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3rd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
2003 Finalists & Winners
Honoring the Best Games of 2002
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"All the recognition we've received so far pales compared to this. Recognition from fans and the media tells us we've done something successful and valuable. Recognition from other game developers and from the industry tells us we've done something important, something that will be remembered, and something that helps advance the genre and the art form."
- The Splinter Cell team, Ubisoft Montréal
Lifetime Achievement Award
Gunpei Yokoi
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole.
First Penguin Award
David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Jim Levy, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead
The Pioneer Award (formerly known as the First Penguin Award) celebrates those individuals who developed a breakthrough technology, game concept, or gameplay design at a crucial juncture video game history - paving the way for the myriads who followed them.
IGDA Award for Community Contribution
Doug Church
Technical director, Eidos
Game of the Year
METROID PRIME (Retro Studios)
Finalists:
- BATTLEFIELD 1942 (Digital Illusions)
- GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (Rockstar North)
- NEVERWINTER NIGHTS (BioWare Corp.)
- TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL (Ubisoft Montréal)
Original Game Character of the Year
Sly Cooper (SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS)
Finalists:
- Blinx (BLINX THE TIME SWEEPER)
- Ratchet (RATCHET AND CLANK)
- Rau (THE MARK OF KRI)
- Sam Fisher (TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL)
Rookie Studio of the Year
Retro Studios (METROID PRIME)
Finalists:
- Arkane Studios (ARX FATALIS)
- Day 1 Studios (MECHASSAULT)
- Gas Powered Games (DUNGEON SIEGE)
- Pipeworks Software (GODZILLA: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS MELEE)
Excellence in Audio
Jack Grillo, Rebecca Hanck, Erik Kraber and Yuan Liu for sound effects (MEDAL OF HONOR: ALLIED ASSAULT)
Finalists:
- GTA Team for sound design (GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY)
- Takayuki Kawagoe, Hideki Naganuma and Fumitaka Shibata for sound design (JET SET RADIO FUTURE)
- Metroid Team for sound effects (METROID PRIME)
- Andrew Boyd, Chris Hegstrom, Robb Mills and Howard Shore for composition (THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS)
Excellence in Game Design
Romain de Waubert de Genlis and Team (BATTLEFIELD 1942)
Finalists:
- GTA Team (GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY)
- Metroid Team (METROID PRIME)
- Satoru Iwata, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka and Kenta Usui (SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE)
- Splinter Cell Team Leaders (TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL)
Excellence in Level Design
Metroid Team (METROID PRIME)
Finalists:
- Brian Allgeier, Mark Cerny, Lesley Mathieson and Colin Munson (RATCHET & CLANK)
- Brendan McNamara, Chun Wah Kong and the SCEE Design Team (THE GETAWAY)
- Franois Pelland and Team (TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL)
- Pancho Eekels, Dave Ewing and James Schmalz (UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2003)
Excellence in Programming
Mark Brockington, Scott Greig, Jason Knipe, Don Moar and Don Yakielashek (NEVERWINTER NIGHTS)
Finalists:
- Mike Biddlecombe, Scott Bilas, Bartosz Kijanka, James Loe, Eric Tams and Chad Queen (DUNGEON SIEGE)
- Metroid Team (METROID PRIME)
- Antoine Dodens and Team (TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL)
- Warcraft III Team (WARCRAFT III: REIGN OF CHAOS)
Excellence in Visual Arts
Tetsuya Nomura for art direction (KINGDOM HEARTS)
Finalists:
- Jonathan Chey, Ken Levine and Team for art direction (FREEDOM FORCE)
- Hokyo Lim, Suzanne Kaufman, Dev Madan, Augie Pagan and Karin Yamagiwa for art direction (SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS)
- Nicolas Cantin, Frdrick Gagn and Benoit Sokal for art direction (SYBERIA)
- Jay Beard, Erik Medina, Jeff Merghart , Dan Mueller and Tim Neveu for animation (THE MARK OF KRI)
Excellence in Writing
Clint Hocking and JT Petty (TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL)
Finalists:
- Denis Dyack and Ken McCulloch (ETERNAL DARKNESS: SANITY'S REQUIEM)
- GTA Team (GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY)
- Daniel Vavra (MAFIA: THE CITY OF LOST HEAVEN)
- Craig Hubbard and Team (NO ONE LIVES FOREVER 2: A SPY IN H.A.R.M.S. WAY)