BioShock, Portal top GDC Award noms

2K Boston/Australia's dystopian shooter grapples with Valve's puzzle-game pack-in with five nominations apiece for 8th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards; red carpet unfurls February 20.

While the vast majority of Best of 2007 awards already adorn their creators' mantles, a few of the more prestigious ceremonies remain for the month ahead. Last week, organizers of the D.I.C.E. Summit threw their support behind 2K Boston/Australia's BioShock with an impressive 12 Interactive Achievement Awards nominations, followed closely by Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare with 10 nods.

Today, the CMP Game Group issued its list of nominees for the 8th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be held in concert with the Independent Games Festival on February 20 as part of this year's Game Developers Conference. Not unlike the IAAs, 2K Boston/Australia's BioShock tops the list of nominees with five nominations. Sharing BioShock's limelight is Portal, the unexpectedly sharp first-person shooter packed in with Valve's Orange Box, which received a similar quintet of award nods. Both BioShock and Portal were named as Game of the Year contenders, alongside Call of Duty 4, Harmonix's Rock Band, and Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy.

Whereas Psychonauts creator and Double Fine Studios head Tim Schafer was master of ceremonies at last year's award show, CMP has tapped Jak and Daxter creator and Naughty Dog founder Jason Rubin to host this year's event. The Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony will be held in concert with the Independent Games Festival on February 20. GDC 2008 will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from February 18-22.

This year's nominees are listed in full below.

Game of the Year:
BioShock
Call of Duty 4
Portal
Rock Band
Super Mario Galaxy

Best Game Design:
BioShock
Call of Duty 4
Mass Effect
Portal
Super Mario Galaxy

Best Visual Art:
Assassin's Creed
Team Fortress 2
Crysis
BioShock
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Best Technology:
Halo 3
Crysis
Call of Duty 4
Portal
Assassin's Creed

Best Writing:
Portal
God of War II
Mass Effect
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
BioShock

Best Audio:
Call of Duty 4
Everyday Shooter
BioShock
God of War II
Mass Effect

Best Debut:
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
flOw (ThatGameCompany)
The Witcher (CD Projekt)
Everyday Shooter (Queasy Games)
Aquaria (Bit Blot)

Innovation:
Rock Band
Portal
flOw
Peggle
Mass Effect

Best Handheld Game:
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Phase
Contra 4
Peggle (for iPod)

Best Downloadable Game:
Pac-Man Championship Edition
Everyday Shooter
Peggle
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (XBLA version)
flOw

61 Comments

  • rabbids

    Posted Sep 21, 2008 1:34 pm PT

    yea bioshock!!!

  • monkeyhore

    Posted Feb 20, 2008 7:35 am PT

    Glad to see Portal on there. Yeah, it was short and almost felt like a demo for the tech... which it was. It was something, from my understanding, thrown together to test things out. Then they made it into a game and added it to a bundle. However, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a game more. All those things aside, great game and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that appreciated it.

  • miksalud

    Posted Feb 18, 2008 2:43 pm PT

    Well i do belive they won't make the same mistake as Gamespot did, when pronouncing freaking Super Mario Galaxy for Game of the Year. I mean, yeah Call of Duty 4 was lacking some serious single player campaign but still the multyplayer did its best to promote the game as one of the best online shooters of all times. And i am surprised they put Bioshock instead of Crysis... taken from the point that Crysis was all about "gief the shiney looking rifle" (tune gfx to tha max if you dare) it did not posses the spirit of some great shooters like Half Life 2 or Bioshock even, but still it had plenty things to offer and in my personal opinion it should have been Crysis instead of Bioshock. In the end, my vote goes for Portal.. funnies and oddest game in resent years...

  • badATchaos

    Posted Feb 18, 2008 5:26 am PT

    i don't get why Crysis isn't up there for best game.

  • SnuffDaddyNZ

    Posted Feb 17, 2008 4:30 pm PT

    I've finished Portal and I felt that the game was too easy, too short and felt a bit like a tech demo with a game built around it.

    Very fun tho.

  • achilles123

    Posted Feb 17, 2008 4:27 am PT

    S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in no category? And BioShock a best game nominee? Jesus, where is this world heading to?...At least they noticed Portal, I'm impressed.

  • Razgard4612

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 7:38 pm PT

    love how an i-pod game made its way there. how awesome is that!

  • _Piranha_

    Posted Jan 24, 2008 2:12 am PT

    The best game --> BioShock (2K Games - Boston/Australia)
    super !!!

