BAFTA game nominations open

The British awards body announces the 13 categories for this year's event and invites entry submissions.

This year's British Academy Video Games Awards is a 'streamlined' affair, changing the number of categories available for nomination to 13 from 17.

The 13 main award categories this year are Action and Adventure, Strategy and Simulation, Sports, Multiplayer, Casual, Use of Audio, Original Score, Technical Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Innovation, Story and Character, and Best Game. Any game is eligible as long as it was (or will be) released in the UK between October 6, 2006, and December 31, 2007.

Entries for all the main 13 awards will be grouped into categories, and voted on by a team of industry members and BAFTA members--the organisation is expecting a record number of entries this year. The deadline for entry is July 6, and nominations will be announced September 25.

This year there will also be two new awards. The BAFTA Ones to Watch, in association with the Dare to be Digital competition, will be awarded to a student game designer team. The second extra award will be The Fellowship, the "highest accolade the Academy can bestow," which will be given for outstanding achievement and contribution to the industry. The recipient of The Fellowship will be announced "shortly."

The Children's Game category will this year get a separate event, the BAFTA Children's Awards in association with Electronic Arts, which will take place at the Hilton in Park Lane on November 25. The deadline for submissions for this award is July 12.

This year's BAFTA awards will take place at Battersea Evolution in London on October 23, and the organisers are expecting some 2,000 attendees, compared to the 700 who attended last year. Games which were honoured with gongs last year included Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, which won Best Game; Guitar Hero, which won Best Soundtrack; and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy for Best Gameplay.

35 Comments

  • m4gicm4rty

    Posted Jun 22, 2007 1:51 pm PT

    @From90ne - all those games deserve to be mentioned, but surely not Shadowrun? c'mon there be a dreadfully awefull game!

  • h_alipanahgold

    Posted Jun 22, 2007 9:08 am PT

    ok made it

  • football_legend

    Posted Jun 22, 2007 1:39 am PT

    This year's picking will be extremely tough.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    I would have to say no on gears

  • Lord_Alan

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 7:32 pm PT

    Gears of War for President.

  • abdullrahman

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 4:51 pm PT

    ((Devil May Cray 4)) for the best game.

  • puressenceuk

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 3:08 pm PT

    scullyuk2005 assassins creed for the best game of the year!

    Yes, lets all vote for a game that has not even been released yet! MUPPPET!!!!!

  • orochi

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 2:58 pm PT

    i nominate manhunt 2, in fact, i wish someone would just to be a dong about it. and this is the country that eats blood pudding for christs sake.

  • scullyuk2005

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 2:44 pm PT

    assassins creed for the best game of the year!

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 2:42 pm PT

    I'm expecting a ton of stuff from game awards this year because of the amount of games coming out.

  • RytOnMn

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 2:33 pm PT

    "voted on by a team of industry members and BAFTA members"

    Surely the highest accolades come from public votes? The games we enjoy? Industry back-slapping doesn't mean too much to me.

  • Stabby

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 2:20 pm PT

    The BAFTAs are good awards, but not for games. Those that get nominated are REALLY strange (Black was last year and that was not bad, not GOTY worthy though).

    It won't be predictable and it won't be very public in the North America, Oceania... and even most of Europe.

  • From90ne

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 1:25 pm PT

    So basically a Gears of War sweep, with Oblivion, Halo 3, God of War 2 and maybe Shadowrun cleaning up the rest?

  • jord121290

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 1:11 pm PT

    "BAFTA Children's Awards in association with Electronic Arts"

    I wonder whether their might be some EA products up for nomination there?

  • tuff_gong92

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 12:58 pm PT

    Not manhunt 2.

  • pandaramaster

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 12:14 pm PT

    Oh great! It's great that a big name, BAFTA, is celebrating games. Yay!!!

  • mixv2

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 12:10 pm PT

    cool

  • laitheybaby

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 11:04 am PT

    I can't wait till the day the nominations are announced... only because Halo 3 is released on the same day he he

  • Quantum_1416

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 11:00 am PT

    Yeah sure, sounds great and probably be interesting to see. I will nominate Resistance: Fall of Man and Manhunt 2!

  • Smartiepants

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:57 am PT

    "Last year's games weren't very good"? The winners included GRAW, Guitar Hero, Lego Star Wars II - all good games, I'd say.

  • Droynas

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:51 am PT

    hahah nominate games that you haven't played?!?! Omg....

  • JamesHS

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:35 am PT

    They'll better make better choices last years games wern't very good at all

  • Lady_Bahamut

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:35 am PT

    Okami better get action/adventure and artistic achievement.

  • Zazalon

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:35 am PT

    Tony Hawks Project 8 for biggest dissappointment

  • Chi-You-Man

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:30 am PT

    Shenmue......

  • Youngpudding

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:28 am PT

    How can they give awards to games,everybody likes different games,i suppose the same can be said for music and films tho :>}

  • playwiz

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:24 am PT

    command and conquer 3 for strategy

  • IanGlover

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:17 am PT

    The nomination rules have scuppered any chance to nominate Manhunt 2 for Artistic Achievement. It would have been amusing to see the Academy having to make an award to a banned game and for the BBFC to have banned a future award-winner (though I expect they have done that with films in the past!)

  • Muzykmann

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 10:14 am PT

    BEST GAME EVER IN THE WHOLE WORLD EVER: MARIO PARTY 42

    *shakes head*. Seriously people. At least TRY and be a little objective.

  • ALLoY1717

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 9:38 am PT

    Why are you guys nominating games that aren't out?

  • Riamo_10 posted Jun 21, 2007 9:18 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Riamo_10

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 9:18 am PT (hide)

    Best Multiplayer - UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3
    Strategy and Simulation - GRAN TURISMO 5

  • onthe_dl

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 9:13 am PT

    so many awards now any game can get them. i never buy games judged on awards really.

  • Thornscar

    Posted Jun 21, 2007 9:04 am PT

    Halo 3 for best MultiPlayer.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!