Dead Space was the name echoed throughout the seventh annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards ceremony.‭

The critically acclaimed survival-horror title managed to outshine its fellow nominees in two key categories‭; ‬Sound Design of the Year and Audio of the Year.‭

EA Redwood can now add these two accolades to its previously-won‭ ‬DICE Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design,‭ ‬the‭ ‬GDC Award for Best Audio,‭ ‬as well as‭ ‬two BAFTAs for Use of Audio and Original Score.‭

The developer will be first to point out that it has,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬picked up awards in categories outside of audio‭; ‬such as for Best Action Game and Art Direction,‭ ‬as well as nominations in many other categories.‭ ‬Yet of course,‭ ‬an award cabinet filled with audio accolades best demonstrates how far Dead Space has raised the bar in crafting a unique and powerful soundscape.‭

The Game Audio Network Guild‭ (‬GANG‭) – ‬a non-profit group which aims to‭ “‬educate the masses‭” ‬about interactive audio‭ – ‬presented EA Redwood with the two‭ ‬prizes‭ ‬at GDC last week.‭ ‬The winners were voted by GANG’s‭ ‬800-strong membership community.

Other prominent winners included promising composer Wataru Hokoyama,‭ ‬whose work on Afrika and Resident Evil‭ ‬5‭ ‬earned him an award for Rookie of the Year.‭ ‬Afrika itself won Music of the Year,‭ ‬and was the joint-recipient of the prize for Best Original Instrumental.‭

To round off the night,‭ ‬the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award was handed to Bob Rice.‭ ‬

An industry veteran in the truest sense,‭ ‬Mr Rice has been part of the music industry for over‭ ‬50‭ ‬years and has been involved in 31 records that eventually turned either ‬gold or platinum. He began to work in videogames in the early‭ ‬80s,‭ ‬and had apparently constructed the very first officially-licensed music industry video game‭; ‬Journey.

Mr Rice’s influence stretches far.‭ ‬He has been credited with mentoring many of the industry’s most famed game audio composers of today,‭ ‬who have in turn worked on titles such as World of Warcraft,‭ ‬Myst,‭ ‬Gears of War,‭ ‬Guitar Hero,‭ ‬Splinter Cell,‭ ‬Mass Effect,‭ ‬Unreal Tournament,‭ ‬Lord of the Rings,‭ ‬Crysis,‭ ‬Everquest II,‭ ‬Hitman,‭ ‬Prince of Persia,‭ ‬Tom Clancy,‭ ‬Quake and Lineage II.

Full list of award Winners follows‭ (‬with two categories tied‭)‬:

AUDIO OF THE YEAR
Dead Space

MUSIC OF THE YEAR
Afrika

SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR
Dead Space

BEST CINEMATIC/CUT-SCENE AUDIO‭ (‬tie‭)
World of Warcraft:‭ ‬Wrath of the Lich King
Gears of War‭ ‬2

BEST USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL SURROUND IN A GAME
Left‭ ‬4‭ ‬Dead

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL SONG‭ ‬-‭ ‬CHORAL
World of Warcraft:‭ ‬Wrath of the Lich King‭; ‬Main Title

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL SONG‭ ‬-‭ ‬POP
Mirror’s Edge‭; ‬Still Alive

BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL‭ (‬tie‭)
LittleBigPlanet‭; ‬The Garden
Afrika‭; ‬Main Theme

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
Video Games Live:‭ ‬Volume One

BEST DIALOGUE
Grand Theft Auto IV

BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC
Rock Band‭ ‬2

BEST HANDHELD AUDIO
God of War:‭ ‬Chains of‭ ‬Olympus

BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE
LittleBigPlanet

BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE,‭ ‬PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST
The Complete Guide to Game Audio‭ ‬2nd Edition by Aaron Marks

BEST AUDIO‭ – ‬OTHER
Watchman Motion Comic

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Wataru Hokoyama‭ (‬Afrika,‭ ‬Resident Evil‭ ‬5‭)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Bob Rice

GANG DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS
Richard Jacques
Tom Salta
Stephen Years

GANG RECOGNITION AWARDS
Jim Charne
John Broomhall

STUDENT/APPRENTICE COMPETITION WINNERS
MUSIC‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tom Graczkowski
SOUND DESIGN‭ ‬-‭ ‬Benoit Babin