Writing in a Drama, Role Playing Game Sequel, and Lead Performance in a Drama for Liam Neeson. The only other multiple award winners were Grand Theft Auto IV with 3 awards and Prince of Persia with 2 awards. This year, no game achieved a trifecta with wins in all three disciplines of design, art, and sound. This year, Leslie Benzies won his fifth NAViGaTR award. Benzies has won entirely for the Grand Theft Auto series. Hideo Kojima won his third NAViGaTR award. Kojima has won entirely for the Metal Gear Solid series. Eight people earned a second NAViGaTR award after winning in a previous year --- Akihiro Hino, Chris Perna, Craig Conner, Imran Sarwar, Jesse Smith, Steven Brand, Todd Howard, William Mills. Hino also won for producing Dragon Quest VIII. Perna won for lighting/texturing on the first Gears of War. Brand won for producing both Viva Pinata games. Howard also won for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Publisher Tallies Last year, Electronic Arts held the lead with 8 wins; this year the company was in the lead with 10 wins, followed by Sony with 8 awards. Bethesda Softworks won 5 awards, while Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Rockstar each won 3 awards. Square Enix won 2 awards. Three years ago, Sony set a publishers' record by winning 11 awards in a single year. The record still stands. Developer Tallies This year, Electronic Arts holds the highest developer awards tally with 7 wins. Media Molecule took 6 awards, while Bethesda Game Studios took 5 awards. Rockstar won 3 awards, while Square Enix and Ubisoft won 2 awards each. Of this year’s winning development studios, several of them have earned a third honor: Digital Illusions, Firaxis, Level 5, Maxis, and Rare. Lionhead Studios and The Behemoth each won for the second time in history. Criterion has amassed 4 victories. With 6 wins, Media Molecule has leaped into the Top 20 winning developers of all-time, doing in a single year what took other developers as much as seven years to accomplish. Since the inception of the NAViGaTR Awards, Nintendo has won 21 awards as a developer, more than any other developer to date. Square Enix and Rockstar follow with 20 awards. Electronic Arts has 18; Sony 17; Ubisoft 16; Konami 15; Namco Bandai 12; Harmonix 11; and Valve has ten (10). Tied with nine awards to date are Bioware and Bethesda Game Studios. Tied with eight are Capcom and 2K. Tied with six are Sucker Punch, Media Molecule, Infinity Ward, and Epic. Tied with 5 are Clover and Bungie. Tied with four are Team Ninja, id, Double Fine, Criterion, and Blizzard. Individual Tallies This year, Leslie Benzies won his fifth NAViGaTR award. Hideo Kojima won his third NAViGaTR award, and Luci Black won a second and third NAViGaTR award. Kojima and Black thus join the list of 26 previous winners to have earned three awards, resulting in 28 three-time winners. Of the 28 three-time winners who have won at least three awards, Atsushi Inaba, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom, Yoshinori Kitase, Dan Houser, Mathieu Laforce, Atsuko Fukuyama, Fumito Ueda, Hajime Sugiyama, Rik Schaffer, and Luci Black are the only (12) people that have won awards for work in multiple franchises. Eight additional persons also earned a second NAViGaTR award after winning in a previous year --- Akihiro Hino, Chris Perna, Craig Conner, Imran Sarwar, Jesse Smith, Steven Brand, Todd Howard, William Mills. Shigeru Miyamoto has won ten (10) awards to date, more than any other individual. Dan Houser has won nine (9) awards for his widespread work in the Grand Theft Auto® series, as well as "Bully." Fumito Ueda, Takashi Tezuka, and now Leslie Benzies have won five (5) awards to date. Ueda has won 2 awards for ICO and 3 awards for Shadow of the Colossus in the areas of animation and design. Takashi Tezuka has won for Animal Crossing®, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Sunshine. Benzies has won entirely for the Grand Theft Auto series. Jamie King and Jeremy Pope have each won four (4) awards for producing the Grand Theft Auto® series, including two genre awards and two Game of the Year awards. Atsushi Inaba has won three awards - two for Okami and one for God Hand. Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom has won for the games Frequency, Karaoke Revolution, and Guitar Hero II. Yoshinori Kitase has won for Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy III. Hajime Sugiyama has won 3 awards --- two for ICO's camera and lighting, plus a technical graphics award for Colossus. Atsuko Fukuyama has won 3 awards --- two for Animation in a Game Engine (Ico and Shadow of the Colossus), as well as an award for Colossus' character design. Bruce Oberg has earned his third award for programming on the Sly Cooper series. Keita Takahashi has won three awards for the Katamari series. James Worral has also won three (3) awards for writing and design in the Grand Theft Auto® series. Akira Yamaoka has won three awards for his work on the Silent Hill® series, winning in the categories of Sound Effects, Use of Sound, and Original Musical Score. Mathieu Laforce has won three awards. His