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15th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
2015 Finalists & Winners
Honoring the Best Games of 2014
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Lifetime Achievement Award
Hironobu Sakaguchi
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
David Braben
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
Brenda Romero
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.
Audience Award
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments)
Game of the Year
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Finalists:
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games / Nintendo)
- Destiny (Bungie / Activision)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly / Sega)
Honorable Mentions: Titanfall, Valiant Hearts, Far Cry 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Super Smash Bros., Wii-U
Innovation Award
Monument Valley (Ustwo)
Finalists:
- Bounden (Game Oven)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- This War of Mine (11 bit studios)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Crypt Of The Necrodancer, Extrasolar, Elite: Dangerous, Elegy For A Dead World, 80 Days
Best Audio
Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Finalists:
- Hohokum (Honeyslug / Sony)
- Destiny (Bungie / Activision)
- Transistor (Supergiant Games)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Child Of Light, Far Cry 4, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Bayonetta 2, Crypt Of The Necrodancer
Best Debut
The Banner Saga (Stoic Studio)
Finalists:
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- Titanfall (Respawn Entertainment)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
- Never Alone (Upper One Games)
Honorable mentions: CounterSpy, The Long Dark, Leo's Fortune, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Crossy Road
Best Design
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
Finalists:
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare / Electronic Arts)
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo EAD Tokyo and 1-Up Studio / Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Mario Kart 8, Alien: Isolation, Destiny, Monument Valley, Far Cry 4
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Monument Valley (Ustwo)
Finalists:
- Threes! (Sirvo)
- Super Smash Bros. 3DS (Sora Ltd. and BANDAI NAMCO/Nintendo)
- Hearthstone (Blizzard)
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
Honorable Mentions: Bounden, Bravely Default Flying Fairy, Desert Golfing, Velocity 2X, Fantasy Life
Best Narrative
Kentucky Route Zero: Episode 3 (Cardboard Computer)
Finalists:
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- This War of Mine (11 bit studios)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Honorable Mentions: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Valiant Hearts, Tales From The Borderlands, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Hatoful Boyfriend
Best Technology
Destiny (Bungie / Activision)
Finalists:
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (MachineGames / Bethesda)
- Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments)
- Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
Honorable Mentions: Assassin's Creed Unity, The Last Of Us: Remastered, Sunset Overdrive, Alien: Isolation, Infamous: Second Son
Best Visual Arts
Monument Valley (Ustwo)
Finalists:
- Hohokum (Honeyslug and Sony Santa Monica / Sony)
- Child of Light (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games / Nintendo)
- Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly / Sega)
Honorable Mentions: Never Alone, The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Transistor, Broken Age: Episode 1, Destiny