GDC awards showered on LittleBigPlanet but Fallout 3 rules

by Stevie Smith - Mar 26 2009, 16:30

LittleBigPlanet may not have blazed a trail of popularity with all gaming fans or lured prospective console owners towards the PlayStation 3, but Media Molecule’s debut creation has certainly found acclaim when it comes to critical awards. That trend continued this week courtesy of the studio’s videogame peers and the Game Developers Choice Awards.

More pointedly, the cartoon charm of LittleBigPlanet’s platform action and its wealth of user-friendly level creation tools have seen the PlayStation 3 exclusive securing Best Game Design, Best Debut, Best Technology and Best Innovation at Wednesday’s awards ceremony in San Francisco.

While other award ceremonies on the gaming calendar are perhaps more glitzy and seemingly carry more weight, the Game Developers Choice Awards are particularly noteworthy as they are decided by a panel of game creators working in the industry.

“Over the past nine year, the Game Developers Conference has become the premiere video game award show because it gives voice to those who understand games better than anyone; the people who make them,” enthused Meggan Scavio, content director for the GDC.

“The game being recognized here are virtuoso efforts that have truly advanced the state of video games,” she added. “Our congratulations to all the talented and hardworking teams that put so much of themselves into their art.”

Although LittleBigPlanet received plenty of critical adoration on the night, it was beaten to the top award for Game of the Year, which was scooped by Bethesda Softworks for its epic post-apocalyptic role-playing game Fallout 3. The narrative scope of Fallout 3 also saw it awarded the gong for Best Writing.

Other nominees for Game of the Year included Lionhead’s RPG sequel Fable II, Valve’s zombie action shooter Left 4 Dead, and Rockstar’s sandbox crime caper Grand Theft Auto IV.

Notable winners in other award categories include God of War: Chains of Olympus for Best Handheld, Dead Space for Best Audio, Prince of Persia for Best Visual Art, and World of Goo for Best Downloadable title.

Although Metal Gear Solid 4 failed to make an impression during the evening’s awards, famed series creator Hideo Kojima was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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