14 DAY TRIAL // After the 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards that took place last month, it was time for developers themselves to choose their best products, with the 2012 Game Developers Choice awards revealing their final list of nominees.
The 12th edition of the Game Developers Choice Awards will take place on March 7, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, as part of the bigger Game Developers Conference.
At the award ceremony, the best games released last year will be honored with a variety of distinctions for different categories, from the best game design to the best technology or the most innovative ideas.
This year, the nominees are led by obvious favorites like Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Valve’s Portal 2, but also by indie hits like Supergiant Games’ Bastion, each being nominated in five categories.
Check out the full list of nominees for the 12th annual Game Developers Choice Awards below.
Best Game Design
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo) Portal 2 (Valve) Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios) Dark Souls (FromSoftware)
Innovation
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Toys For Bob) Portal 2 (Valve) Bastion (Supergiant Games) Johann Sebastian Joust (Die Gute Fabrik) L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Best Technology
Battlefield 3 (DICE) L.A. Noire (Team Bondi) Crysis 2 (Crytek Frankfurt/UK) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios) Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog) Best Handheld/Mobile Game Tiny Tower (NimbleBit) Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo) Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick) Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment) Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Capy Games/Superbrothers)
Best Audio
Bastion (Supergiant Games) LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios) Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games) Portal 2 (Valve)
Best Downloadable Game
Stacking (Double Fine) From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier) Bastion (Supergiant Games) Outland (Housemarque) Frozen Synapse (Mode 7)
Best Narrative
Portal 2 (Valve) The Witcher 2 (CD Projekt RED) Bastion (Supergiant Games) Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog) Saints Row: The Third (Volition)
Best Debut
Supergiant Games (Bastion) Team Bondi (L.A. Noire) Re-Logic (Terraria) BioWare Austin (Star Wars: The Old Republic) Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)
Best Visual Arts
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog) Rayman Origins (Ubisoft Montpellier) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Ignition Japan) Battlefield 3 (DICE)
Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios) Portal 2 (Valve) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal) Dark Souls (FromSoftware) Which are your favorites? We already crowed Skyrim as our Game of the Year, while Portal 2 was a more than worthy runner up. Share your picks in a comment below.