  • ollie_sr

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 4:54 pm PT

    iory2...

    you're an idiot these are the nominees from GDC. Not gamespot.

  • Telekenesis123 posted Jan 23, 2008 11:40 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Telekenesis123

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 11:40 am PT (hide)

    Gamespot, your star is falling and Gametrailers is rising.

    Analyze the two sites and learn the error of your ways...

    You stuffy suits, this is free advice...owned.

  • Sonicplys

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 11:40 am PT

    Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, and Portal to win big.

  • volcomstoner180

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 9:11 am PT

    orange box and bioshock are games of the year
    its a tie, and tie goes to game with the most content
    so ORANGE BOX WINNNS!

  • kenshingumi2007

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 8:59 am PT

    I just got the Orange Box on monday and ITS AWESOME!! Anyone who doesn't have Orange Box is really missing out!

  • carljohnson3456

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 7:01 am PT

    Havent got the chance to play the Orange Box yet... I'm missing out.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 3:47 am PT

    If you didnt find Portal incredibly funny, then you do NOT have any sense of humor whatsoever. Portal was short, but so what? Firstly, it was budget priced, secondly, that was 3 hours of pure awesome, rather than 2 hours of awesome and 5 hours of utter boring.

  • DMWhiteDragon

    Posted Jan 23, 2008 2:53 am PT

    Both awesome games... for sure

    for Best Debut i hope The Wticher wins.... that was a real awesome experiance and had just alot MORE to offer than the others. If not The Witcher then perhaps Crackdown maybe.

    I might go load up Bioshock again now actually, love that atmosphere

  • Shmoe82

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 11:33 pm PT

    Portal was easily one of the best short game I have played in years. The rest of half-life 2 and a team fortress was a bonus.

  • jaredcrazy3232

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 11:28 pm PT

    all i can say is im not going to be the one to disappoint GLaDOS, i like living! Portal all the way, but i will say everybody seems to making very good points about why other games deserve it, but i've played 'em and as a VALVE fan boy i gotta stick with my lovable cube. But as it stands this will be a tough year, as they are all top notch!

  • TheJGene

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 9:54 pm PT

    Definitely agree with the nod to Team Fortress 2 for Visual Art. How they managed to integrate such an funky art style into such a sharply designed and playing FPS is very clever IMO.

  • saadniazi

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 9:49 pm PT

    litchi ur not the only one. portal had like...2 or 3 funny moments at best....i kind of wonder why episode 2 didnt get much attention =S cuz it was simply a very good game.

  • Collin20

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 8:53 pm PT

    PORTAL!!!!! I miss my weighted companion cube...

  • callumohare

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 8:51 pm PT

    @Newnab Looks like sOMBODYS a 360 fanboy. Amirite?

  • Litchie

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 6:52 pm PT

    Am I the only one who thinks Portal gets a bit too much attention? It was a fun little game and I liked it, but it took me about 4 hours to complete it, and I don't really feel like playing it again. It really felt more like a demo to show off what they can do with a game, rather than a game. A fun little game, but nominee as GotY? Come on.

  • BR0M

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 6:49 pm PT

    ! Cliche alert !...but it's true... Portal is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

  • NachoPSN

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 6:29 pm PT

    Portal = GOTY

  • aVeryAngryDuck

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 5:54 pm PT

    @ Newnab

    You've never played Bioshock, have you?

  • rocabator

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 5:45 pm PT

    Well done BioShock, it deserves it.

  • Shroomiz

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 5:43 pm PT

    Call Of Duty 4!!!!!

  • Newnab

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 4:28 pm PT

    Game of the Year:
    Give it to Portal


    Best Game Design:
    Either Portal, Mass Effect or Super Mario Galaxy

    Best Visual Art:
    Out of those? Team Fortress 2


    Best Technology:
    Halo 3. The things it's doing that no other console game is yet doing is pretty impressive.


    Best Writing:
    Goes to Mass Effect for me. Portal is great but not long enough to compare to the likes of ME. Less to write, less displayment of their writing skill.


    Best Audio:
    Mass Effect out of those. Though personally Halo 3 came through with another great soundtrack.

    Best Debut:
    Crackdown (Realtime Worlds). I assume that because they put down the dev, they mean the dev gets the award for a good debut. Well. RTW did pretty good, made a great game and I have high hopes for their future. More so than the others.


    Innovation:
    Portal. It's genius.

