10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards

Honoring the Best Games of 2009

For photos, please browse our albums.

Lifetime Achievement Award

John Carmack

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.

Pioneer Award

Gabe Newell

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.

Ambassador Award

Penny Arcade: Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik and Robert Khoo

The Ambassador Award honors an individual or individuals who have helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to be an advocate for video games and help further our art.

Game of the Year

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
- Evan Wells, Christophe Balestra, Amy Hennig, Bruce Straley

Finalists:

• Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
• Demon's Souls (From Software)
• Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montréal)

Best Writing

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
- Amy Hennig, Neil Druckmann, Josh Scherr

Finalists:

• Brutal Legend (Double Fine)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
• Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
• Halo 3: ODST (Bungie)

Best Design

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
- Sefton Hill, Ian Ball

Finalists:

• Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Flower (thatgamecompany)
• Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
• Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Best Technology

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
- Christophe Balestra, Pal Engstad, Travis McIntosh

Finalists:

• Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
• Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition)
• Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)
• Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montréal)

Best Visual Arts

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
- Robh Ruppel, Erick Pangilinan

Finalists:

• Borderlands (Gearbox Software)
• Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
• Flower (thatgamecompany)

Best New Social/Online

Farmville (Zynga)
- Bill Mooney, Mark Skaggs, David Gray, Mark Pincus, Dungeon Fighter

Finalists:

• Restaurant City (Playfish)
• Dungeon Fighter Online (Neople / Nexon)
• Free Realms (Sony Online Entertainment San Diego)
• Bejeweled Blitz (PopCap)

Best Debut

Torchlight (Runic Games)
- Travis Baldree, Max Schaefer, Eric Schaefer, Peter Hu

Finalists:

• The Maw (Twisted Pixel)
• League Of Legends (Riot Games)
• Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
• Zeno Clash (ACE Team)

Innovation Award

Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
- Jeremiah Slaczka

Finalists:

• Flower (thatgamecompany)
• Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
• Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)
• Demon's Souls (From Software)

Best Handheld Game

Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
- Jeremiah Slaczka

Finalists:

• Flight Control (Firemint)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games)
• Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
• Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo EAD)

Best Audio

Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
- Bruce Swanson, Phil Kovats

Finalists:

• Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
• Rock Band: The Beatles (Harmonix)
• Flower (thatgamecompany)
• Brutal Legend (Double Fine Productions)

Best Downloadable Game

Flower (thatgamecompany)
- Jenova Chen, Kellee Santiago, Nick Clark, John Edwards

Finalists:

• Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap)
• Trials HD (RedLynx)
• PixelJunk Shooter (Q Games)
• Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment)