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SWTOR dominates GDC Online Awards nominations
The nominations for the Third Annual GDC Online Awards are up, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is represented across the board. BioWare's sci-fi MMO netted six nominations, including one for Online Innovation. That's not to say that SWTOR is the only MMO in the running; quite the contrary. Glitch is up for Best Online Game Design, World of Warcraft has a shot at Best Community Relations, RIFT is a strong contender for Best Live Game, and TERA might snag Best Online Visual Arts -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's also a broader Audience Award that encompasses an even wider field. 2012's Game Developers Conference Online is taking place from October 9th through 11th and will be keynoted by John Smedley.
GDC Online 2011 hits record attendance
This week's Game Developers Conference Online in Austin, TX finished on a high note yesterday, as it saw record numbers this year: 3,350. This marks a 12% bump over 2010, which is good news for the conference organizers as they start to lay plans for 2012. GDC Online 2011 held over 145 panels, keynotes and discussions and culminated with the Game Developers Choice Online Awards that, among other honors handed out, inducted EverQuest into the Hall of Fame. We've had Massively reporters on the scene at GDC Online 2011 all week long, so if you missed it, it's never too late to catch up on all of the design theory and frank developer talk. GDC Online will be returning to Austin on October 8th, 2012.
EverQuest joins Ultima Online in GDCOA's Hall of Fame
EverQuest may not be the recent hotness that everyone's talking about, but its impact on the MMO genre continues to be felt to this day. As such, it's great to see this classic game reaping its reward, as the Game Developers Choice Online Awards inducted EQ into the Hall of Fame yesterday. EverQuest was chosen for its lengthy advancements in MMO gaming, including it's focus on raiding and guild improvements. It now joins old-time competitor Ultima Online as the only other title in GDCOA's Hall of Fame. Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley graciously accepted the honor: "When we set out to create EverQuest, many felt it was an unattainable stretch of the imagination. As it turns out, EverQuest exceeded even our wildest expectations. Twelve years later, we are about to release its 18th expansion, and have big plans for its future. We are incredibly proud of its impact on the industry and the community we have built. Tonight's honor is a testament to the hard working individuals who have contributed to EverQuest -- both past and present."
Game Developers Choice Online Awards announces finalists, EQ to be ushered into Hall of Fame
It's not quite to the prestigious level of the Academy Awards -- yet -- but the Game Developers Choice Online Awards is fast becoming one of the more well-known and highly respected award ceremonies in the MMO world while only being in its second year. With October 12th's ceremony coming soon, the field has been narrowed by 400 industry leaders into a competitive pool of nominees in a dozen categories. The categories include Best Online Visual Arts, Best Social Network Game, Best Online Game Design, Online Innovation, Best Online Technology, Best Community Relations, Best Audio For An Online Game, Best New Online Game, and Best Live Game. Several popular MMOs, including RIFT, DC Universe Online, World of Tanks and Wizard101, are up for a possible award. In addition, the awards will recognize Kesmai Corporation founders John Taylor and Kelton Flinn for the Online Game Legend Award. EverQuest, too, will be getting its long-overdue kudos as it is ushered into the Hall of Fame. We'll be anxious to see which games grab the gold this fall, but until then we're just going to grouse that we weren't tapped to be one of the judges.
Game Developers Choice Online Awards to knight Richard Bartle as a "Game Legend"
If it's cool to be officially dubbed an "Online Game Legend," then it's doubly cool to be the first person to ever receive such an award. Richard Bartle will be rocking cool two ways from Sunday this fall, as the Game Developers Choice Online Awards plans to honor the good doctor this October. The Online Game Legend Award stemmed from a pool of open nominations and was chosen by the GDC Online Awards advisory committee. They specify Bartle's co-creation of MUDs and his 2003 book Designing Virtual Worlds as the key reasons why he deserves to be named a capital-L Legend. Bartle isn't the only one due for a special award, however. Ultima Online will be inducted into their Hall of Fame as "a specific online game that has resulted in the long-term advancement of the medium, pioneering major shifts in online game development and games as a whole." The full awards ceremony will take place on October 7th, and will include a number of other categories including Best Online Game Design and Best New Online Game. You can eyeball the full details over at GDC Online Awards' website.
First Game Developers Choice Online Awards to be held in October
Creators of online games, be they MMOs, addictive social networking applications or anything in between, will soon receive recognition in the form of impressive statuettes. GDC Online (formerly titled GDC Austin) will play host to the Game Developers Choice Online Awards on the evening of October 7. According to the event's announcement, awards will be distributed based on "excellence in live services, technology, game updates, online game design, and more." In addition, one lucky online game visionary will receive the Online Game Legend Award, and one "all-time classic online game" will be inducted to the GDC Online Awards' Hall Of Fame. Finally, anyone can nominate and vote for their favorite titles in the Audience Award category. As soon as the FarmVille nation finds out about this, it should become number one with a bullet, so get your votes in while things are still even.
