By Carla Hodge
So it's that time in the calendar when industries large and small get together and tell each other just how ruddy great they are, and videogaming is no different. The British Academy of Film and Television Awards has its own gaming-dedicated ceremony, and nominations have just been announced. 2013 was quite the year for interactive entertainment, so the field is strong and competitive.
So it's that time in the calendar when industries large and small get together and tell each other just how ruddy great they are, and videogaming is no different. The British Academy of Film and Television Awards has its own gaming-dedicated ceremony, and nominations have just been announced. 2013 was quite the year for interactive entertainment, so the field is strong and competitive.
Leading the pack with most nominations is the mighty The Last Of Us by Naughty Dog, with a fairly mind-boggling count of ten nods, including (but not limited to) the Best Game, Artistic Achievement, and Game Design categories. GTA V puts in a good show too, boasting nine nominations, and as a pleasant surprise, Tearaway (for the PS Vita) has eight awards to potentially look forward to.
The Best Game category gives an interesting insight into the range of releases from last year, with big budget GTA V and Assassin's Creed 4 in the same category as Tearaway and the indy-produced stamp-em-up Papers, Please. From zombies to pirates to border control agents, it's a good year to highlight the depth of what is being achieved by game designers right now.
The Best Game category gives an interesting insight into the range of releases from last year, with big budget GTA V and Assassin's Creed 4 in the same category as Tearaway and the indy-produced stamp-em-up Papers, Please. From zombies to pirates to border control agents, it's a good year to highlight the depth of what is being achieved by game designers right now.
British games also get their own category, and include more small team gems like The Room Two, the iPad puzzle game with a pleasingly tactile interface, and Gunpoint, which deserves a nomination purely on the strength of its punching people in the face sound effect. DmC Devil May Cry also appears in the British category, thanks to Cambridge's own Ninja Theory taking on development.
Other interesting nominations include The Stanley Parable (Story and Game Innovation), the updated version of a Source mod from 2011 that sets out to gently erode your knowledge of game rules as well as your sanity; PC-based Gone Home (Story and Debut Game) that received a distinctly marmite-y reception from the internet but received much critical acclaim; and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Story and Game Innovation) which broke the hearts of players across the world.
It's a really strong field, with a lot of good competitors in multiple categories. The BAFTA Games ceremony will take place in London, on 12th March. Dara O Briain will again be on hand to direct proceedings and gently remove squiffy games developers from the podium if their acceptance speeches run too long.
Other interesting nominations include The Stanley Parable (Story and Game Innovation), the updated version of a Source mod from 2011 that sets out to gently erode your knowledge of game rules as well as your sanity; PC-based Gone Home (Story and Debut Game) that received a distinctly marmite-y reception from the internet but received much critical acclaim; and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Story and Game Innovation) which broke the hearts of players across the world.
It's a really strong field, with a lot of good competitors in multiple categories. The BAFTA Games ceremony will take place in London, on 12th March. Dara O Briain will again be on hand to direct proceedings and gently remove squiffy games developers from the podium if their acceptance speeches run too long.
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