WGA announces first videogame writing award nominees

The Writer's Guild of America, currently locked in a strike against Hollywood movie and television studios, has announced the nominees for its first-ever videogame writing award.

The award, announced last year, is designed to recognise the essential role of writers behind the creative, cultural, and commercial success of the videogame industry.

"Writers are finally being recognised and valued in the videogame industry. Both artistically and financially, videogames matter - and videogame writers matter to the WGA," said WGAW New Media Caucus member Jay Lender at the time.

Only games released between December 1, 2006 and November 30, 2007 were eligible.

The nominees are:

Crash of the Titans (Sierra Entertainment)
Written by Christopher Mitchell

Dead Head Fred (D3 Publisher)
Written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan

The Simpsons Game (EA)
Lead writer Matt Selman; written by Tim Long and Matt Warburton; dialogue by Jeff Poliquin

The Witcher (Atari)
Lead story designer Artur Ganszyniec; dialogue Sebastian Stepien; additional dialogue Marcin Blacha; writers Sande Chen and Anne Toole

World In Conflict (Sierra Entertainment)
Story design Christofer Emgard; story consultant Larry Bond; script consultant Ed Zuckerman

The 2008 Writers Guild Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 9, 2008.