GAME DEVELOPERS CHOICE AWARDS RECIPIENTS NAMED

Grand Theft Auto III, Yuji Naka Take Top Honors


SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 22, 2002 - The International Game Developers Association 
(IGDA) has announced the recipients of the 2nd Annual Game Developers Choice 
Awards, game development's highest honors.  The awards were presented last 
night during a ceremony at the San Jose Civic Auditorium during this year's 
annual Game Developers Conference (GDC).

The celebration honors innovation as well as technical and artistic achievement 
in interactive entertainment.  The nominations were open to all game developers, 
ensuring a true reflection of development community opinion. 

"The Game Developers Choice Awards are a special moment during the year 
when we pause to honor fellow developers who create exceptional and innovative 
games," said Jason Della Rocca, program director of the IGDA.  "Recipients 
of these accolades know they are being recognized by their peers and there 
is no greater honor than that."
 
The 2nd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards recipients are:

Game of the Year
Grand theft Auto III (DMA Design/Rockstar Games)

Rookie Studio of the Year
Bohemia Interactive Studio for Operation Flashpoint

Original Game Character of the Year
Daxter from Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Excellence in Audio
Marty O'Donnell & team for sound effects in Halo: Combat Evolved

Excellence in Game Design
GTA3 team for game play in Grand Theft Auto III

Excellence in Level Design
Fumito Ueda & team for level design in Ico

Excellence in Programming
Richard Evans for artificial intelligence in Black & White

Excellence in Visual Arts
Fumito Ueda & team for art direction in Ico

Game Innovation Spotlights
Black & White (Lionhead Studios)
Grand Theft Auto III (DMA Design/Rockstar Games)
Ico (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.)
Majestic (Electronic Arts)
Rez (United Game Artists)

Three special honors, selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards advisory 
board, were presented at the awards ceremony: 

Lifetime Achievement Award
Yuji Naka, president and CEO of Sega's SONICTEAM, for the innovative and 
award-winning work he has produced during his career, including the creation 
of SEGA (R) mascot, Sonic The Hedgehog (TM).

First Penguin Award
Hubert Chardot, for his risk-taking work on Alone in the Dark, a game that 
started the "survival-horror" genre. 

IGDA Award for Community Contribution
Jeff Lander, for his writings on game development, community building efforts 
and student outreach.

More information on the awards and recipients can be found at www.IGDA.org/Awards.

About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) 

The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit association 
established by game developers to foster the creation of a worldwide game 
development community.  The IGDA's mission is to build a community of game 
developers which leverages the expertise of its members for the betterment 
of the industry and the development of the art form.  For more information 
on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.        


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