Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was the big winner at the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, being named Game of the Year at a ceremony held Thursday evening in Las Vegas and live-streamed. The IAAs are voted upon by members of the non-profit Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
Published by Bethesda Softworks and developed by Bethesda Game Studios, Skyrim took home four other awards as well: Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Online Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Story, Gameplay Engineering and Game Direction.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception received accolades for publisher Sony Computer Entertainment America and developer Naughty Dog, getting awards for Outstanding Achievementg in Animation, Art Direction and Visual Engineering.
Also being honored in three categories was Portal 2, published and developed by Valve Corp., which was singled out for Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity, Character Performance (for Wheatley), and Original Music Composition.
Less hardcore gamers won’t be surprised that the runaway hit Fruit Ninja Kinect (publisher Microsoft Studios, developer Halfbrick Studios) was named Casual Game of the Year. Other winners in the same general sector were Infinity Blade II taking Mobile Game of the Year (publisher and developer Epic Games) and The Sims Social winning Social Networking Game of the Year (publisher Electronic Arts Inc., developer Playfish).
Two other awards went to individuals in recognition of their body of work. Tim Sweeney of Epic Games was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his revolutionary work with the Unreal Engine, and Ed Logg was named 3rd annual AIAS Pioneer Award recipient for his groundbreaking work in the early days of Atari’s arcade era.
The complete list of winners can be found here. Since 1996, the IAAs have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the entertainment software industry.
“Each year the Interactive Achievement Awards sees the top minds and personas of our industry coming together to not only celebrate, but recognize one another for the achievements of the year,” said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “2011 produced an outstanding number of fantastic games in all areas of the industry – console, PC, social and mobile – we are truly witnessing a new golden age of gaming. Bravo to our winners!”
Related links:
http://www.interactive.org/awards
http://www.elderscrolls.com/skyrim
http://www.naughtydog.com/games/uncharted
http://www.thinkwithportals.com
Check out this skyrim Music video parody of Jay-Z and Kanye West “NORDS IN SKYRIM”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkhmnhJZqEk&w=560&h=315%5D