Red Dead Redemption and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Thrill With Multiple Award Wins
The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), the non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of game audio, is proud to announce the winners of the 9th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards held at the 25th Annual Game Developers Conference Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 in San Francisco.
Voted and judged upon by the game audio industry and members of G.A.N.G., the finalists represent an array of the best audio in video games from 2010. A 70 person Advisory Committee helped in deciding each of the final nominees which included hundreds of hours of research, listening, watching and playing. The final winners, voted on by the general membership of GANG, included multiple wins for Red Dead Redemption, Battlefield: Bad Company, and a strong showing by Blizzard Entertainment and Activision.
“The quality bar from 2010 was so high across the board, it was impossible to predict specific wins” said G.A.N.G. President Paul Lipson “With over 350 submissions this year, just making it to the final nomination process is something all the teams and publishers can be proud of”.
Over 2,000 people representing over 30 countries have signed up as members of G.A.N.G. since its inception in 2002. The award show has become an annual tradition at GDC, drawing standing room only crowds and has become the centerpiece of the audio track at GDC.
AUDIO OF THE YEAR
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar Games
Composers Bill Elm & Woody Jackson
Lead Audio Designer Jeffrey R. Whitcher
Audio Designers Steven von Kampen, Christian Kjeldsen, Corey Ross
Audio Programmers Corey Shay, Robert Katz
MUSIC OF THE YEAR
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar Games
Bill Elm, Woody Jackson
BEST AUDIO OTHER
Halo: Waypoint “The Return”
343 Industries/Microsoft Game Studios
Kristofor Mellroth, Senior Audio Director, Microsoft Game Studios
Paul Lipson, Audio Director, Pyramind Studios
Peter Steinbach, Steve Heithecker, David Earl, Michael Roache
STUDENT/APPRENTICE CONTEST
Sound Design: Adam Raley
Music: Paolo Amati
SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Electronic Arts/DICE
Stefan Strandberg, Ben Minto, David Mollerstedt, Thomas Danke, Mari Saastamoinen, Olof Stromqvist
BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
Video Games Live – Level 2
Tommy Tallarico, Jack Wall
BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar Games
Bill Elm, Woody Jackson
BEST HANDHELD AUDIO
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge
LucasArts
Tom Bible, Jesse Harlin, Wilbert Roget II, Jeff Ball, Dan Reynolds, Andrew Aversa
BEST CINEMATIC/CUTSCENE AUDIO
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Blizzard Entertainment
Paul Menichini, David Farmer
BEST DIALOGUE
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar Games
Lead Audio Matthew Smith
Additional Dialogue Editing Will Morton, Allan Walker, Jon McCavish
Audio Designer George Williamson
Dialogue Assistant Lindsay Robertson
BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL
“Athens Harbour Chase” – James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Activision
Richard Jacques
BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – CHORAL
“Invincible” – World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Blizzard Entertainment
Music by Russell Brower, Jason Hayes; Lyrics by Derek Duke, Neal Acree
BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – POP
“I’ll Take it All” – James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Activision
BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC
Bioshock 2
2K Games/2K Marin
Michael Kamper, Audio Lead and the 2K Marin Audio Team
BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE, PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST
“The Weight of Silence – How Silence Can Indicate a Character’s Importance” – Game Developer Magazine
Jesse Harlin
BEST USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL SURROUND IN A GAME
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Electronic Arts/DICE
Stefan Strandberg, Ben Minto, David Mollerstedt, Thomas Danke, Mari Saastamoinen, Olof Stromqvist
RECOGNITION AWARD
Sumthing Else Musicworks
DISTINGUISED SERVICE AWARDS
Dren McDonald, Jacquie Shriver
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
DIAMOND SPONSOR/PARTNER AWARDS
Sumthing Else Musicworks
Game Developers Conference
Pyramind Studios
American Federation of Musicians