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Into The Pixel 2012 submissions open until April 20
The submission window is currently open for game artists to submit their work and get a little recognition at the Into The Pixel exhibit. The gallery, now in its ninth year, is sponsored by The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), and will debut at this year's E3 in June.Submissions are open until April 20. Artists should keep in mind that entries must be from a game they worked on, and that's out or in the process of launching. Art doesn't have to be submitted by AIAS or ESA members. This means indies should take the opportunity to submit their concept art and diversify the pieces usually displayed at the exhibit.
Closure wins 2012 Indie Game Challenge at DICE
Closure won the third annual Indie Game Challenge at this year's DICE show in Las Vegas. The clever puzzle platformer, which works off the premise that only illuminated objects exist in the game world, has players manipulating lights to solve challenge rooms. The team will receive $100,000 for taking the top prize, sponsored by The Guildhall at SMU, GameStop and the AIAS. The game will be available soon on PSN.Other category winners included Symphony for technical achievement, The Bridge for achievements in art direction and gameplay, and Nitronic Rush received the "Gamer's Choice Award." The teams receive $2,500 for each category.Check out all ten of this year's talented nominees by heading over to the Indie Game Challenge site.
Skyrim snags another best of show gong at 15th annual AIAS awards
Like the sun rising in the East or our daily tribute to the almighty caffeine deity, we've come to expect writing a post at least once a week announcing yet another award for Skyrim. This week is no different, with Skyrim taking top honors at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in Las Vegas last evening.The studio took home five awards in total for the dragon-infested, open-world RPG, alongside fellow multiple award winners Uncharted 3 and Portal 2. We've dropped a full list of winners after the break, but before you head there allow us to be outraged for you that Skyward Sword didn't win any awards. Outrage! How could they? Etc.
Uncharted 3 leads AIAS 2011 award nominations
We've already told you what our favorite games of 2011 are, but the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences apparently needed a bit more time to ruminate on the matter. The final awards will be given at the annual DICE summit in Las Vegas on February 9, giving us all tons of time to pressure the AIAS into giving Rayman Origins the awards for Outstanding Animation and Outstanding Art Direction. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the belle of the ball this year, with a total of 12 nominations across several categories. Other notable titles include Portal 2 (10 nominations) L.A. Noire (9 nominations), Bastion (3 nominations), and Battlefield 3 (6 nominations). 2010's top game from the AIAS was Mass Effect 2, which walked away with awards in the RPG and storytelling categories. Jay Mohr will be hosting again -- here's his monologue from last year -- and the entire show will be streamed online through GameSpot, starting at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET. Or you could buy a plane ticket and fly to Vegas, hoping to somehow sneak in. We wouldn't suggest that, though, as your time and money can be better spent petitioning for Rayman Origins. Hit the jump for the full list of this year's nominees.
Epic's Tim Sweeney being inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the 16th inductee to its Hall of Fame, a catalog which already contains literal game-changers like Peter Molyneux, Sid Meier and Will Wright. To be added to that list during the Interactive Achievement Awards at the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit in February: Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney. You've almost certainly heard of him -- if not, you've definitely heard of the Unreal Engine, which he helped create. If you haven't heard of that, what is wrong with you? The Interactive Achievement Awards, which will be presented February 9, will see Epic VP Mark Rein bestowing the honor upon Sweeney. We anticipate that his speech will include humorous jabs at one or more of Sweeney's lesser-known idiosyncrasies, as well as a heart-touching stanza about how he's not just a good boss, but a great friend. We're getting a little choked up just thinking about it.
