Finalists Revealed For 2011 Game Developers Choice Online Awards

Author: by Staff

The organizers of GDC Online are proud to reveal the finalists for the show's second annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards. The awards ceremony, to be held on the evening of October 12 during the Austin-based GDC Online, will honor the achievements of the creators and operators of online video games that launched within the last 12 months in North America, covering large-scale MMOs, free-to-play titles, growing social network games and more. The awards recognize achievement in online games across 12 categories, including excellence in visual arts, online game design, live games, technology, audio and community. This year, Three Rings Design's co-op RPG Spiral Knights leads the finalists with a total of four nominations, and is followed by Trion Worlds' big-budget MMO Rift and social network titles FrontierVille (Zynga) and Ravenwood Fair (Lolapps), each of which earned three nominations. These finalists were selected from a larger pool of publicly-submitted nominees by the International Choice Award Network's (ICAN) online division, a group comprised of 400 specially picked, leading game industry creators from the foremost online game companies -- these individuals will also be responsible for choosing the winners in each of the regular award categories. The following are the finalists for the 2011 Game Developers Choice Online Awards: Best Online Visual Arts DC Universe Online (Sony Online Entertainment) Rift (Trion Worlds) Spiral Knights (Three Rings Design/Sega) Dragons Of Atlantis (Kabam) Vindictus (devCAT/Nexon) Best Social Network Game CityVille (Zynga) Gardens Of Time (Playdom) Dragons Of Atlantis (Kabam) FrontierVille (Zynga) Ravenwood Fair (Lolapps) Best Online Game Design Ravenwood Fair (Lolapps) Pocket Frogs (NimbleBit) Zuma Blitz (Popcap) Spiral Knights (Three Rings Design/Sega) FrontierVille (Zynga) Online Innovation Dragon Age Legends (EA2D) Shadow Cities (Grey Area) Empire Avenue (Empire Avenue) Pocket Frogs (NimbleBit) Zombie Lane (Digital Chocolate) Best Online Technology World of Tanks (Wargaming) CityVille (Zynga) DC Universe Online (Sony Online Entertainment) Rift (Trion Worlds) Lego Universe Online (The LEGO Group/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) Best Community Relations Wizard101 (KingsIsle Entertainment) World of Tanks (Wargaming) Minecraft (Mojang) EA Sports FIFA Superstars (Playfish/EA) World Of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) Best Audio For An Online Game Clone Wars Adventures (Sony Online Entertainment) Spiral Knights (Three Rings Design/Sega) Ravenwood Fair (Lolapps) FrontierVille (Zynga) Dragon Age Legends (EA2D) Best New Online Game Rift (Trion Worlds) Gardens Of Time (Playdom) Vindictus (devCAT/Nexon) Spiral Knights (Three Rings Design/Sega) Monster Galaxy (Gaia Online) Best Live Game Wizard101 (KingsIsle Entertainment) Moshi Monsters (Mind Candy) League Of Legends (Riot Games) World Of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) Minecraft (Mojang) In addition, the Choice Online Awards will include two Special Award categories, celebrating iconic developers and games that have left an everlasting impression and shaped massive online games that are played worldwide. GDC Online organizers previously announced that this year's Online Game Legend Award will go to John Taylor and Kelton Flinn, the founders of Kesmai Corporation, and the latest Hall of Fame Award will go to Sony Online Entertainment's seminal MMO EverQuest. The conference will also once again feature the Audience Award, which will be chosen via public vote in September -- stay tuned for more details. The Game Developers Choice Online Awards are a sister event to GDC San Francisco's annual Game Developers Choice Awards, and the ceremony will take place on October 12, 2011 alongside GDC Online at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. More information about the second annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards is available at the official website for the GDC Online awards. GDC Online (formerly GDC Austin) will take place from October 10-13, 2011. Information about sessions and registration is available at the official GDC Online website. GDC Online is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb, as is this website.