4th Annual G.A.N.G. Award Winners Announced

The 4th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards honored the top achievers in game audio at the Game Developers Conference last week in San Jose, California, and has now officially announced the winners of its multiple awards. In the event, Sony Santa Monica's God Of War swept many of the major categories, including Music of the Year and Audio of the Year, but Harmonix's Guitar Hero also won out for Best Use of Licensed Music, and Best Original Vocal / Pop award went to "Katamari on the Swing" from We Love Katamari. The full list of winners, including artist names, is available on the official G.A.N.G. website, but the synopsis is as follows: Best Dialogue: God of War Most Innovative Use of Audio: Guitar Hero Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround In a Game: Call of Duty 2 F.E.A.R. Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogies Revenge Best New Audio Technology: Microsoft XNA Audio Format Best Audio Software: Spectrasonics STYLUS RMX Realtime Groove Module Best Audio Hardware: M-AUDIO MicroTrack 24/96 Best Game Audio Article, Publication, or Broadcast: The Treatment of Music in Games - Part I, II & III, by Jim Charne Best Interactive Score: God of War G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Nile Rodgers and Jim Charne Best Original Instrumental: "The Tragic Hero" from Peter Jackson's King Kong Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: God of War Best Live Performance Recording: God of War Best Original Vocal / Pop: "Katamari on the Swing" from We Love Katamari Best Original Vocal / Choral: "Muse" from Advent Rising Best Original Soundtrack Album: Jade Empire Sound Design of the Year (Tie): God of War Call of Duty 2 Best Audio/Other: Lumines Best Sound Library: East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game Need for Speed: Most Wanted Rookie of the Year: Gerard Marino Lifetime Achievement Award: Bobbie Prince Distinguished Service Award: Paul Lipson, Mark Guleno, Shiloh Hobel, Jerry Lyons, Michelle Sorger G.A.N.G. 4th Annual Student/Apprentice Competition Music Composition: Wilbert Roget "The Awakening of Anubis" Sound Design: Carsten Rojahn "G.A.N.G. GTA Contest" Music of the Year: God of War Best Use of Licensed Music: Guitar Hero Audio of the Year: God of War Also honored at the awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award was veteran composer Bobby Prince, who made music for seminal early PC titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D.