GANG Music Awards Announced.... Wha?!

Filed in archive News on February 7, 2008

The Game Audio Network Guild, or GANG, released its nominees for its awards for game music and audio, held every year at the Game Developer's Conference in March (hat tip to Gonintendo.com):

AUDIO OF THE YEAR
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
God of War II
Halo 3
Mass Effect

MUSIC OF THE YEAR
Assassin's Creed
BioShock
God of War II
Halo 3
The Golden Compass

SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Crysis
The Orange Box
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
Dead Head Fred
God of War II
Halo 3
Mass Effect
Red Steel

BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE
BioShock
Flow
God of War II
LOTR Online: Shadows of Angmar
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

BEST HANDHELD AUDIO
Dead Head Fred
MLB 07: The Show
Shrek The Third: Shrek's Way
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow
Transformers

BEST AUDIO - OTHER
Grim's Downfall (online game)
Jewel Quest II
Nine Billion Miles From Earth (online game)
Treasure Tunes (online game)
Website for Halo 3 Soundtrack

BEST CINEMATIC/CUT-SCENE AUDIO
BioShock
Halo 3
Heavenly Sword
Hellgate: London
Mass Effect

BEST DIALOGUE
BioShock
God of War II
Halo 3
The Orange Box
The Simpsons Game

BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL
"Welcome To Rapture" - BioShock
"Infiltrating The Eagle's Nest" - Blazing Angels 2
"Main Menu" - The Golden Compass
"Epilogue" - Lair
"The Citadel" - Mass Effect

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL - CHORAL
"City of Jeruslaem" - Assassin's Creed
"Joan of Arc" - Bladestorm
"Luck" - Halo 3
"Main Titles" - God of War II
"Divine Intervention" - Universe At War: Earth Assault

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL - POP
"Jerusalem Horse Ride" - Assassin's Creed
"beowulf's Army" - Beowulf
"M4 Part II" - Mass Effect
"Still Alive" - Portal
"Lament of the Highborne" - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC
BioShock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's
Rock Band
Skate

BEST ARRANGEMENT OF A NON-ORIGINAL SCORE
Pirates of the Caribbean Online
Purr Pals
The Simpsons Game

BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE, PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST
"The Golden Compass Composer Diary - GameSpy
"The World of Game Composing" - Film Music Magazine
"What's The Score?" - British Academy Magazine
"Video Games Live" - Eurogamer TV Show
"Does it Sound Next-Gen?" - Game Developer Magazine

MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF AUDIO
LOTR Online: Shadows of Angmar - "The Player Music System"
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 - Audio controlling graphics & physics engine
Treasure Tunes (online game)
Flow
Mass Effect - dialogue engine

BEST USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL SURROUND IN A GAME
BioShock
Crysis
Halo 3
Lair
God of War II

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Notice any omissions? I sure as heck do. Not only do I see a lack of Nintendo stuff, including Mario Galaxy (which had a superb score), but a lack of any sort of Japanese game at all.

Now, I used to be in GANG myself- I worked as a freelance composer and sound designer for a few years (I worked on mod and indie projects) so I know a little bit about this. Facts are, GANG members can nominate themselves, and vote for themselves. And, looking at this list, I see more than a little bit of self congratulation going on.

Of course, awards in the industry are tough- many of them are literally bought and paid for by the winners! And you're a nincompoop if you think you need any outside organization to tell you what good music is (or what good anything is). But may I politely suggest to my good friends at GANG to look beyond our borders a little? You'd think a game built entirely around music like Eternal Sonata (an Xbox 360 game) would get a nod for something!

The GANG website is here.