It’s always a tradition for a gamer at the end of the year to visit the various gaming websites and read their game of the year features.  Half the fun comes from complaining on the message boards when their choice does not match up with what you had.  I have done this plenty of times as I’m sure just about everybody on this site has.

Well, the Game Developers Choice Awards are a bit different in that it is the actual developers working within the industry voting on these awards.  Does this make them anymore legit than other game of the years lists?  Depends on how you look at it, but a lot of people seem to think it does.  Either way, it’s time to get those argumentative keyboard skills up because the GDC announced their nominees for the awards ceremony to be held in March.  The nominees are….

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
• Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
• The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
• Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)

INNOVATION AWARD

• DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
• Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
• Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)
• The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)

BEST AUDIO

• Bioshock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games)
• Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Games)
• Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
• Saint’s Row IV (Volition/Deep Silver)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)

BEST DEBUT

• Blue Manchu (Card Hunter)
• The Fullbright Company (Gone Home)
• Galactic Cafe (The Stanley Parable)
• Squad (Kerbal Space Program)
• Undead Labs (State of Decay)

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Starbreeze/505 Games)
• Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
• Papers,Please (Lucas Pope)
• Resogun (Housemarque/Sony)
• The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)

BEST DESIGN

• Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
• The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
• Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME

• DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
• Fire Emblem: Awakening (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
• Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)

BEST NARRATIVE

• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Starbreeze/505 Games)
• Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
• The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix)
• The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)

BEST TECHNOLOGY

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North/Rockstar Games)
• The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
• Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerrilla Games/Sony)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)

BEST VISUAL ARTS

• Bioshock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games)
• DmC (Ninja Theory/Capcom)
• The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/Sony)
• Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Level 5/Namco Bandai)
• Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony)