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GDC 2010: Naughty Dog's acclaimed shooter nets record number of statuettes, including Game of the Year; Batman Arkham Asylum upsets in Game Design category; Scribblenauts top handheld; Flower and Farmville also win.

SAN FRANCISCO--When the Game Developers Choice Awards nominees were announced in January, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves scored an impressive seven nods. Tonight at the GDCAs proper, Naughty Dog's acclaimed action-adventure won a record five statuettes for Game of the Year, Best Writing, Best Technology, Best Visual Arts, and Best Audio. The victory comes just weeks after the game crushed the opposition with 10 wins at the Interactive Achievement Awards, also including Game of the Year.

Uncharted 2 cold-cocked the competition at the GDCAs Thursday night.

The heavily favored Uncharted 2 was upset in the Best Game Design category, which went to Batman: Arkham Aslyum, the first game from rookie British shop Rocksteady Studios. Best Handheld Game went to Scribblenauts, which also managed to swipe the Innovation Award away from Naughty Dog's juggernaut. On Tuesday, the game's producer gave a presentation at the ongoing Game Developers Conference which accompanies the GDCAs.

Rounding out the GDCAs were the soon-to-be PlayStation Move-compatible Flower, which earned a Best Downloadable Game trophy for Los Angeles-based thatgamecompany. Best Debut Game honors went to Torchlight from indie developer Runic Games. Lastly, the first award for Best New Social/Online Game went to Zynga for their ubiquitous title Farmville.

The evening's non-competitive awards went to two giants of game development. John Carmack, co-founder and current chief technical officer of id Software (Doom, Quake), received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his nearly two decades in the industry. Gabe Newell picked up the Pioneer Award for his groundbreaking work at Valve Software, creators of the Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and now Portal series.

To see the Game Developers Choice Awards first-hand, check back soon for archived video of the entire event, which was streamed live on GameSpot. The ceremony was hosted by Deus Ex and Thief co-creator Warren Spector, who is currently developing Epic Mickey at Disney Interactive Studios.

10TH ANNUAL GAME DEVELOPERS CHOICE AWARDS:

Lifetime Achievement Award
John Carmack, id Software

Pioneer Award
Gabe Newell, Valve Software

Scribblenauts doodled 5th Cell another Handheld Game of the Year award.

Game of the Year
Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
Demon's Souls (From Software)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Best Game Design
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft Montreal)
WINNER: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Best Handheld Game
Flight Control (Firemint)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo EAD)
WINNER: Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)

Best Visual Art
Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Borderlands (Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

id Software's John Carmack picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Best Technology
Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)
Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Best Writing
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
Brutal Legend (Double Fine)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
Halo 3: ODST (Bungie)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Best Audio
Brutal Legend (Double Fine Productions)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Rock Band: The Beatles (Harmonix)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Batman: Arkham Asylum snatched the Best Game Design award from Uncharted 2.

Innovation
Demon's Souls (From Software)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
WINNER: Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)

Best Debut
League of Legends (Riot Games)
The Maw (Twisted Pixel)
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
WINNER: Torchlight (Runic Games)
Zeno Clash (ACE Team)

Gabe Newell: Game Pioneer.

Best Downloadable Game
WINNER: Flower (Thatgamecompany)
PixelJunk Shooter (Q Games)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment)
Trials HD (RedLynx)

Best New Social/Online Game
Bejeweled Blitz (PopCap)
Dungeon Fighter Online (Neople/Nexon)
WINNER: Farmville (Zynga)
Free Realms (Sony Online Entertainment San Diego)
Restaurant City (Playfish)

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