The nominees for the 2011 Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be handed out on March 2 during the Game Developers Conference, have been announced.
The monochromatic XBLA puzzle-platformer Limbo took seven nominations, more than any other game. But Rockstar’s cowboy opus Red Dead Redeption was close behind with six while BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 received five.
Other big nominees include God of War III, Heavy Rain and Minecraft, all of which received three nominations. Minecraft’s inclusion among the nominees marks the first time a game has received a GDC Award nomination and was selected as a finalist in the Independent Games Festival.
Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.
Best Game Design
- God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
Innovation
- Dance Central (Harmonix)
- Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
- Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Good-Feel & HAL Laboratory)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Minecraft (Mojang)
Best Technology
- God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
- Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
- Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Blizzard)
Best Handheld Game
- Cut the Rope (ZeptoLab)
- Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies (Level 5)
- Game Dev Story (Kairosoft)
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready At Dawn/SCE Santa Monica)
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Kojima Productions)
Best Audio
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DICE)
- Halo: Reach (Bungie)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
Best Downloadable Game
- Costume Quest (Double Fine)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Minecraft (Mojang)
- Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)
- Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
Best Writing
- Costume Quest (Double Fine)
- Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian)
- Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
Best Debut Game
- Darksiders (Vigil Games)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Minecraft (Mojang)
- Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)
- Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
Best Visual Arts
- Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
- God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
- Limbo (Playdead)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
- Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
