Game Developers Choice Awards 2019: Winners
The GDC winners for this year were announced about a week back, and so it’s back to me to check in with my predictions and see how I fared. Let’s just press start and go into it then:
Best Audio:
My pick: Red Dead Redemption 2
GDC: Celeste
Wrong on all fronts to begin with it seems. I had RDR2 or God of War taking this one, although in my brief defense as mentioned in my predictions, I was fairly unfamiliar with a few games on the list, Celeste being one of them. So I can’t say whether it was truly deserved or not, but I will congratulate it, while still saying one last time RDR2’s soundscape is sublime.
Best Debut:
My pick: Florence
GDC: Florence
A sort of default win for me, since I didn’t actually play any of the titles on the debut list this year, but had heard significant buzz/praise for Florence at the time of the nominees announcement, and so gave it the best odds to win purely based on that. Hopefully this coming year I’ll be able to check out more new/fresh releases and have more insight when 2020’s GDC rolls around.
Best Design
My pick: Into the Breach*
GDC: Into the Breach
Another backdoor-ish victory. Though I had assessed it might be a struggle between the three big AAA heavyweights; Spider-Man, God of War and RDR2, I did also state that Intro the Breach has a chance based on the high praise it received regarding design in the turn-based strategy sector, so I’ll count one for me, and give it the credit it seems it earned.
Innovation Award
My pick: Return of the Obra Dinn
GDC: Nintendo Labo
Not too sure how to feel about this. Obviously I missed the mark, but I’ve always had reservations about Nintendo’s Labo initiative. Not that I’m vehemently against it, it’s just that attaching a bunch of cardboard gewgaws to a controller etc. seemed odd to me as an idea for a “game.” But apparently it was fun/interesting enough to the community to win here. Although my pick Obra Dinn did take down…
Best Narrative
My pick: Spider-Man
GDC: Return of the Obra Dinn
This was a tough one, as I wanted Obra Dinn to be recognized for sure, just perhaps in a slightly different spot. Still, I’m not upset by any means it nabbed the nod here. Spider-Man might have been my personal choice, but Obra Dinn is a worthy pick and I still recommend checking it out. That only leaves us with…
Game of the Year
My pick: God of War
GDC: God of WarÂ
At least my winning streak continues when calling GOTY, and really I don’t see any other choice but to put the masterful new iteration of the journey of Kratos (and his boy) in the top spot of the year. The GDC correctly agreed and of all the titles in this year’s running, this one was the most deserving of the recognition and heaps of praise it garnered. It is truly a milestone in modern games, and if there is any small sliver of positivity in the industry, it’s that more games will take notes from God of War and push themselves to the heights that it did.Â
That about wraps-up the GDC 2019 winners. You can check out our own picks and thoughts on best (and not best) games of 2018 here. See you in 2020 for the next round of awards.Â
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