first two awards were for Graphics, Technical and Lighting & Texturing Effects for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell in 2002, and his third award was for Lighting & Texturing Effects for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2003. Rik Schaffer has won three awards, including two for Sound Effects in Call of Duty and Doom 3, as well as one for Sound Editing in a Game Cinema for Doom 3. Programmers Ben Wallace, Bernie Freidin, Charles Gough, Chris Butcher, Mat Noguchi, Matt Segur, Eamon McKenzie, and Stefan Sinclair have all won three awards for the first Halo®. Luci Black has won two awards for Little Big Planet and one award for Rome: Total War. Hideo Kojima has won entirely for the Metal Gear Solid series. About the NAViGaTR Awards The awards are presented by the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Corp.™, a non-profit organization with over 900 voters honoring the best of the interactive entertainment industry in the fields of art, technology, and production for calendar year 2008. More than any other professional group in the industry, testers spend the most time playing games and are therefore most apt to evaluate them on a technical level with intense detail or analysis. Reviewers in the media also spend a great deal of time analyzing and writing about games from a creative perspective to aid consumers in their evaluations. The best reviewers sometimes parlay their reputation into industry jobs as producers or testers. For these reasons, the recommendation of testers and reviewers serves as a special mark of quality that balances important creative and technical perspectives and represents the most hard-core enthusiasts from industry and media. Through annual awards, television specials, videos, special events, and other future plans, the Academy hopes to preserve the history of the medium as well as honor the creative and technical individuals who have paved the way for new ideas and innovations. The general voting body of more than 900 journalists and writers includes contributors for such varied outlets as 1up, About.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Austin American-Statesman, Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, Contra Costa Times, Detroit Free Press, Digital Journal, EclipseMagazine.com, elecplay.com, Evergeek Media, FHM, GamersTemple.com, GamingTarget.com, Gannett News Service, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, National Post, National Public Radio, NBC, New York Times, The Ottawa Citizen, PC Gamer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Play Magazine, Public Radio International, The Regina Leader-Post, Salon, San Jose Mercury-News, USA Today, The Vancouver Sun, Wired News, Wizard Magazine, WOW Weekly, Ziff-Davis Media, and hundreds more. The Academy is currently accepting applications from new testers, analysts, and journalists to become voters. For more information, e-mail info at navgtr dot org with a bio and/or resume. About NAVGTR Corp. NAVGTR Corp. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation devoted to promoting and recognizing the developments and achievements of the interactive entertainment industry for public awareness and education. In addition to the annual awards, the academy’s future goals include acknowledging, documenting, and/or memorializing industry leaders and historical events through educational and informative television specials or videos, as well as efforts to preserve the history of interactive entertainment through the development of archives in public libraries and universities. (www.navgtr.org)
		2008 Winners (92 citations, 9 doubles) Adam Adamowicz, Akihiro Hino, Akiya Sakamoto, Allan Blomquist, Allan Robertson, Amy Phillips, Andi Hanley, Andrew Lackey, Andrew Lackey, Andy Burke, Anton Kirczenow, Atsushi Seo, Begoña Colomar, Ben Mattes, Brett Robbins, Chi Wai Lao, Chris Chikes, Chris DeLeon, Chris Perna, Claire Boissiere, Claire Boissiere, Claire Edmonds, Conant Fong, Craig Conner, Craig Kerrison, Craig Mullins, Daisuke Miyake, Dan Croucher, Dan Paladin, Daniel Desjardins, Dave Blizard, Dave Feise, Dave Feise, David Farmer, David Smith, David Smith, David Swenson, David Swenson, David Wilkinson, Dennis Collantes, Don Veca, Don Veca, Emil Pagliarulo, Geoff Evans, Hideo Kojima, Imran Sarwar, Istvan Pely, Ivan Pavlovich, Jamal Rguigui, James Fairbairn, Jamie Durrant, Jason Bergman, Jason Heffel, Jeff Bandelin, Jerry Holkins, Jesse Smith, Joe Palrang, Jonny Hopper, Josh Leyshock, Kazuhiko Aoki, Keisuke Terasaki, Kemmei Adachi, Kensuke Tanabe, Kristine Barrett, Lawrence Chandler, Leslie Benzies, Liam Collins, Liam Neeson, Luci Black, Luci Black, Luke Petre, Marcus Egan, Mark Burroughs, Mark Healey, Mark Healey, Martin Lynagh, Martin Lynagh, Mary Casey, Matt Webster, Matt Willis, Michelle Ducker, Michelle Ducker, Mike Acton, Moo Yu, Paul Holden, Rachel Mina, Robin Atkin Downes, Ron Carmel, Stephen Fry, Steve Meister, Steven Brand, Tamar Zeithlian, Timothy Adams, Todd Howard, Tom Farrer, Victor Ågren, Vivian Ding, William Mills, William Rudolph,

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