Blizzard's Frank Pearce steps up to join AIAS' board of directors
Blizzard Entertainment has another reason to be proud of its family at holiday parties this year, as lil' Frank Pearce has grown up to join the board of directors at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "Look at my boy," Blizzard will sniffle with pride. "We always knew he was going to make something of himself one day!" Pearce was one of the original co-founders of Blizzard back in 1991 and has been a vital part of the studio's operations ever since -- he's overseen development on World of Warcraft among other roles. In joining the AIAS board of directors, Pearce will now extend his influence over the Academy's dealings with its over 22,000 members from various industry leaders. For his part, Pearce thinks the appointment will be a good match for his experience: "I've always appreciated the Academy's commitment to advancing the gaming medium and fostering creativity within our industry. I'm honored to be chosen for this role on the Board, and I look forward to drawing on my experiences at Blizzard to help support and contribute to the AIAS' ongoing mission."
AIAS Awards and DICE sessions now available on Xbox Live
If you couldn't make it out to Vegas for the DICE Summit earlier this year (and our in-depth coverage wasn't in enough depth for you), worry not -- Xbox Live has your back. By going to the GamerTV channel in the Video Marketplace, you can watch parts of the Academy of Interactive Achievement awards show, as well as highlighted sessions from the summit for free. Interactive entertainment-related sessions from Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the director of Kung Fu Panda, and oceanographer Dr. Dave Gallo are all available for viewing. Not included: the expensive Las Vegas hotel room and overpriced buffet you would have if you were there live. But you can watch the awards show itself, and see some of your favorite games win those AIAS awards all over again.
Limbo, Inertia! win 2011 Indie Game Challenge at DICE
Limbo and Xbox Indie title Inertia! have won the second annual Indie Game Challenge at DICE. Sponsored by The Guildhall at SMU, GameStop and the AIAS, the winners will each receive $100,000 and an EEDAR DesignMetrics title research assessment valued at $15,000. Limbo, which we felt was one of the best games of 2010, took the grand prize in the "professional" category, along with another prize of $2,500 for achievement in art direction Inertia!, available through Xbox Live Indies for $1, won in the "non-professional" category and also took awards for technical achievement, achievement in gameplay and "gamer's choice," for a total of an extra $15,000 in prize money. The game was created by Team Hermes, an eight person team of now-graduated students from The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University. Three members of the team, Evan Skarin, Michelle Hayden and Brandon Stephens, have started Inertia Studios, while the rest have already taken jobs at established studios. To check out all the talented nominees, head on over to the Indie Game Challenge site and watch the videos.
Mass Effect 2 wins GOTY, RPG, storytelling awards at DICE 2011
Tonight's 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (i.e., the DICE awards) saw Mass Effect 2 cruise off with honors for Game of the Year, RPG of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story. However, Red Dead Redemption ended up with more trophies, riding away with wins for Action Game of the Year and Outstanding Character Performance, along with Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Art Direction and Gameplay Engineering. The portable and casual categories were filled with rage, as God of War: Ghost of Sparta won the award for Portable Game of the Year, while Casual Game of the Year went to the ferocious fowls of Angry Birds HD. Check out the full list of award recipients after the break.
AIAS Hall of Fame 'Game Changers' confess pro mistakes
Kicking off DICE 2011, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences invited Hall of Fame "game changers" to speak on a variety of topics, moderated by New York Times writer Seth Schiesel. Things got introspective when the panel discussed design decisions they wish they could take back, or a plan that didn't work out as well as they thought it would. BioWare's Dr. Greg Zeschuk, who will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame this year with business partner Dr. Ray Muzyka, said that about 10 or 12 years ago he made a pitch video for Five Fingers of Death. It was going to be a kung-fu game set in the Baldur's Gate universe. Cutscenes would have have been too expensive to produce, so Zeschuk spent several weeks re-dubbing old kung-fu movies using his own voice. When the tape went out he recalls several companies laughed them off. If anyone happens to have a copy of that tape, there are several video upload sites we'd be more than happy to recommend.
AIAS Hall of Famers delivering 2011 D.I.C.E. Summit keynote
So, you've only got a few hours set aside this year with which to absorb illumination from some of the gaming industry's smartest folks? You won't find a more efficient way to satisfy your needs than the 2011 D.I.C.E. Summit keynote panel, which will feature the shared wisdom of a number of Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Famers from years past. (And years current!) Presenters include Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, Grandfather of the RTS genre Bruce Shelley, Cerny Games president Mike Cerny and BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk. If you can make it to the panel on the evening of February 9, we're pretty sure that you'll possess all the knowledge you'll need to create the industry's next big game. At the very least, you'll have some inspiration for some awesome last names for said game's characters.
