The Game Developers Choice Awards were held earlier tonight, and the winners have been announced. Leading the charge with the "Game of the Year" was a surprising winner in Shadow of Mordor, but there were other prizes handed out as well.
Remember, the GDC Choice Awards are pretty great. Unlike other gaming awards, which sway in the breeze courtesy of marketing budgets, these ones are voted on by the industry itself. Peers voting for peers. So they tend to be, if nothing else, a more entertaining list of winners.
Gamasutra first published the list of winners, and they were:
Game of the Year
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Best Debut
Stoic Studio (The Banner Saga)
Innovation Award
Monument Valley (ustwo)
Best Technology
Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
Best Audio
Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Best Visual Art
Monument Valley (ustwo)
Best Narrative
Kentucky Route Zero: Act III (Cardboard Computer)
Best Design
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Monument Valley (ustwo)
Audience Award
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments)
Pioneer Award
David Braben
Ambassador Award
Brenda Romero
Lifetime Achievement Award
Hironobu Sakaguchi
In regards to that last one:
You're the best, Gooch.