CGDA Spotlight Award Winners

SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON AWARD WINNERS IN SAN JOSE
CGDA Spotlight Award Winners Make Their Mark in the
Game Development Community

(GLENDALE, CA)—The Computer Game Developers’ Association (CGDA), a non-profit association established to foster the creation of a worldwide game development community, announces this year’s Spotlight Awards winners. The annual event, which honors the skills of some of the industry’s most impressive talent, was held on March 17 at the San Jose Convention Center in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference.

Games were nominated based on outstanding technical or creative innovation and the categories encompassed all areas of game design and development. A nominating committee created an initial list of titles,
which were then voted down to the official ballot entries by the CGDA members.

Valve Software’s Half-Life took home seven awards, including Best of Show, Best PC Title and the People’s Choice.

“We were greatly honored by the recognition Half-Life received at the Spotlight Awards,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve Software. “When Mike Harrington and I started Valve in 1996, we
had no idea of the critical and popular success that Half-Life would achieve. We would really like to thank all of the gamers who told us what they wanted in the action genre, all of the playtesters who told us where we needed improvement, all the fansites who have supported us from the very beginning and all of our customers who, when you get down to it, are the real reason we build games. Thank you, and we hope our
future products live up to your expectations.”

Three distinctive awards were presented that were not on the formal ballot and included the People’s Choice award, the Best of Show award and, lastly, the coveted Lifetime-Achievement award.

Half-Life took home the Best of Show award, which was voted on by attendees at the Game Developers Conference based on the nominees’ products, which were on display in the Spotlight Pavilion. This year’s
People’s Choice award, which was voted on through an online ballot at www.happypuppy.com, also went to Half-Life. The Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Louis Castle, co-founder of Westwood Studios.

“I am honored by the recognition given to me by the CGDA,” said Castle. “I could not have done half the things I have in my life without the support of my family and my friends at Westwood. The award honors them as much as it honors me.”

This year’s other winners include the following:
1. Best Use of Graphics – Half-Life.
2. Most Innovative Game Design – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
3. Best Use of Audio – Half-Life.
4. Best AI (Artificial Intelligence) – Half-Life.
5. Best Children’s Title – Lego Creator.
6. Best Trivia, Puzzle or Classic Game – You Don’t Know Jack 4: The Ride.
7. Best Simulation – Gran Turismo.
8. Best Strategy/Wargame – StarCraft.
9. Best Adventure/RPG – Baldur’s Gate.
10. Best Sports Title – NFL Blitz.
11. Best Action Game – Half-Life.
12. Best Multiplayer Game – StarCraft.
13. Best PC Game – Half-Life.
14. Best Console Game – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

“I’m very glad to have been in this industry for so many years,” said Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which won awards for Best Console Game and Most Innovative Game Design. “In an
event where PC titles seem to dominate, it is a great honor to be recognized for a console product in the category of innovative game design.”

About CGDA
The Computer Game Developers’ Association is a non-profit association established by game developers to foster the creation of a worldwide game development community. CGDA’s main objective is to maintain the integrity of the interactive entertainment industry and recognize the achievements of its peers through their annual Spotlight Awards ceremony, which is produced in conjunction with the Game Developers
Conference. For more information on CGDA or the spotlight Awards, please visit www.cgda.org or email at info@cgda.org.

Date Updated:
March 27th, 1999

Time Updated:
5:50 PM

GhaleonOne

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