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' annual Pioneer Award going to Bill Budge
We're not sure why, but every year, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) feels compelled to award one prominent contributor to the gaming industry with recognition for their proficiency with wild frontier survival. We're talking about raccoon cap-wearing, log cabin-living souls who, with little provocation, will load up their family's small Conestoga wagon and ship out for parts west, which -- wait, you mean the AIAS Pioneer Award has nothing to do with literal pioneering? We're a little disappointed, if we're being honest. This year's pioneer award (which will be handed out during the DICE 2011 Interactive Achievement Awards on February 10) will go to Bill Budge, an illustrious creator of engines for other people to create their own games and experiences, such as the 3-D Game Tool and Pinball Construction Set -- one of EA's earliest titles. He's also done stints with Sony Computer Entertainment and EA, and he currently works at Google, helping to improve the world of browser-based gaming. Also, he knows the proper way to open and neutralize a rattlesnake bite. We think. Probably.
G4 live streaming DICE awards, broadcasting edited version
The 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards (i.e., the DICE awards) will be broadcast on G4 this year. The show, hosted again by funnyman Jay Mohr, will air in a one-hour edited format across the television waves on Saturday, February 12 at 4PM ET/PT. However, the show will also be streamed live, and unedited, on the interwebs at G4tv.com/DICE, beginning at 7:30 PT (10:30 ET) on Thursday, February 10. We'd recommend checking out the unedited clips from last year for an idea of the "insider" jokes and stuff that's not likely to make its way to broadcast.
BioWare doctors add 'AIAS Hall of Fame' to credentials
BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame. Muzyka and Zeschuk will be the fourteenth and fifteenth (they can quibble about which is which) members in the hall of fame, which includes folks like Mike Cerny, Mike Morhaime and Dani Bunten. This is the first time the award has been given to a pair. "The Doctors," as they are referred to in the industry, took the leap from medicine to game design and have been more than marginally successful, heading up the studio that created top-tier franchises Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. The awards will be presented to the pair by Epic Games prez Mike Capps at the 2011 D.I.C.E. Summit in February. We really hope someone chooses the renegade option when the duo get up to accept their awards.
Joseph Olin steps down as AIAS president, replaced by Martin Rae
Joseph Olin (pictured), president of the The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, has announced he's stepping down to "pursue new opportunities." Part of his AIAS duties included hosting DICE and the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the 13th installment of which took place back in February and was streamed through IFC.com. Taking over the role as AIAS president will be Martin Rae, who will work with Olin throughout the remainder of the year to ensure the 10th annual DICE Summit and subsequent 14th installment in the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards both go off without a hitch. Rae's track record consists of time spent as CEO of Sunleaf Studios, a "virtual world/Internet game company" and time spent at Boss Entertainment, working with both Boss Game Studios and The Electric Playground. For the full press release, head past the break.
DICE awards now on IFC.com, check out the Jay Mohr monologue here
If you missed the live stream of the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (i.e., the DICE awards), and don't want to wait for the "broadcast premiere" this Friday, the whole thing is available now in chunks on IFC.com. The first two clips cover Jay Mohr's (Gary Unmarried, Action, Go, Mr. Nikki Cox) 40-minute monologue, while the rest is the awards ceremony -- and, well, the "Indiana Jones sequel" Mohr wanted swept those. The reason we decided to drop the Mohr monologue after the break was because we're guessing there will be "edits" for TV, including some inside jokes about Richard Garriott and Bobby Kotick (in particular, the 6:45 mark during the second clip). We're not sure if the general television audience will "get it," but we trust that you all will.
Dan Connors answers 10 Questions from the Academy
And now, 10 Questions from the Academy: A weekly feature from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences wherein significant figures in the video game industry provide their input on past trends, current events, and future challenges and goals for the entertainment software community. Dan Connors is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. He works for episodic gaming developer Telltale Games. AIAS: What's your favorite part of game development? Dan Connors: Between Alpha and Beta, because it is the time where you get a sense for what the game will be. It is also the time where the ability to iterate quickly pays off the most. What's the one problem of game development you wish you could instantly solve? Ego Inflation. It leads to situations where individuals become so invested in their specialty, or in being right on every individual point, that they lose sight of the greater need of the team and the product. Are games important? Games like all forms of entertainment communicate the myths and stories of our age to many people in our society, most of whom are in their formative years. So, like it or not, they are important. I also think as games continue to evolve they will be used for all kinds things like teaching social skills, training athletes and helping sick people. As a programmer once said to me in response to a feature request, "Anything's possible," of course he also said, "With enough time and budget." How do you measure success? Against the plan of course. This assumes a well thought out plan that is getting you towards the ultimate vision.
DICE 2010: Uncharted 2 wins like everything at Interactive Achievement Awards
When we awarded Uncharted 2 our top spot in 2010, we simply thought we were aligning ourselves with other people with impeccable taste; however, after reading the results from last night's 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (i.e., the DICE awards) we've discovered that we've also aligned ourselves with the entire video game development community. While we only bestowed a single award on Naughty Dog's latest outing, the Academy dropped ten awards on ol' Nathan Drake and friends, including Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering ... oh, and Game of the Year. (Pictured above: Some of the Naughty Dog team, visibly exhausted from climbing up to the stage ten times.) While Uncharted 2 was the hands-down "winner" last night, there were 17 other awards handed out (some of which we're sure Uncharted would have won, had it been eligible). Other familiar names on the list (which can be found in its entirety after the break) include: Batman: Arkham Asylum, with three awards; Scribblenauts, with three awards; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with two awards; and Brütal Legend, with two awards. Congratulations to all the winners. Oh, and let's just give Naughty Dog all its awards at once from now on; it's tough to make award-winning games without any cartilage in your knees.
Interview: Joseph Olin discusses DICE awards
Joseph Olin, president of the The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, is a busy, busy man this week. Hosting DICE and getting ready for the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards tonight, which will be streamed on IFC.com (and shown on IFC's cable TV network the following week). We were curious to know a little more about what the academy has planned for its public image and who Olin is rooting for tonight. Joystiq: Do we call it the Interactive Achievement Awards ... or do we say I.A. awards? Joseph Olin: Interactive Achievement Awards. I think most people just give them the moniker "The DICE Awards." Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain certainly sums up why people make games. I'm comfortable with that. Is this the first year the show will be streamed live? Actually, this will be the third year it'll be streamed live. But, last year our good friends at IGN had a problem with their uplink relay on their end. So we were streaming and nothing went. So they captured and were about 30 minutes behind. As we all know, the internet is a flawless piece of technology and as reliable as the mail. So, yes, we're excited about IFC streaming it this year because they have a much better track record of streaming their content. So, we should say this is the first year IFC is streaming it? This is the first year IFC is streaming it live. Then the highlights show will be on the following Friday, the 26th.
Into the Pixel goes into the auction on eBay
Hey, you remember the Into the Pixel exhibit at last year's E3, right? Oh, no, that's right, they don't allow the plebes in. Had you been lucky enough to grace it with your stares, you'd have found a "jury-curated exhibition of video game art created by published video and computer game artists." And now that very same art can be found gracing the pages of eBay, as the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has opened up bidding on a smattering of pieces (starting yesterday and running through February 20). Featuring art from games like Flower and Fable 2, the proceeds will help to fund the AIAS' scholarship programs. The bidding has most certainly begun, though most pieces remain at their initial $100 opening bid as of publishing. If you're looking to snap up one of these snappy pieces, we'd suggest you get bidding sooner rather than later!
