Game Audio Network Guild Awards


The Game Audio Network Guild Awards is an award show that celebrates excellence in video game audio. The awards, which started in 2004, are arranged by the Game Audio Network Guild and held annually during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The first four shows were held at the Fairmont San Jose, before moving to the Moscone Center from the fifth; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 18th to 20th ceremonies were held virtually.

Format

The Game Audio Network Guild Awards are celebrated annually as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The awards are split between music, sound design, and voice acting. Submissions must be released between January 1 and December 31 of the preceding year. Members of the Game Audio Network Guild may submit five nominations for free, with each additional submission costing ; public submissions cost per game. Early access games are ineligible. After the submission deadline passes, the Awards Committee sends the data to the Advisors and Awards Committees to select the nominees. Once the final nominations are selected, the Game Audio Network Guild votes for the winners.

Ceremonies

1st (2003)

The first G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 7, 2003, at the Fairmont San Jose. Almost 500 people attended the ceremony. The awards were presented by members of the Game Audio Network guild, including Tommy Tallarico, Clint Bajakian, and Jack Wall, with musical interludes from LoudLouderLoudest!, Orpheus Hanley, the Slackmates, the Ex Lucas Arts Boys, and George "The Fat Man" Sanger.

Overall

  • Audio of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline
  • Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
  • Best Audio – Other: Fisher-Price Pixter Pro Base and Leap Frog Imagination Desk Reading Games
  • Best Handheld Audio: Alienators: Evolution Continues
  • Best Website Audio: Blitz Digital Studios
  • Best Edutainment/Children Audio: ''Learning 2nd/3rd Grade''

    Music

  • Music of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline
  • Best Live Performance Recording: "Operation Market Garden" — Medal of Honor: Frontline
  • Best Interactive Score: James Bond 007: Nightfire
  • Best Instrumental Song: "Allied Assault Main Theme" by Michael Giacchino — Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Memoro de la Santono" by Nobuo Uematsu — Final Fantasy XI
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Kingdom " by Hikaru Utada — Kingdom Hearts
  • Best Use of Licensed Music: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  • Best Original Soundtrack Album: The Best of LucasArts
  • Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: ''James Bond 007: Nightfire''

    Sound Design

  • Sound Design of the Year: Medal of Honor: Frontline
  • Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: FIFA World Cup 2002
  • Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: ''James Bond 007: Nightfire''

    Voice Acting

  • Best Dialogue: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  • Best Commentary in a Sports Game: ''Madden NFL 2003''

    Industry and Trade

  • Best New Audio Technology: XACT
  • Best Audio Software: Steinberg Cubase SX
  • Best Audio Hardware: Digidesign Digi002
  • Best Sound Library: Vienna Symphonic Library Orchestral Cube

    Recognition

  • Most Innovative Use of Audio: SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs
  • Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "The Use and Effectiveness of Audio in Halo: Game Music Evolved" by Marty O'Donnell, Aaron Marks, and Greg O'Connor-Read
  • G.A.N.G. Recognition Award: Music4Games and Headhunter
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Mark Miller
  • Rookie of the Year: Shane Kneip
  • Best Audio Programmer: Buzz Burrowes
  • Best Producer/Designer: Dan Irish
  • Distinguished G.A.N.G. Service Awards: Sach Jobbs, Jay Samerad, Todd Fay, and Mike Tallarico
  • G.A.N.G. Contest Winners: Sam Hulick, and Rob King

    2nd (2004)

The second annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 25, 2004, at the Fairmont San Jose in the Regency Ballroom. Tallarico returned to host the ceremony, which took place over two-and-a-half hours. Musical performances included Steve Kirk and the Voodoo Vince Band, LoudLouderLoudest!, the Rockin' hobbit Band, the OneUp Mushrooms, and Dweezil Zappa.

Overall

  • Audio of the Year: Call of Duty
  • Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
  • Best Audio – Other: LeapFrog Leapster: SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Best Handheld Audio: 007: Everything or Nothing
  • Best Website Audio: Shiny Entertainment
  • Best Edutainment/Children Audio: ''Tonka: Rescue Patrol''

    Music

  • Music of the Year: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
  • Best Live Performance Recording: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
  • Best Interactive Score: Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
  • Best Original Instrumental Song: "Max Payne Theme" — Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Gallery Theme" by Tim Larkin — Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Late Goodbye" by Poets of the Fall — Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
  • Best Use of Licensed Music: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • Best Original Soundtrack Album: The Hobbit
  • Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: ''Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb''

