Canadian Videogame Awards Announce Finalists From 2013

^[1]The 2013 finalists for the Canadian Videogame Awards ^[1] were announced today in seventeen categories. The winners will be revealed at the annual event to be held on November 21, 2014 at the Carlu in the heart of downtown Toronto.  Over 75 nominations for games released in 2013 were received from all parts of Canada, with ­­29 games represented in the list of finalists.  All awards are for work developed in Canada.  A body of industry experts from across the country will vote on the winners in each category. Members of the general public can get involved by casting their vote for the Fans’ Choice Award online ^[1]. Voting will close April 21st.

FINALISTS

Game of the Year

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)
• Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games)
• Outlast (Red Barrels)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto)

Best Console Game

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto)

Best Downloadable Game

• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)
• Outlast (Red Barrels)
• Rogue Legacy (Cellar Door Games)

Best Game on the Go

• Fast & Furious 6: The Game (Kabam)
• Infinite (Nexus Game Studio)
• Jurassic Park Builder, Battle Arena (Ludia)
• Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games)
• Mighty Bots (East Side Games)

Best iOS Game

• Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition (Beamdog)
• Dungeon Hunter 4 (Gameloft Montreal)
• Pocket Mine (Roofdog Games)
• Soul Power (Gabriel Koenig)
• Super Splatform (P1XL Games)

Best Social/Casual Game

• Ballpark Empire (Behaviour)
• EGGNOGG (Madgarden)
• Monster Loves You! (Radial Games)
• TraceRace (Spaddlewit Inc.)
• UNO & Friends (Gameloft Toronto)

Best Animation

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto)

Best Audio

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games)

Best Game Design

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)

Best Game Innovation

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)
• Infinite (Nexus Game Studio)

Best Indie Game

• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)
• Infinite (Nexus Game Studio)
• MacGuffin Quest (Pixel Crucible)
• Outlast (Red Barrels)
• Pocket Mine (Roofdog Games)
• Rogue Legacy (Cellar Door Games)
• Sang-Froid – Tales of Werewolves (Artifice Studio)
• Super Stickman Golf 2 (Noodlecake Studios Inc.)

Best New Character

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal) – Edward Kenway
• Contrast (Compulsion Games) – Didi Malenkaya
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver) – Nick Ramos
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment) – Wilson
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios) – Juan Aguacate

Best Original Music

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal) – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Main Theme
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal) – Arkham Origins Main Title
• Contrast (Compulsion Games) – House on Fire
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal) – Power Core
• Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games) – Dark Moon

Best Technology

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Bungee Pigs (InLight Entertainment)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Warframe (Digital Extremes)

Best Visual Arts

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)

Best Writing

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal)

Fans’ Choice Award

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal)
• Contrast (Compulsion Games)
• Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver)
• Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (Ubisoft Montréal)
• Guacemelee! (DrinkBox Studios)
• Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games)
• Outlast (Red Barrels)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto)

For full event information visit the show’s web site ^[1] or follow along on Facebook ^[2] or Twitter ^[3] (#CVA2014).  The 2014 show will include 2013 and 2014 made games to be awarded separately, based on the nomination year, in one ceremony. Information on 2014 nominations will be released in June.

The Canadian Videogame Awards are produced by Reboot Communications and EP Media, and officially endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Interactive Ontario and DigiBC. The producers are joined by a national advisory board of developers and leaders in the Canadian digital entertainment industry.