Warner Bros’ Tolkien-inspired Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor took eight gongs at the DICE Awards in Las Vegas on Friday, NZ time.
Shadow of Mordor was nominated for nine awards, and left the event carrying all bar one. The game took all seven Outstanding Achievement awards it was nominated for: Animation, Character, Design, Direction, Innovation, Story and Technical Achievement.
It also took the Adventure Game of the Year gong, only missing out in the overall Game of the Year category – surprisingly, given how the rest of the awards had gone – to Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The awards are run by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), whose former Joseph Olin is a regular presenter at Animfx. All up, 56 titles were nominated across 23 categories. Other multiple winners included Destiny and Hearthstone.
The winners of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ D.I.C.E. Awards were (marked ***):
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin’s Creed Unity
inFAMOUS Second Son
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Sunset Overdrive
Titanfall
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Assassin’s Creed Unity
*** Monument Valley
Sunset Overdrive
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Outstanding Achievement in Character
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Jonathan Irons)
Far Cry 4 (Pagan Min)
inFAMOUS First Light (Abigail “Fetch” Walker)
inFAMOUS Second Son (Delsin Rowe)
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Talion)
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
*** Destiny
Far Cry 4
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Transistor
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
*** Destiny
Far Cry 4
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Outstanding Achievement in Story
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
South Park: The Stick of Truth
This War of Mine
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
The Wolf Among Us
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Far Cry 4
inFAMOUS Second Son
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Sunset Overdrive
Action Game of the Year
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
*** Destiny
Far Cry 4
Titanfall
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Adventure Game of the Year
inFAMOUS Second Son
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The Wolf Among Us
Family Game of the Year
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition)
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
*** LittleBigPlanet 3
Project Spark
Skylanders Trap Team
Fighting Game of the Year
Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-
Nidhogg
*** Super Smash Bros. Wii U
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Racing Game of the Year
Forza Horizon 2
*** Mario Kart 8
The Crew
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
The Banner Saga
Bravely Default
Divinity: Original Sin
*** Dragon Age: Inquisition
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
Sports Game of the Year
*** FIFA 15
Madden NFL 15
MLB 14: The Show
NBA 2K15
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Boom Beach
Dungeon of the Endless
Endless Legend
*** Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth
D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
The Banner Saga
Hohokum
Monument Valley
Threes!
*** Transistor
Handheld Game of the Year
Bravely Default
Child of Light
Shovel Knight
*** Super Smash Bros. 3DS
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Mobile Game of the Year
80 Days
*** Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Kingdom Rush Origins
Monument Valley
Threes!
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
*** Destiny
Elite: Dangerous
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Destiny
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Monument Valley
Project Spark
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Dungeon of the Endless
Far Cry 4
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Titanfall
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Lumino City
*** Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Monument Valley
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Game of the Year
Destiny
*** Dragon Age: Inquisition
Far Cry 4
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor