The British Academy Games Award Winners

On a night that saw boys who’d likely never worn a shirt let alone a black tie attend the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to celebrate the best of the games industry, there were few surprises. Journey won nearly everything, David Braben got nervous around girls and Gabe Newell received a deserved standing ovation as he was accepted into the BAFTA Academy Fellowship, an honour first presented to Alfred Hitchcock in 1971.

The nominees and winners of all the awards were as follows:

Debut Game

• WINNER: The Unfinished Swan (Ian Dallas, Nathan Gary)
• Deadlight (Raul Rubio, Luz Sancho, Oscar Cuesta)
• Forza Horizon (Development Team)
• Dear Esther (Daniel Pinchbeck, Robert Briscoe, Jessica Curry)
• Proteus (Ed Key, David Kanaga)
• The Room (Development Team)

Original Music

• WINNER: Journey (Austin Wintory, Keith Leary, Monty Mudd)
• Diablo III (Development Team)
• Assassin’s Creed III (Lorne Balfe)
• Thomas Was Alone (David Housden)
• The Unfinished Swan (Joel Corelitz, Keith Leary, Peter Scaturro)
• The Walking Dead (Jared Emerson-Johnson)

Story

• WINNER: The Walking Dead (Development Team)
• Journey (Development Team)
• Far Cry 3 (Jeffrey Yohalem, Lucien Soulban, Jeffrey Yohalem)
• Thomas was Alone (Mike Bithell)
• Mass Effect 3 (Mac Walters)
• Dishonored (Development Team)

Sports/Fitness

• WINNER: New Star Soccer (Simon Read)
• Forza Horizon (Development Team)
• F1 2012 (Development Team)
• Nike+ Kinect Training (Development Team)
• Trials Evolution (Development Team, Antti llvessup, Kim Lahti)
• FIFA 13 (Development Team)

Game Innovation

• WINNER: The Unfinished Swan (Ian Dallas, Nathan Gary, Development Team)
• Fez (Development Team)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Development Team)
• Wonderbook: Books of Spells (Development Team)
• Journey (Development Team)
• Kinect Sesame Street TV (Brian Stone, Josh Atkins, Todd Slepian)

Artistic Achievement

• WINNER: Journey (Development Team)
• Halo 4 (Development Team)
• Borderlands 2 (Randy Pitchford, Paul Hellquist, Jeramy Cooke)
• Far Cry 3 (Jean-Alexis Doyon, Genseki Tanaka, Vincent Jean)
• The Room (Development Team)
• Dear Esther (Robert Briscoe)

Online – Browser

• WINNER: SongPop (Olivier Michon, Thibaut Crenn, Daouna Jeong)
• The Settlers Online (Christopher Schmitz, Guido Schmidt, Rainer Reber
• Merlin: The Game (Development Team)
• Runescape (Development Team)
• Amateur Surgeon Hospital (Paul Croft, Jim Griffiths)
• Dick and Dom’s HOOPLA! (Development Team)

“Ones to Watch”

• WINNER: Starcrossed by Kind of a Big Deal (Kimi Sulopuisto, Vili Viitaniemi, Minttu Meriläinen, Petri Liuska, Andrew MacLean)
• Project Thanatos by Raptor Games (Hugh Laird, Andrew Coles, Thomas Laird, Alexandra Shapland, Thomas Kemp)
• Pixel Story by Load Wolf Games (Martin Cosens, Thomas McParland, Ashley Hayes, Benjamin Rushton, Luke Harrison)

Game Design

• WINNER: Journey (Development Team)
• Dishonored (Development Team)
• Far Cry 3 (Patrick Methè, Jamie Keen)
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Development Team)
• Borderlands 2 (Randy Pitchford, Paul Hellquist, Jeramy Cooke)
• The Walking Dead (Dan Connors, Kevin Bruner, Kevin Boyle)

Strategy

• WINNER: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Development Team)
• Dark Souls: Prepare To Die (Development Team)
• Diablo III (Development Team)
• Great Big War Game (David Moss, Steve Venezia, Paul Johnson)
• Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai (Development Team)
• Football Manager 2013 (Development Team)

Family

• WINNER: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Jon Burton, Jonathan Smith, John Hodskinson
• Minecraft: XBOX 360 Edition (Development Team)
• Just Dance 4 (Alkis Argyriadis, Matthew Tomkinson, Veronique Halbrey)
• Skylanders Giants (Paul Reiche, Fred Ford, Scott Krager)
• Clay Jam (Chris Roe Iain Gilfeather, Michael Movel)
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings (Jon Burton, James McLoughlin, Nicola Daly)

Audio Achievement

• WINNER: Journey (Steve Johnson, Austin Wintory, Keith Leary)
• Far Cry 3 (Dan Hay, Tony Gronick, Brian Tyler)
• Beat Sneak Bandit (Simon Flesser, Magnus “Gordon” Gardebäck)
• Halo 4 (Development Team)
• Assassin’s Creed III (Mathieu Jeanson)
• Dear Esther (Jessica Curry)

Mobile & Handheld

• WINNER: The Walking Dead (Dan Connors, Kevin Bruner, Kevin Boyle)
• LittleBigPlanet (Vita) (Tom O’Connor, Mattias Nygren, Lee Hutchinson)
• New Star Soccer (Simon Read)
• Incoboto (Dene Carter)
• Super Monsters Ate My Condo (Development Team)
• The Room (Development Team)

Performer

• WINNER: Danny Wallace (The Narrator) – Thomas Was Alone
• Nolan North (Nathan Drake) –Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• Melissa Hutchinson (Clementine) – The Walking Dead
• Dave Fennoy (Lee Everett) –The Walking Dead
• Adrian Hough (Haytham) –Assassin’s Creed III
• Nigel Carrington (The Narrator) – Dear Esther

Online – Multiplayer

• WINNER: Journey (Development Team)
• Assassin’s Creed III (Damien Kieken, Mathieu Granjon, Yann Le Guyader)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Development Team)
• Need For Speed Most Wanted (Development Team)
• Halo 4 (Development Team)
• Borderlands 2 (Randy Pitchford, Paul Hellquist, Jeramy Cooke)

British Game

• WINNER: The Room (Development Team)
• Need for Speed Most Wanted (Development Team)
• Forza Horizon (Development Team)
• Dear Esther (Daniel Pinchbeck, Robert Briscoe, Jessica Curry)
• Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh, Niamh Houston, Jenn Frank)
• LEGO: The Lord of the Rings (Jon Burton, James McLoughlin, Nicola Daly)

Action

• Winner: Far Cry 3 (Dan Hay, Patrick Plourde, Patrik Methe)
• Hitman: Absolution (Development Team)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Development Team)
• Halo 4 (Development Team)
• Mass Effect 3 (Development Team)
• Borderlands 2 (Randy Pitchford, Paul Hellquist, Jeramy Cooke)

Best Game

• WINNER: Dishonored (Development Team)
• Journey (Development Team)
• Mass Effect 3 (Casey Hudson)
• The Walking Dead (Dan Connors, Kevin Bruner, Kevin Boyle)
• FIFA 13 (Development Team)
• Far Cry 3 (Dan Hay, Patrick Plourde, Patrik Methe)

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

And David, her name was Zoe. 😉