‘Journey,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ & ‘Far Cry 3’ Lead D.I.C.E.
‘Journey,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ & ‘Far Cry 3’ Lead D.I.C.E. Awards Nominations
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced the nominees for the 16th annual Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Awards. Leading the pack this year is thatgamecompany’s Journey , which scored eleven total nominations, including Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Downloadable Game of the Year, Casual Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering, Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Story.
Each of the remaining Game of the Year nominees (all of which placed on Game Rant’s list of the Top 10 Games of 2012) earned multiple nominations, as well, with five for Borderlands 2 , seven for Far Cry 3 , eight for The Walking Dead , and three for XCOM: Enemy Unknown . Other heavily nominated games include Halo 4 (six nominations) and Dishonored (five nominations).
The awards will be handed out on Thursday, February 7th, during the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, and the ceremony will be streamed live on Machinima.com starting at 7:30pm PT. Nerdist head honcho/comedian Chris Hardwick will assume hosting duties for the event, replacing longtime host Jay Mohr.
Hardwick, who tweetedthat he’s “EXCITED like heated electrons” to be hosting the show, discusses the event.
“The D.I.C.E. Awards are VERY important to me. I have been playing video games since there were video games. I hope there is some type of Dovahkiin Shout that will make sure I don’t mess this up. I will find one! If not, I’ll just look like a psychotic, screaming a**hole leading up to the Awards.”
Take a look at the full list of 2013 D.I.C.E. Awards nominees below.
Game of the Year
Borderlands 2 Far Cry 3 Journey The Walking Dead XCOM: Enemy UnknownOutstanding Achievement in Game Direction Journey Dishonored Far Cry 3 The Unfinished Swan The Walking Dead
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Journey Nintendo Land Sound Shapes The Unfinished Swan The Walking Dead
Downloadable Game of the Year Fez Journey Mark of the Ninja The Unfinished Swan The Walking Dead
Handheld Game of the Year
Gravity Rush Paper Mario Sticker Star Resident Evil Revelations Sound Shapes Uncharted: Golden AbyssMobile Game of the Year Fairway Solitaire Hero Academy Horn Rayman Jungle Run
Web Based Game of the Year Bingo Bash Burrito Bison Revenge CityVille 2 Sim City Social Song Pop
Action Game of the Year Borderlands 2 Far Cry 3 Halo 4 Hitman: Absolution Sleeping Dogs
Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed III Darksiders II Dishonored New Super Mario Bros. Wii U The Walking DeadCasual Game of the Year Fairway Solitaire Journey Puzzle Craft Rayman Jungle Run Sound Shapes
Family Game of the Year Dance Central 3 Just Dance 4 LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Nintendo Land Skylanders Giants
Fighting Game of the Year Persona 4 Arena PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Souldcalibur V Street Fighter X Tekken Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Racing Game of the Year
Forza Horizon LittleBigPlanet Karting MotorStorm RC Need for Speed Most Wanted Trials: EvolutionRole-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year Diablo III Dust: An Elysian Tale Guild Wars 2 Mass Effect 3 Torchlight 2
Sports Game of the Year FIFA Soccer 13 MLB The Show 2013 NBA 2K13
Strategy Game of the Year FTL Minecraft Xbox 360 Orcs Must Die 2 Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Fall of the Samurai XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin’s Creed III Far Cry 3 Hitman: Absolution Mark of the Ninja Uncharted: Golden AbyssOutstanding Achievement in Art Direction Borderlands 2 Dishonored Far Cry 3 Halo 4 Journey
Outstanding Character Performance Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina Far Cry 3: Vaas Montenegro Halo 4: Cortana Mass Effect 3: Female Commander Shepard The Walking Dead: Lee Everett
Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity Call of Duty: Black Ops II Halo 4 Nike + Kinect Training
Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering
Dishonored Gravity Rush Journey The Walking Dead XCOM: Enemy UnknownOutstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Borderlands 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops II Diablo III Halo 4 Journey
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Diablo III Far Cry 3 Journey Mass Effect 3 World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Assassin’s Creed III Diablo III Journey Medal of Honor: Warfighter Syndicate
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Dishonored Journey Sleeping Dogs Spec Ops: The Line The Walking DeadOutstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Call of Duty: Black Ops II Halo 4 Hitman: Absolution Need for Speed Most Wanted Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Fall of the Samurai
Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim dominated the D.I.C.E. awardslast year with wins in five categories. Following strong showings at the 2012 Spike VGAs, will Journe y and The Walking Dead be able to keep their winning streaks alive? Will either game earn more awards than Skyrim ? What do you think?
Ranters, are there any games that you think the AIAS has unfairly overlooked? Do you find any surprises among the nominations? And who would you pick to win the major categories? Let us know in the comments below.
The 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony takes place February 7, 2013. Check back with Game Rant for a full list of the winners.
Follow me on Twitter @ HakenGaken.
Source: The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences