GAME British Academy Video Games Awards 2012
Each year BAFTA rewards achievement in video games creation at our annual BAFTA Video Games Awards ceremony. The Awards celebrate the skill and innovation of top talent across the gaming industry.
The LiveBlog can be found at the bottom of the article, underneath the breakdown of the individual awards.
Overall, Battlefield 3, Portal 2, and LittleBigPlanet 2 were the big winners of the evening, with both Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim coming away with nothing!
Nominees, Winners and Opinions:
Dara O Briain fronted the BAFTA awards this year, and began with a lengthy opening telling us of his love for games. While we already knew of his hobbies, it was still great to have an honest gamer discussing something that they love. There were many jokes about online gameplay, especially Battlefield and Modern Warfare 3, along with lots of retro references for the older generation.
Story
Batman: Arkham City
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
L.A. Noire
Portal 2 – Winner
The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Everyone loves a great story. No matter the scale, an interesting narrative is key to get the audience engrossed, as they need characters that they care for. It’s even more impressive when the characters in question aren’t even human, and Portal 2 proves this in great style, as Wheatley and GlaDOS are very well realised, as well as having a huge amount of quotable lines.
Original Music
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Batman: Arkham City
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
L.A. Noire – Winner
The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
From the epic sweeping main theme of Skyrim to the more gentle exploration music heard in AC: Revelations, sound is becoming ever more integral to modern games. A lot of the time music isn’t given the attention it deserves, but thankfully more big name composers from the world of film are making their way over to the gaming industry. L.A. Noire featured a great mix of licensed tracks, but the original music fit in perfectly to suit the mood.
Audio Achievement
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3 – Winner
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Dead Space 2
The Nightjar
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
DICE has always been known for their audio. The crisp sounds of guns cracking in the distance, or the rumbling of tank treads overhead, you really felt like at the center of the…battlefield.
BAFTA Special Award
Markus Persson (Notch) for Minecraft, presented by Ian Livingston
””..Wow, to have a serious ceremony for games is very good, who else but the british, start by saying thanks…Wife, Parents, Mojang. Everyone out there who is making games, from big studios to small, things are going back to the old days, all games unique in the past, played Bard’s tale, Populous..The seed of Minecraft. 90′s, games like Doom, expand into new gameplay and perfect it, those times are back now, games are not only about huge titles, games on the way – Fez, Proteus, Project Zomboid.. Thanks to everyone involved in games, if I can be a small part of them, happy to do so…””””
Design
Batman: Arkham City
L.A. Noire
LittleBigPlanet 2
Portal 2 – Winner
Super Mario 3D Land
The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim
You can’t argue that Portal 2 didn’t deserve this one. The creativity in the levels, the inclusion of the gels, as well the unique co-op mode really evolved the core experience that Valve created with the original title. There were of course design aspects from the other titles such as the huge open world of Skyrim, or the amazing facial capture technology from L.A. Noire, but Valve really opened up the doors for gamers who’d never tried a puzzle game before.
Game Innovation
Bastion
Child of Eden
From Dust
L.A. Noire
LittleBigPlanet 2 – Winner
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I was really hoping Child Of Eden might have won this one, as I felt it did get a little snubbed in terms of sales. Either way, it’s hard to argue against LBP2 here again, because it’s all down to the community. As heard in their acceptance speech, it’s still surprising how varied the levels can be, and the things people have done still amazes even the developers.
Mobile & Handheld
Dead Space iOS
Magnetic Billiards: Blueprint
Peggle HD – Winner
Quarrel
Super Mario 3D Land
The Nightjar
A wide range of games here, with big cheers for ‘The Nightjar’, a quirky audio only iOS title. Peggle have always had their place in the casual market, offering games with a real low barrier to entry. While Dead Space iOS offered a very impressive experience technically, you can’t escape the pick up and play aspect that PopCap always brings to their titles.
Action
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Batman: Arkham City – Winner
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Very tough to call here. While I’d argue that Portal 2 seemed like an odd nomination for ‘Action’, there was strong competition from a number of genres. Batman took it, primarily for its free flowing combat and mix of gameplay that really empowered the play.
BAFTA Ones To Watch Award In association with Dare to Be Digital
Joust
Dreamweaver
Tick Tock Toys – Winner
I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing about these titles. These are some very quirky and unique indie projects that really show a lot of potential. Joust looked pretty hilarious, and while it shared a name with a popular web development tool, Dreamweaver looked like a lot of fun too.
Online – Browser
Gardens of Time
I Am Playr
Monstermind – Winner
Resistance 3
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure
The Sims Social
Browser games have come a long way over the last few years, offering persistent experiences that tie in with your Facebook friends. I was a little shocked to see a ‘hidden-object’ game here, and I hadn’t heard of the rather unique looking ‘I Am Playr’ football title. The Sims finally moved online with The Sims Social, and of course Skylanders online presence was hugely important to its success…that is, if the suppliers can actually make enough figures for the demand.
Artistic Achievement
Batman: Arkham City
L.A. Noire
LitteBigPlanet 2
Raymans Origins – Winner
The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Art is always an interesting category, since it’s really all in the eye of the beholder. Art can take many forms, however the clear winner was Rayman: Origins for its beautiful hand-drawn colourful style that is rarely seen nowadays. L.A. was notable for the cohesive world of L.A it created, as well as Uncharted having possible the most beautiful vistas of the year.
Debut Game
Bastion
Eufloria
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet – Winner
L.A. Noire
Monstermind
RIFT
Xbox Live’s Summer Of Arcade once again gave us a number of high quality games including both Bastion and ITSP, with the later wining thing one. Interesting how varied this award was, from MMO’s to Facebook games.
Family
Dance Central 2
Kinect Sports 2
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
LittleBigPlanet 2 – Winner
Mario Kart 7
Family games are great. They aim to bring everyone together to provide an experience that has no barrier to entry, which can often be tricky. Platform games are generally great for this since they feature simple control schemes and easy gameplay mechanics to grasp. LittleBigPlanet 2 also features great community content, meaning that there’s really a level for everyone, plus the creativity aspect allows everyone to get involved with modifying the levels.
Online Multiplayer
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Battlefield 3 – Winner
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Dark Souls
Gears of War 3
LittleBigPlanet 2
Many thought Modern Warfare 3 had this in the bag, but EA had other plans. Battlefield 3 really upped the game in the competitive multiplayer market, offering much larger maps featuring vehicle warfare as well as a more team based experience than the competition. Dark Souls was an interesting choice for this category, and it was nice to see the unique gameplay from Assassin’s Creed get a mention, but it was really down to the shooters once again this year.
Performer
Aaron Stanton – L.A. Noire
Mark Hamill – Batman: Arkham City – Winner
Nolan North – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Stephen Fry – LittleBigPlanet 2
Stephen Merchant – Portal 2
Togo Igawa – Total War: SHOGUN 2
Mark Hamill had his limelight at the Spike VGA’s, but apparently that wasn’t enough, as he also scooped up this award too. Nolan North was in half of the games this year, so we had to see him in this list somewhere, and Stephen Merchant gave an amazing performance in Portal 2. Overall the quality of voice acting is getting ever better as just like the music award, more higher profile names are attracted to the video game industry.
Sports/Fitness
Dance Central 2
DiRT 3
Fl 2011
FIFA 2012
Kinect Sports: Season Two – Winner
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012
Putting both Sports and Fitness games together was an interesting choice. With motion controls coming into their own this year thanks to both the Xbox Kinect and Playstation Move, fitness games have been coming thick and fast. Dance Central makes an appearance, but no sign of the mighty Just Dance series. Kinect Sports was a great debut title for the Kinect, really showing off what the tech could do, and did huge things for Rare. While I felt the sequel wasn’t quite as strong, Kinect Sports: Season Two did great at retail, and it’s not hard to see why.
Strategy
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Football Manager 2012
From Dust
Ghost Recon Shadow Wars
Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Winner
Strategy was once the domain of PC gamers. Studios are increasingly attempting to incorporate these elements into console games, and even Assassin’s Creed: Revelations featured some last year. It’s nice to see Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars getting a nod, but Creative Assembly grabbed the gold with their popular Total War series with a sequel to the title that helped get them where they are today.
GAME Award of 2011
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3 – Winner
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
FIFA 2012
L.A Noire
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Minecraft
Portal 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception
Possibly a surprise for some, Battlefield 3 took this one. Very strong competition again, with a huge range of titles covering all genres. Definitely a great year for all gamers, and hopefully we will see a huge variety next year too.
Best Game
Batman: Arkham City
FIFA 2012
L.A. Noire
Portal 2 – Winner
The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Jonathan Ross presented the final award of the evening, and after making a number of jokes at the expense of both Dara O Briain and ‘The Saturdays’ be rattled through the nominees. Strong competition this year (isn’t it always…), but Portal 2 takes it. Valve’s unique puzzle platformer certainly impressed everyone when it released last year. Saying that, it was definitely a packed year with debut’s from L.A. Noire as well as the Batman follow up. I know we say this every year, but last year was great for gaming.
———————————————————————————————
[liveblog]