The Last of Us cleans up at DICE Awards

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) wrapped up its 17th annual DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, which celebrates the past year in game development from the industry perspective.

The DICE awards are unique, as AIAS membership is comprised of gaming industry professionals, and only those who meet minimum criteria are allowed to vote on the best titles of the year.

With a 22,000 strong membership, the summit is a chance for networking, focusing on the business end of industry, and it rewards pioneering use of technology trends, creativity and artistic expression, and innovation.

The Last Of Us cleaned up with 10 awards including Outstanding Achievement in Story, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and the top honor Game of the Year.

Other familiar names also scored some awards, such as Bioshock Infinite, which took home Action Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 won both Casual Game of the Year and Mobile Game of the Year, while FIFA 14 continued the FIFA franchise’s run of five consecutive wins with Sports Game of the Year.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons took home the Downloadable Game of the Year award. World of Tanks took home the Online Game of the Year award, DICE’s newest category.

Rockstar Games – Leslie Benzies (L); Dan Houser (R)

During the ceremony, Rockstar Games’ Leslie Benzies, Dan Houser and Sam Houser were inducted as the 18th, 19th and 20th members of the AIAS Hall of Fame.

The AIAS also honored game industry trailblazer Eugene Jarvis as its sixth Pioneer Award recipient. Jarvis is known as a key player from the golden age of arcade games, who was instrumental in establishing the interactive industry with such seminal games as Defender, Robotron: 2084, Narc, and Smash TV.

Below are the 2014 DICE Awards categories and winners, as revealed on 6 February 2014:

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Animation – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Character Performance – The Last of Us (Ellie)

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition – Bioshock Infinite

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational Games

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Story – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering – Grand Theft Auto V

Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar North

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Action Game of the Year – Bioshock Infinite

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational Games

Adventure Game of the Year – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Fighting Game of the Year – Injustice: Gods Among Us

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: NetherRealm Studios

Role Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year – Diablo III

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year – XCOM: Enemy Within

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis Games

Casual Game of the Year – Plants VS Zombies 2

Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
Developer: Popcap, Electronic Arts Inc.

Family Game of the Year – Super Mario 3D World

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo Software Development Group No.2

Racing Game of the Year – Forza Motorsport 5

Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Turn 10 Studios

Sports Game of the Year – FIFA 14

Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
Developer: EA Canada

Downloadable Game of the Year – Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons

Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Starbreeze Studios

Handheld Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Software Development Group No.3

Mobile Game of the Year – Plants VS Zombies 2

Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
Developer: Popcap, Electronic Arts Inc.

Online Game of the Year – World of Tanks

Publisher: Wargaming Public Company Ltd. 105
Developer: Wargaming.net

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

Game of the Year – The Last of Us

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.

About DICE and AIAS

Titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy’s Peer Panels. Each panel is responsible for evaluating one award category. DICE Award recipients are determined by a vote of qualified Academy and IGDA members. Award voting is confidential, conducted online and supervised and certified by Vote Net Solutions.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, advance and recognize the outstanding achievements in the interactive entertainment industry worldwide.