LittleBigPlanet Dominates At AIAS Awards

Sony’s LittleBigPlanet has swept the awards at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ (AIAS) 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, held at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas. Developed by UK team Media Molecule, LittleBigPlanet won in the Overall Game of the Year category, as well as six others: Console Game of the Year, Family Game of the Year, Game Direction, Art Direction, Visual Engineering and Innovation. The game picked up an eighth award for mascot Sackboy in Outstanding Character Performance. Elsewhere at the awards, Left 4 Dead picked up two awards (Computer Game of the Year and Online Gameplay), as did Fallout 3 (Role-Playing Game of the Year and Original Story). Braid won Casual Game of the Year, World of Goo was named the Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and God of War: Chains of Olympus picked up the Best Handheld Game award. Comedian Jay Mohr once again hosted the awards ceremony, held at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. Ensemble Studios co-founder Bruce Shelley was also honored at the event, being presented with a Hall of Fame Award by fellow Ensemble co-founder Tony Goodman. The full list of winners is as follows: Overall Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet Console Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet Computer Game of the Year: Left 4 Dead Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: LittleBigPlanet Casual Game of the Year: Braid Fighting Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Handheld Game of the Year: God of War: Chains of Olympus Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Cellular Game of the Year: Spore Origins Role-Playing Game of the Year: Fallout 3 Racing Game of the Year: Burnout Paradise Outstanding Achievement in Game Design: World of Goo Adventure Game of the Year: Mirror’s Edge Sports Game of the Year: NHL 09 Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Command & Conquer 3: Red Alert Action Game of the Year: Dead Space Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Prince of Persia Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: LittleBigPlanet Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: LittleBigPlanet Outstanding Character Performance: Sackboy in LittleBigPlanet Outstanding Achievement in Story - Adapted: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Outstanding Achievement in Story - Original: Fallout 3 Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play: Left 4 Dead Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: LittleBigPlanet Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Metal Gear Solid 4 Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: Rock Band 2 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Dead Space Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: Spore "The Interactive Achievement Awards is the forum for the industry's leading game makers to honor the best in technical innovation and game play experience," said Joseph Olin, president of the AIAS. "This year's winners represent the range of interactive entertainment experiences and truly exemplify why video games enjoy so much popularity among adults and children."