Wow, just so much wow. What a show.
Tonight the annual Video Game Awards announced their winners for the year of 2015. With many great premieres, musical renditions, and fantastic speakers, fans were treated to a lot of surprises–one particular in the form of Tim Schafer announcing news more exciting than when Moses parted the Red Sea: Psychonauts 2 (more here). Others were appalled to learn that game developing titan, Hideo Kojima was barred from the event by Konami’s legal team for contacting reasons. The VGAs paid tribute to Kojima with a live rendition of MGSV’s theme song, Quiet.
Hosted this year in Los Angeles, the event is intended to celebrate gaming as an art form, as well as all the hard working artist, writers, developers, musicians, and players who daily strive to bring beauty and depth to games today. There were many who reminisced how far gaming has come, and how far it will continue to go. Others praised those committed to bringing these games to life, and pressing the boundaries of art and storytelling. In short, it was beautiful, and every minute was enjoyable.
So without further adieu, below are the 2015 Winners of the VGAs (in order of appearance):
BEST FAMILY GAME
Super Mario Maker
(Nintendo EAD Group No. 4/Nintendo)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat X
(NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Splatoon
(Nintendo EAD Group No. 2/Nintendo)
BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD GAME
Lara Croft Go
(Square Enix Montreal/Square Enix)
ESPORTS TEAM OF THE YEAR
OpTic Gaming
ESPORTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kenny “KennyS” Schrub
(Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/Team EnVyUs)
ESPORTS GAME OF THE YEAR
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
(Valve)
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
No Man’s Sky
(Hello Games)
BEST NARRATIVE
Her Story
(Sam Barlow)
TRENDING GAMER
Greg Miller
BEST INDIE GAME
Rocket League
(Psyonix)
BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME
Rocket League
(Psyonix)
GAMES FOR CHANGE
Life is Strange
(Dontnod Entertainment/Square Enix)
BEST FAN CREATION
Portal Stories: Mel
(Prism Studios)
DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR
CD Projekt Red
(The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)
BEST ART DIRECTION
Ori and the Blind Forest
(Moon Studios/Microsoft Studios)
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
(Kojima Productions/Konami)
BEST SCORE/SOUNDTRACK
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
(Ludvig Forssell, Justin Burnett, Daniel James/Kojima Productions)
BEST PERFORMANCE
Viva Seifert (Her Story)
GAME OF THE YEAR
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(CD Projekt Red/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Many might be shocked by the loss of Fallout 4 to the Witcher, however just because some flowers are fresher does not mean they are more beautiful….or something. Congrats to all the winners, especially CD Projekt Red and Psyonix for cleaning house.