GDC: Portal captures Game of the Year honours

The 8th annual Game Developers Choice Awards were announced this evening at GDC in San Francisco, with Valve's Portal taking the highest honour.

Portal also received awards for Best Game Design and Innovation.

2K's Bioshock, nominated in five categories, won awards for Best Audio, Best Visual Arts and Best Writing.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sid Meier who began his career as a founding partner of MicroProse Software in the early 1980s and who created such classics as F-19, Civilization, Railroad Tycoon and Pirates!

Al Alcorn, who created Pong for Atari, was on hand to present the Pioneer Award to Ralph Baer for his groundbreaking work in creating the first commercial home videogame system.

IGDA executive director Jason Della Roca was presented with the Ambassador Award in recognition of his efforts to advance the industry.

Earlier in the evening, the Independent Games Festival Best Student Game award went to Synaesthete, with the Seumas McNally Grand Prize awarded to Crayon Physics Deluxe. World of Goo also received two IGF awards for Technical Excellence and Design Innovation.

The full list of Game Developers Choice Awards nominees, with winners denoted by an asterisk, is as follows:

Best Game Design:

Bioshock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Mass Effect
*Portal
Super Mario Galaxy

Best Debut Game:

*Crackdown
flOw
The Witcher
Everyday Shooter
Aquaria

Best Audio:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Everyday Shooter
*Bioshock
God of War II
Mass Effect

Best Downloadable Game:

Pac-Man Championship Edition
Everyday Shooter
Peggle
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
*flOw

Best Technology:

Halo 3
*Crysis
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Portal
Assassin's Creed

Innovation Award:

Rock Band
*Portal
flOw
Peggle
Mass Effect

Best Visual Arts:

Assassin's Creed
Team Fortress 2
Crysis
*Bioshock
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Best Handheld Game:

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
*The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Phase
Contra 4
Peggle

Best Writing:

Portal
God of War II
Mass Effect
Half-Life 2: Episode 2
*Bioshock

Game of the Year:

Bioshock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
*Portal
Rock Band
Super Mario Galaxy