Walking Dead game nominated for British Academy Games Award

By John Freeman on February 11, 2015

A scene from The Walking Dead: Season Two game

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominations for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015. A total of 51 games, including The Walking Dead: Season 2, based on the comic created by Robert Kirkman and currently drawn by Charlie Adlard, have been recognised across 17 categories, showcasing the very best games of the past twelve months – many of them worked on by comic artists – and highlighting an outstanding level of creative excellence from a broad range of UK and international development teams.

Alien: Isolation

Destiny

The multi-award-winning first-person survival horror game Alien: Isolation leads the way with six nominations across Audio Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Game Design, Game Innovation and Music, while Himalayan kingdom adventure Far Cry 4 receives a nomination in each of the following five categories: Artistic Achievement, Game Design, Music, Story and Performer.

Monument Valley, a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry, also receives five nominations in Artistic Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Mobile & Handheld and Original Property.

Far Cry 4

Four games receive four nominations apiece: 80 Days is nominated for British Game, Game Innovation, Mobile & Handheld and Story; Destiny is nominated for Best Game, Game Design, Multiplayer and Persistent Game; Mario Kart 8 is recognised in Audio Achievement, Best Game, Family and Multiplayer; and Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor picks up nominations in Best Game, Game Design, Game Innovation and Music.

The Banner Saga, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Lumino City, Titanfall and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter all receive three nominations each, whilst Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, Forza Horizon 2, Hitman GO, The Last of Us: Left Behind, Minecraft: Console Editions, Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna), The Sailor’s Dream, Threes, Valiant Hearts, The Walking Dead: Season 2 and The Wolf Among Us all have two nominations each.

Monument Valley

Nominated in the Performer category are Adam Harrington (Bigby Wolf) in The Wolf Among Us, Ashley Johnson (Ellie) in The Last of Us: Left Behind, Kevin Spacey (Jonathan Irons) in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Logan Cunningham (Transistor) in Transistor, Melissa Hutchinson (Clementine) in The Walking Dead: Season 2 and Troy Baker (Pagan Min) in Far Cry 4.

Other nominated games are Assassin’s Creed Unity, Broken Age, Counterspy, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Eve Online – Phoebe, FIFA 15, Football Manager 2015, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, Hohokum, Kalimba, The LEGO Movie Videogame, League of Legends, LittleBigPlanet 3, Madden NFL 15, OlliOlli, Runescape, Shovel Knight, Skylanders Trap Team, Sunset Overdrive, Trials Fusion, Twelve a Dozen, World of Tanks and World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.

Showcasing the very best in young games development and design talent, the BAFTA Ones To Watch Award in association with Dare to be Digital finalists are Chambara, Sagittarius and Don’t Walk: Run.

For the first time, the British Academy Games Awards will be hosted by actor/comedian Rufus Hound and will take place on Thursday 12 March at Tobacco Dock, London, for the second year. On the night, the ceremony will be streamed live online at Twitch.tv. BAFTA’s website, www.bafta.org, will also feature red carpet highlights, photography and winners’ interviews, as well as dedicated coverage on its social networks including Facebook (/BAFTA), Twitter (@BAFTAGames / #BAFTAGames), and Tumblr.

BAFTA has a year-round programme of events and initiatives that support the games industry. It includes developer talks, games showcases, debates, scholarships and networking, as well as the flagship Games Lecture by an inspirational practitioner. BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) gives young people and educators unique insights into the games industry and access to the creative minds behind some of their favourite games.

• View the full British Academy Games Awards nominations list

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.