Third annual SXSW Gaming Awards nominees announced

By: O'Dell Harmon Jr.
Published: Jan 27, 2016
at 1:45 pm

The third annual SXSW Gaming Awards will take place March 19th in the Austin Grand Ballroom on the 6th Floor of the Hilton Downtown in Austin, TX. The event will wrap-up SXSW Gaming, which will be in the Austin Convention Center March 17th-19th.

“First, congratulations are in order for all of our entrants and finalists. This year we saw a record number of entries and an incredibly diverse set of games,” said Justin Burnham, SXSW Gaming Producer. “This year’s show – thanks to the help of our hosts and finalists, is going to be one of the best yet. We can’t wait to see which titles take home this year’s Awards.”

This year’s event will be hosted by YouTube personality Séan “Jacksepticeye” William McLoughlin and esports host Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico. The doors will be open to anyone with a SXSW guest passed and streamed online at the SXSW Gaming twitch channel.

Fans will have the ability to determine the winners of the show via a public vote courtesy of IGN. Everyone will be able to place their ballets February 1st – 12st to decide the beast games of the year.

The Nominees are as follows:

Game of the Year: Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a distinct gaming experience across all platforms and genres

∙ Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ Fallout 4 – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

∙ Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Kojima Productions

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Tabletop Game of the Year: Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and ingenuity of any tabletop game in any genre

∙ Pandemic Legacy – ZMan Games

∙ Blood Rage – CoolMiniOrNot

∙ Above and Below –Red Raven Games

∙ Lanterns: The Harvest Festival – Renegade Game Studios

∙ Codenames – Czech Games

Mobile Game of the Year: Awarded to the game that exemplifies overall excellence and creates a unique gaming experience on any handheld device

∙ Downwell – Devolver Digital / Moppin

∙ Fallout Shelter – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

∙ Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

∙ Lara Croft GO – Square Enix / Square Enix Montreal

∙ SteamWorld Heist – Image and Form International AB / Image and Form International AB

Excellence in Gameplay: Awarded to the game with the best gameplay mechanics

∙ Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ Metal Gear Solid V : The Phantom Pain – Konami / Kojima Productions

∙ Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

∙ Rocket League – Psyonix / Psyonix

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

Excellence in Art: Awarded to the game with the most expressive and creative artistic style

∙ Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

∙ Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Quebec

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Yoshi’s Woolly World – Nintendo / GoodFeel

Excellence in Animation: Awarded to the game with the most outstanding animation effects and graphics

∙ Batman: Arkham Knight – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios

∙ Rise of the Tomb Raider –Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

∙ Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

∙ The Order: 1886 – Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

∙ Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Ubisoft / Ubisoft Quebec

Excellence in Technical Achievement: Awarded to the game that pushed the capabilities of technology and programming

∙ Fallout 4 – Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

∙ Just Cause 3 – Square Enix / Avalanche Studios

∙ Until Dawn – Sony Computer Entertainment / Supermassive Games

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – Konami / Kojima Productions

Excellence in Visual Achievement: Awarded to the game with the most well-designed and stunning visuals

∙ Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – Sony Computer Entertainment / The Chinese Room

∙ Star Wars Battlefront – Electronic Arts / EA DICE

∙ The Order: 1886 – Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Rise of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

Excellence in Narrative: Awarded to the game with the best storyline and dialogue

∙ Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

∙ Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

∙ SOMA – Frictional Games / Frictional Games

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Tales from the Borderlands –Telltale Games / Telltale Game

Excellence in Design: Awarded to the game with the best overall design concept and best execution

∙ Fallout 4 Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios

∙ Rocket League Psyonix / Psyonix

∙ Super Mario Maker Nintendo / Nintendo

∙ Bloodborne Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Konami / Kojima Productions

Excellence in SFX: Awarded to the game with the most outstanding and impactful sound effects

∙ Rise of the Tomb Raider Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics

∙ Bloodborne Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ The Order: 1886 Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready at Dawn

∙ Star Wars Battlefront Electronic Arts / EA DICE

∙ Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal

Excellence in Musical Score: Awarded to the game that best exemplifies artistic excellence in musical score and how it progresses the narrative of the game

∙ Ori & the Blind Forest Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

∙ Crypt of the NecroDancer Klei Entertainment / Brace Yourself Games

∙ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Konami / Kojima Productions

∙ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt / CD Projekt RED

∙ Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Sony Computer Entertainment / The Chinese Room

Excellence in Multiplayer: Awarded to the game with the best player-to-player interaction experience

∙ Call of Duty: Black Ops III Activision / Treyarch

∙ Halo 5: Guardians Microsoft Studios / 343 Industries

∙ Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Asteroid Base / Asteroid Base

∙ Rocket League Psyonix / Psyonix

∙ Splatoon Nintendo / Nintendo

Excellence in Convergence: Awarded to the game that excels in crossover to other entertainment mediums such as film, music, toys, animation, sports and more

∙ Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition Disney Interactive Studios / Avalanche Software

∙ Rock Band 4 Mad Catz / Harmonix

∙ Guitar Hero Live Activision FreeStyle Games

∙ Batman: Arkham Knight Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios

∙ Star Wars Battlefront Electronic Arts / EA DICE

Most Enduring Character: Awarded to the best game character that left an overwhelming impression

∙ Lara Croft – Rise of the Tomb Raider

∙ Geralt – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

∙ Joker – Batman: Arkham Knight

∙ Hannah Smith –Her Story

∙ Ori – Ori & the Blind Forest

Most Valuable Esports Team: Awarded to the professional team that excels in performance and provides the most valuable impact in its competitive scene

∙ Cloud9

∙ Evil Geniuses

∙ Team Archon

∙ Team EnVyUs

∙ Counter Logic

Most Entertaining Online Personality: Awarded to the online gaming-related personality that consistently entertains and keeps us watching with its humor, stories, special effects, and more

∙ Greg Miller – Kinda Funny

∙ Markiplier

∙ PewDiePie

∙ Angry Joe – The Angry Joe Show

∙ Tim Schafer – Double Fine Adventure Documentary Series

Most Fulfilling Crowdfunded Game: Awarded to the game that was primarily produced via crowdfunding platforms and had excelled beyond the expectations set before it

∙ Broken Age – Double Fine Productions / Double Fine Productions

∙ Kingdom Death: Monster – Kingdom Death

∙ Pillars of Eternity – Paradox Interactive / Obsidian Entertainment

∙ Kerbal Space Program – Squad / Squad

∙ Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Most Promising New Intellectual Property: Awarded to a new property that risked creating something fresh and that excelled within its genre or category for the year

∙ Ori & the Blind Forest – Microsoft Studios / Moon Studios

∙ Bloodborne – Sony Computer Entertainment / FromSoftware

∙ Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

∙ Splatoon – Nintendo / Nintendo

∙ Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award: Awarded to the game that best challenges the “norm” of everyday gaming and offers a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay

∙ Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – Sony Computer Entertainment / The Chinese Room

∙ Her Story – Sam Barlow / Sam Barlow

∙ Emily is Away – Kyle Seeley / Kyle Seeley

∙ Life Is Strange – Square Enix / Dontnod Entertainment

∙ Undertale – Toby Fox / Toby Fox

Gamer’s Voice Award: Awarded to the favorite game in the Indie Corner as decided exclusively by attendees on the SXSW Gaming Expo floor. Indie Corner is a spot in the Expo where anyone can test out 40 indie games. This year’s Gamer’s Voice Award is split between unique multiplayer and single player categories.