BAFTA confirms 2009 Games Awards date

BAFTA has confirmed the date for next year's Games Awards - as previously revealed by GamesIndustry.biz in April - as March 10, taking place at the London Park Lane Hilton hotel.

The event, postponed from this year in order to facilitate a more effective judging process, will hand out awards across 13 categories, as well as three special awards for special recognition and the Dare to be Digital winners.

BAFTA is calling for developers and publishers to produce short films about the making of their games, to be posted on the awards website, in order to give the public a better insight into the creation process.

"We are keen to see the new filmed support material be developed by each nominee, as this is the sort of initiative that helps the wider world understand that the creation and development of video games is an art form, often with teams of hundreds of people and budgets on a par with feature films," said committee chairman Ray Maguire.

"One of the many strengths of the British Academy Video Games Awards is that the focus is on creativity and innovation as opposed to a simple measure of commercial success. This enables niche but highly creative work to be recognised and rewarded."

The nominations for the awards will be announced on February 10 next year, one month before the awards ceremony takes place.