    Best Handheld Game:
    Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. No contest.


    Best Downloadable Game:
    Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (XBLA version). No contest.

  • bruno_fmenedes

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    Super Mario Galaxy is again ignored in the same 2 categories:

    - Best Visual Art -
    Galaxy has much better visual art than both Crysis and Uncharted. Anyone who doesn't agree doesn't know what visual art is, in my opinion.

    - Best Audio -
    Everyday Shooter has better audio than Galaxy? This is laughable. And wrong!

  • Lord_Artix

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 4:09 pm PT

    Why is Portal not with Innovation? Seemed like one hell of an innovative puzzle shooter to me. Glad to see that it's getting the praise it deserves.

  • hunter8man

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:50 pm PT

    Awesome! My two favorite games from last year getting the nod. Portal was a blast, and Bioshock was brilliant. I hope to see them get what they deserve.

  • revolutionary0

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:40 pm PT

    DFTricks, There will never be cake, remember the scripture the "cake was a lie"

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:39 pm PT

    meh, not bad at first, but the picks get worse the farther down the list you go

  • DFTricks

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:28 pm PT

    YES PORTAL!!! Hey there might finaly be cake!

  • Brambler

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:28 pm PT

    GOTY: Rock Band
    Game Design: COD 4
    Visual Art: Uncharted
    Tech: Crysis
    Writing: God of War 2
    Audio: Everyday Shooter
    Handheld: Don't really care
    Debut: Everyday Shooter
    Innovation: Rock Band
    Downloadable: Everyday Shooter

  • NWA_31

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:26 pm PT

    Go Portal, Go Portal !!!

  • LinconSixEcho

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:20 pm PT

    BioShock was incredible!! Call of Duty 4 just blew me away and I play that more than Halo 3 (and I am a HUGE Halo fan).

    I would say that BioShock deserves GOTY since it was well written and had lots of OMG moments.
    I wish that the PS3 would have a copy to play so that everyone could enjoy it.

  • MrManlyness

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:16 pm PT

    I partly agree with ctg867. Most of the nominations that I've seen throughout all of the videogame websites nominate all the games that had improved over their last sequel, or were more innovative compared to other games. I understand Bioshock and SMG (awesome games), but I don't see how COD4 gets nominated for GotY, while Halo 3 gets best technology nom (and Portal is gonna beat Halo's crap in that category). I know this all on opinion, but I just don't understand why Halo isn't getting the props that it deserves from any other people. Other than that, though, this is a pretty nice list of games.

  • Kazona

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:15 pm PT

    Very good choices in pretty much every category. Each of them are great games to say the least, so it should be a close call for the winners.

  • mafdys

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:14 pm PT

    good onya portal!

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 3:01 pm PT

    Got a good list of games

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:58 pm PT

    A lot of good choices there. Bioshock definitely deserves most of the accolades it's getting.

  • LostLegacy54

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    My winners:

    GOTY-CoD 4.
    Game Design- Portal
    Visual Art-Bioshock
    Technology-Crysis
    Writing-HL2:Episode 2
    Audio-Bioshock
    Debut- n/a
    Innovation-Portal
    Handheld-Peggle for iPod (funnest game on iPod!)
    Downloadable-Peggle

  • ctg867

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    I'm sick of all these gaming awards. Especially all the stuck up ones that will only give awards to all these "different" and "new" and "innovative" games. Don't get me wrong, I loved Bioshock and Portal and all of their innovations. But I loved Halo 3 just as much. But apparently, it's revolutionary online set up that's a good three years ahead of the competition (nobody has even been able to rip off Halo 2s only correctly yet, sorry, but COD4 and Shadowrun left a lot out), only earns it one nomination that it wont even win. Too. ****ing. Pathetic.

  • KayHangman

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    Nice to see "The Witcher" in there under Best Debut, although I'd have included it in Best Writing, too.

  • FF6fan

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:37 pm PT

    Well i know for sure that portal isnt winning goty though its amazingly fun... I think its a toss up between Bioshock or Super Mario Galaxy just cause mario has won both ign and gamespot in goty award and bioshock is always the runner up. though im not to sure why rock band is even considered in goty but thats my opinion.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 2:35 pm PT

    DonutTrooper: Actually, Narbacular Drop was the freeware game VALVe fell in love with and employed the team that created it for their final project.

    Portal was a commercial game from planning, through production to release. It was never intended to be anything but a fully salable and commercial project.

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