Red Dead Redemption Takes Game of the Year at GDC Awards

The Game Developers Choice Awards were given out and the big winner was Red Dead Redemption, the open-world action game from Rockstar and from Take Two, which managed to get the Game of the Year award and three others.

Trip Hawkins, the founder of publisher Electronic Arts and now the CEO of Digital Chocolate, has presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter Molyneux, the leader of developer Lionhead and the man that brought the world Populous, Black & White and, more recently, the Fable series.

Yu Suzuki, who created Outrun, Space Harrier and Shenmue, got a Pioneer Award while Tim Brengle and Ian Mackenzie got the Ambassador Award for their work on bringing students and independent developers to the Game Developers Conference.

The full list of winners includes:

Game of the Year
Red Dead Redemption

Best Audio
Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games)

Best Debut Game
Minecraft

Best Writing
Mass Effect 2

Best Game Design
Red Dead Redemption

Best Downloadable Game
Minecraft

Best Visual Art
Limbo

Best Technology
Red Dead Redemption

Best Handheld Game
Cut the Rope

Innovation Award
Minecraft

Markus Perrson, aka “Notch”, the developer of Minecraft, has stated, “Being nominated in both the IGF and the GDCA shows just how fast Minecraft has grown. Apparently we are a real game now, so go indies.”

The show was hosted by Tim Schafer, the leader of Double Fine, who said that the video games based award shows are superior to those in acting or in sports because winning can be done “while leading a sedentary lifestyle, promoting violence and paying no attention whatsoever to personal appearance.”

The Game Developers Choice Awards are important because they are created and voted on by developers, meaning that they each year give an accurate picture of what those who work in the industry liked to play during the year that passed.