BAFTA Games Awards

by Graeme Stirling

In the wake of the BAFTA games awards, we bring you an unbiased and not at all disgruntled breakdown of this year’s winners.

It’s no secret that computer games these days are big business, or that, thanks to graphical prowess and the work of scriptwriters and voice actors, have become increasingly cinematic. At BAFTA time, they have their own awards for everything from design and audio engineering to innovation and artistic achievement. There’s even a best performer award for the aforementioned voice actors, with this year’s winner Ashley Johnson outstripping Hollywood’s own Ellen Page for her role in The Last of Us.

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This title in particular won big at this year’s event, with the development team taking both the Audio Achievement and overall Best Game awards and the scriptwriting duo of Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann snaffling the Best Story win.

On smaller screens, Tearaway, in addition to winning in the Mobile & Handheld category, took both the Artistic Achievement and Family awards – a triumph for teamwork.

The games awards are also partially streamed by genre to give every title a half-decent chance. Whilst Sports and Best British Game had predictable results – Fifa 2014 and GTA 5, respectively – up and coming indie developer Lucas Pope took the Strategy and Simulation award for his puzzle game Papers, Please. Meanwhile, Action and Adventure went to… Oh, The Last of Us. It’s been a big year for developers Naughty Dog, alright. It might even explain the pummelling that Microsoft’s Xbox One has taken at the hands of the Playstation 3, so much so that they’ve officially knocked the price down in the hope of poaching some customers. Who said computer games are for kids? (Few people in the last ten years, actually, but still.)

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BEST GAME

·         Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
·         Grand Theft Auto 5
·         WINNER - THE LAST OF US
·         Papers, Please
·         Super Mario 3D World
·         Tearaway

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE

·         Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
·         Grand Theft Auto 5
·         WINNER - THE LAST OF US
·         LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
·         Tomb Raider

BEST STRATEGY & SIMULATION

·         Civilization 5: Brave New World
·         Democracy 3
·         Forza Motorsport 5
·         Surgeon Simulator 2013
·         XCOM: Enemy Within
·         WINNER - PAPERS, PLEASE

BEST SPORTS

·         F1 2013
·         NBA 2K14
·         GRID 2
·         Forza Motorsport 5
·         Football Manager 2014
·         WINNER - FIFA 14

BEST FAMILY

·         Animal Crossing: New Leaf
·         WINNER - TEARAWAY
·         Super Mario 3D World
·         Skylanders SWAP Force
·         Rayman Legends
·         Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

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BEST MULTIPLAYER

·         World of Tanks
·         Super Mario 3D World
·         The Last of Us
·         WINNER - GRAND THEFT AUTO 5
·         Dota 2
·         Battlefield 4

BEST STORY

·         The Stanley Parable
·         Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
·         WINNER - THE LAST OF US
·         Grand Theft Auto 5
·         Gone Home
·         Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

·         Tearaway
·         Super Mario 3D World
·         The Last of Us
·         WINNER - BIOSHOCK INFINITE
·         Beyond: Two Souls
·         Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

BEST MOBILE & HANDHELD

·         BADLAND
·         DEVICE 6
·         Plants vs. Zombies 2
·         Ridiculous Fishing
·         The Room Two
·         WINNER - TEARAWAY

BEST BRITISH GAME

·         Tearaway
·         The Room Two
·         LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
·         Gunpoint
·         WINNER - GRAND THEFT AUTO 5
·         DmC Devil May Cry

BEST PERFORMER

·         WINNER - ASHLEY JOHNSON (ELLIE - THE LAST OF US)
·         Courtnee Draper (Elizabeth - BioShock Infinite)
·         Ellen Page (Jodie - Beyond: Two Souls)
·         Kevan Brighting (The Narrator - The Stanley Parable)
·         Steven Ogg (Trevor Phillips - Grand Theft Auto 5)
·         Troy Baker (Joel - The Last of Us)

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BEST DEBUT GAME

·         The Stanley Parable
·         Remember Me
·         Gunpoint
·         WINNER - GONE HOME
·         Castles in the Sky
·         BADLAND

BEST GAME DESIGN

·         Tomb Raider
·         Tearaway
·         Papers, Please
·         The Last of Us
·         WINNER - GRAND THEFT AUTO 5
·         Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

·         Beyond: Two Souls
·         BioShock Infinite
·         DEVICE 6
·         The Last of Us
·         Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
·         WINNER - TEARAWAY

GAME INNOVATION

·         WINNER - BROTHERS: A TALE OF TWO SONS
·         Grand Theft Auto 5
·         Papers, Please
·         The Stanley Parable
·         Tearaway
·         Year Walk

AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT

·         Battlefield 4
·         BioShock Infinite
·         DEVICE 6
·         Grand Theft Auto 5
·         WINNER - THE LAST OF US
·         Tomb Raider


BAFTA ONES TO WATCH AWARD

·         Project Heera: Diamond Heist
·         WINNER - SIZE DOES MATTER
·         The Unknown

BAFTA FELLOWSHIP

·         Rockstar Games

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