The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has revealed the nominees for the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (IAA) across a total of 26 categories. If the IAAs don't ring any bell, perhaps you know them as the D.I.C.E. awards since they are awarded during the Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain summit.
Uncharted 3 and Portal 2 lead the pack with 12 and 10 nominations, respectively, closely followed by L.A. Noire with 9 nominations and Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and Battlefield 3 who netted 6 nominations each. Check the rather large full list of of nominees below, and good luck to the voters.
[Credits are in a (Developer, Publisher) format]
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule LLC, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- inFamous 2 (Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games, Activision)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Need For Speed: The Run (EAC BlackBox, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Bastion (Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Character Performance
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Adam Jensen (Eidos Montréal, Square Enix)
- L.A. Noire - Cole Phelps (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Portal 2 - Wheatley (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Nathan Drake (Naughty Dog, SCEA
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Victor Sullivan (Naughty Dog, SCEA)
Downloadable Game of the Year
- Bastion (Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Drawn: Trail of Shadows (Big Fish Games, Big Fish Games)
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Shadow Planet Productions, Microsoft Games)
- Ms. Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel Games, Microsoft Games)
- Orcs Must Die! (Robot Entertainment, Microsoft Games)
Casual Game of the Year
- Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick Studios, Microsoft Games)
- Tiny Wings (Andreas Illiger, Andreas Illiger)
- Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick Studios, Halfbrick Studios)
- Monsters Ate My Condo (Adult Swim/PikPok, Adult Swim)
- Where's My Water? (Creature Feep, Disney Mobile)
Social Networking Game of the Year
- Army Attack (Digital Chocolate, Digital Chocolate)
- CastleVille (Zynga Dallas, Zynga)
- Gardens of Time (Playdom, Disney Interactive Media Group)
- The Sims Social (Playfish, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Triple Town (Spry Fox, Spry Fox)
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
- Dark Souls (From Software, Namco Bandai Games
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montréal, Square Enix)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
- The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings (CD Projekt RED, Atari)
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
- Bastion (Supergiant Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Toys for Bob, Activision)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA 12 (EA Canada, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Madden NFL 12 (Tiburon, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- MLB 11 The Show (SCE San Diego Studio, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- NBA 2K12 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
- NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (EA Canada, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
Racing Game of the Year
- Forza Motorsport 4 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
- Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo, Nintendo)
- Real Racing 2 HD (Firemint, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
Fighting Game of the Year
- Fight Night Champion (EAC, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore, Atlus)
- Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition (Capcom Co., Ltd., Capcom U.S.A.)
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom Co., Ltd., Capcom U.S.A.)
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Iron Brigade [a.k.a. Trenched] (Double Fine, Microsoft Studios)
- Orcs Must Die! (Robot Entertainment, Microsfot Studios)
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 (The Creative Assembly, SEGA of America, Inc.)
- Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Signal Studios, Microsoft Studios)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution (Relic Entertainment, THQ, Inc.)
Family Game of the Year
- Dance Central 2 (Harmonix Music Systems, Microsoft Studios)
- Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
- Kinect Disneyland Adventure (Frontier Developments, Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
- LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule LLC, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Toys for Bob, Activision)
Mobile Game of the Year
- Contre Jour (Chillingo, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Dead Space (EA Mobile, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment, Epic Games)
- Tentacles (Press Play, Microsoft Studios)
- The Dark Meadow (Phosphor Games Studio, Phosphor Games Studio)
Handheld Game of the Year
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Capcom, Capcom U.S.A.)
- Kirby Mass Attack (Hal Laboratory, Nintendo)
- Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo, Nintendo)
- Professor Layton and the Last Specter (Level 5, Nintendo)
- Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo, Nintendo)
Adventure Game of the Year
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo, Nintendo)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games, Activision)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Games, Microsoft Games)
- LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule LLC, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin, Electronic Arts, LLC)
Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games, Activision)
- Dragon Age II (BioWare Edmonton, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Action Game of the Year
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games, Activision)
- Dead Space 2 (Visceral, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Games, Microsoft Games)
- Saints Row: The Third (Volition Inc., THQ Inc.)
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft Montréal, Ubisoft)
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Rayman Origins (UbiArt Montpellier, Ubisoft)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- Rayman Origins (UbiArt Montpellier, Ubisoft)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
- Battlefield 3 (DICE, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Crysis 2 (Crytek GmbH, Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- RAGE (id Software, Bethesda Softworks)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Toys for Bob, Activision)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo, Nintendo)
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Game of the Year
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- Portal 2 (Valve Corporation, Valve Corporation)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo, Nintendo)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Contest:
8:20 AM on 01.13.2012 | 
So many great games this year. It's madness!
-Portal 2
-Uncharted 3
-Zelda SS
-Skyrim
-Batman: Ark City
I love it...
TRUE THAT BUD lol actually most of the games nominated r in that lame category with few exeptions
@janoDX
Natan Drake jus called
Keep fighting your good fight.
And how the hell is skyrim considered "innovative"? For being one of the most horribly gliched up games that everybody loves anyway? That's the only thing that makes it different from its predecessors, and not even by that much...
*sigh... oh well...
Also, why no Kirby love for " family game"? I played LBP with my little siblings, and it wasn't always the most pleasant experience when you consider the uneven level design and disorienting art direction in the later levels, whic I'm not sure would be much more bearable alone either.
Hope this one doesn't add to it...
So this is where people champion a real industry awards set up as much as they derided the VGA's right?
Anyone?
In fact, Japanese developers seem to have been specifically shunned...
I don't think that's what he meant.
Think of it this way: would it be fair if it received 5 nominations, basically giving the award to uncharted without any deliberation?
at least Dark Souls, Dues Ex HR, and Uncharted 3 are there :P