    Sound Design

  • Sound Design of the Year: Call of Duty
  • Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: Need for Speed: Underground
  • Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''

    Voice Acting

  • Best Dialogue: The Getaway
  • Best Commentary in a Sports Game: ''Madden NFL 2004''

    Industry and Trade

  • Best New Audio Technology: Yamaha Vocaloid
  • Best Audio Software: Spectrasonics Atmosphere & Native Instruments Absynth 2.0
  • Best Audio Hardware: Pro Tools HD Accel
  • Best Sound Library: Sound Ideas

    Recognition

  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Rob Hubbard
  • G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Brian O'Connor and Mark Sazer, Escalet, George Aiello, Bill Mitchell
  • Rookie of the Year: Cris Velasco and Jared Emerson-Johnson
  • Silas Warner Best Audio Programming Award: Thomas Engel
  • Best Producer/Designer: Simon Pressey
  • Most Innovative Use of Audio: Amplitude
  • Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "DirectX 9 Audio Exposed: Interactive Audio Development" by Todd M. Fay
  • Distinguished Service Awards: Brian DiDomenico, Jamie Lendino, Jerome Rossen
  • G.A.N.G. Contest Winners: Ian Dorsch, Jonathan Wall
  • Golden Melodica Award: Tommy Tallarico

    3rd (2005)

The third annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 10, 2005, at the Fairmont San Jose as part of the Game Developers Conference. Myst IV: Revelation led the winners with three awards.

Overall

  • Audio of the Year: Halo 2
  • Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Hitman Contracts and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth
  • Best Audio – Other: River Reader Rabbit series for LeapPad
  • Best Handheld Audio: Spider-Man 2
  • Best Website Audio: Speak Getaway
  • Best Edutainment/Children Audio: ''Barbie: Princess and the Pauper''

    Music

  • Music of the Year: Myst IV: Revelation
  • Best Live Performance Recording: Myst IV: Revelation
  • Best Interactive Score: Sly 2: Band of Thieves
  • Best Original Instrumental Song: "Main Theme" by Inon Zur — Men of Valor
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Main Theme" by Jack Wall — Myst IV: Revelation
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Snake Eater" by Norihiko Hibino — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
  • Best Use of Licensed Music: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  • Best Original Soundtrack Album: Halo 2
  • Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: ''EverQuest II''

    Sound Design

  • Sound Design of the Year: Call of Duty: Finest Hour
  • Best Sound Design in a Sports or Driving Game: ESPN NFL 2K5
  • Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game: ''The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay''

    Voice Acting

  • Best Dialogue: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  • Best Commentary in a Sports Game: ''ESPN NFL 2K5''

    Industry and Trade

  • Best New Audio Technology: GameCODA 2.0
  • Best Audio Software: Nuendo 3.0
  • Best Audio Hardware: Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System
  • Best Sound Library: Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra: Platinum Edition

    Recognition

  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Michael Land
  • G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards: Didier Lord, Bob Rice, and Steve Schnur
  • Rookie of the Year: Tom Salta
  • Silas Warner Best Audio Programming Award: John Twigg, Cliff Kondratuik
  • Best Producer/Designer: Donald Mustard
  • Most Innovative Use of Audio: Donkey Konga
  • Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: "Audio for Games: Planning, Process and Production" by Alexander Brandon
  • Distinguished Service Awards: Chris Rickwood, Jonathan Wall, Matt Bielejeski, and Alistair Cooper

    4th (2006)

The fourth annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony took place on March 23, 2006, at the Fairmont San Jose. God of War swept most of the major categories.

Overall

  • Audio of the Year: God of War
  • Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: God of War
  • Best Audio – Other: ''Lumines''

    Music

  • Music of the Year: God of War
  • Best Live Performance Recording: God of War
  • Best Interactive Score: God of War
  • Best Original Instrumental Song: "The Tragic Hero" by Chance Thomas — Peter Jackson's King Kong
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Choral: "Muse by Tommy Tallarico — Advent Rising
  • Best Original Vocal Song – Pop: "Katamari on the Swing" by Yuri Misumi, Hiroshi Okubo, Masashi Sugiyama, Katsuro Tajima, Hideki Tobeta, Akitata Toyama, Yoshihito Yano, Tomomitsu Kaneko, and Kanako Kakino — We Love Katamari
  • Best Use of Licensed Music: Guitar Hero
  • Best Original Soundtrack Album: Jade Empire
  • Best Arrangement of a Non-Original Score: ''The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge''