The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has announced nominees for the fourth annual Game Developers' Choice Awards. Awards will be presented for eight different categories, and cover games on every platform at this year's Game Developers' Conference (GDC).

The 4th annual Game Developers Choice Awards will take place in the Civic Auditorium, San Jose, on March 24, 2004. Developers' Choice Award nominees are voted on by members of the game development community, and could be said to be the video game version of the Academy Awards.

The following is a complete list of nominees:

Game of the Year:

  • Beyond Good & Evil [Ubisoft Pictures]
  • Call of Duty [Infinity Ward]
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [Ubisoft Montreal]
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [BioWare]
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [Nintendo EAD]

Original Game Character of the Year:

  • Glitch [Metal Arms: Glitch in the System]
  • HK-47 [Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]
  • Jade [Beyond Good & Evil]
  • Joe [Viewtiful Joe]
  • Vince [Voodoo Vince]

Rookie Studio of the Year:

  • Big Huge Games [Rise of Nations]
  • eGenesis [A Tale in the Desert]
  • Infinity Ward [Call of Duty]
  • S2 Games LLC [Savage: The Battle for Newerth]
  • Swingin' Ape Studios [Metal Arms: Glitch in the System]

Excellence in Audio:

  • Chuck Russom for sound effects [Call of Duty]
  • Koji Igarashi and Ms. Michiru Yamane for composition [Castlevania: Lament of Innocence]
  • David Henry and Stan LePard for composition [Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge]
  • Laurent Betbeder, Paul Gorman, Howard Shore, Charles Stockley, and Don Veca for composition [The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]
  • Christopher L. Clanin and Tim Larkin for sound design [Uru: Ages Beyond Myst]

Excellence in Game Design:

  • Michel Ancel, Jacques Exertier, Frederic Houde, and Sebastien Morin [Beyond Good & Evil]
  • David Chateauneuf, Patrice Desilets, Jordan Mechner, and team [Prince of Persia: The Sandes of Time]
  • The Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando team [Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando]
  • Casey Hudson, James Ohlen, and team [Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]
  • Goro Abe, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Kazuyoshi Ohsawa and Ko Takeuchi [WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$]

Excellence in Programming:

  • Jak II team for programming [Jak II]
  • Kim Salo, Markus Stein and Olli Tervo for physics programming [Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne]
  • Dominic Couture, Feng Quan Wang and team for graphics programming [Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]
  • David Worswick for network programming [Project Gotham Racing 2]
  • Mike Rayner, Jon Spencer, and team for programming [SSX 3]

Excellence in Visual Arts:

  • Mickael Labat, Raphael Lacoste, Celine Tellier, and team [Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]
  • Akira Yamaoka [Silent Hill 3]
  • Masanao Arimoto, Yoshiki Haruhana, and Satoru Takizawa [The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]
  • Eric Kohler and team [Tron 2.0]
  • Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya, and team [Viewtiful Joe]

Excellence in Writing:

  • Michel Ancel and Jacques Exertier [Beyond Good & Evil]
  • Charles Cecil, Steve Ince, Neil Richards, and Tony Warriner [Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon]
  • Sheldon Pacotti and Sarah Paetsch [Dues Ex: Invisible War]
  • Takehiro Izushi [Fire Emblem]
  • David Gaider, Drew Karpyshyn, Luke Kristjanson, and Peter Thomas [Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]

For more information about the awards or Game Developers' Conference, please head to the link below.

Source: IGDA