8th Annual AIAS Award Nominees Announced

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the candidates for the 8th annual AIAS Awards, honoring "outstanding technical and artistic achievement in the world of interactive entertainment." The awards are nominated and judged by those within the industry and AIAS members. The Game of the Year nominees are Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (also nominated for Console Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack, Game Design, and Character or Story Development); Half-Life 2 (also nominated for Computer Game of the Year, Innovation in Computer Gaming, and Outstanding Achivement in Art Direction, Character Performance, Game Play Engineering, Visual Engineering, Game Design, and Character or Story Development); Halo 2 (also nominated in Console Game of the Year, Innovation in Console Gaming, and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Online Game Play); Katamari Damacy (also nominated in Console Game of the Year, Innovation in Console Gaming, and Oustanding Achivement in Original Musical Composition and Game Design); and World of Warcraft (also nominated in Computer Game of the Year). The full list of nominees, which includes console- and PC-specific awards, is available at the AIAS website. The winners will be announced on February 1st at the 2005 D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas.