This year, three Chicago-based studios are nominated for AIAS’s 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The first two Chicago nominees are actually up against each other for the “Fighting Game of the Year” award. Nominated is the innovative two button fighting game Divekick from Iron Galaxy Studios and NetherRealm Studios’s DC Comics brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us. They are also up against Microsoft Game Studios‘ reboot of Killer Instinct for the award. Huge congratulations to all of them and may the best fighter win!
The third Chicago game that was nominated was World of Tanks for “Online Game of the Year“. The online multiplayer tank battle simulation game World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition was developed by WarGaming.net’s Chicago division WarGaming West. Best of luck to them in the highly competitive category.
We’d also like to give a hearty round of applause to Chicago’s own Eugene Jarvis, currently President of Raw Thrills, who is being awarded the AIAS 2014 Pioneer Award. Jarvis was behind hit games such as Defender, Robotron: 2084, Smash TV and the Crusin’ racing series. The award will be presented by NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell. Mark had the following to say about Eugene’s influence on him and the industry.
Eugene is simply the quintessential American game designer,” said Turmell. “I joined Midway so I could work with Eugene, and I apply his teachings to my own games every single day. I learned more from my time with him than during my other 30 years of game making combined. His games have taught a generation of game developers how to innovate and succeed; the design elements and his approach to tuning are timeless.”
Also on the subject of Eugene Jarvis. It was recently announced that at GDC 2014Eugene will be giving a post-mortem on his classic game Robotron: 2084. We think that this session is a must see, so if you are interested be sure to add it to your GDC schedule.
To see who else is nominated for awards you can see the entire list of nominees on this PDF. The 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 6th at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. More information for those wanting to get tickets or accommodations to attend can find that at www.interactive.org.
Additionally, this year if you are a member of the IGDA you are allowed to vote in the awards thanks to AIAS. If you haven’t voted yet, it was announced that voting for the D.I.C.E. Awards has been extended to tomorrow, Saturday, January 25, 2014, at 3:00 PM PST. So check your email for information on how to cast your votes.