4th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards announced
 

The 4th annual G.A.N.G. (Game Audio Network Guild) awards were announced at the Game Developers Conference this past week. If you want to see names of people responsible for the games that won the awards, you can go to the official site. Otherwise, here's a summary:

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


God of War really cleaned up. Noticeably absent is Shadow of the Colossus. Do you think that's warranted?

Also, what do you think about Jade Empire getting the Best Original Soundtrack Album award? I haven't listened to it, so I don't really have any idea how it is, but I don't recall many people here talking about it.

Shame the site only lists the winners and not all the nominees, so we can't tell if the stilted results are due to nomination bias or the fact that G.A.N.G. members really, really like God of War.

I think it's obvious that it's both.

I don't get what so many gaming press people see in God of War's music. Shadow of the Colossus owns that shit for free. Furthermore, this seems to perpetuate the believe that a game soundtrack isn't worth mentioning unless it's orchestrated and sounds like it came from a movie.

It's an american award, remember. I don't see what's so strange about this outcome.

And yea, then the heathen did say: let it be thus perpetuated, for such is pleasing to mine ears :D

And the difference is...what? I have the same problem with the Grammys and their "Album of the year and Record of the Year" bs.

Gotta give props to Wilbert Roget, aka bustatunez, for his victory in the 4th Annual Student/Apprentice Competition. We never got to meet while he was busy at Yale and I was home for the summer, but Wil's a great guy and I wish him nothing but success. His track was short and sweet, fit the contest's middle eastern motif to a T, and featured Star Salzman on vocals. Nothing but quality there.

Sounds like you gots tha cunnekshunz.

At least SOTC should have gotten best Interactive Score. God of War having an Interactive Score my ass.

And I'm extremely confused about God of War winning "Best Dialogue." They noticed that GOW had dialogue? While the story was very good, the dialogue wasn't anything I'd write home about...who the hell gives out an award for "Best Dialogue," anyways? Way to go, Tommy T.

I'm a bit confused over the need for a "Music of the Year" and a "Best Original Soundtrack of the Year" distinction. Can a Music of the Year winner also be the Best OST of the Year? I'm thinking there are some differences between the two categories but the ones I can think of now are not very strong.

I've always been a bit disappointed with the selection of games the GA.N.G. awards highlight. While I am rather supportive of Western VGM, the G.A.N.G. awards are much too heavy on Western VGM. While I can understand the slant for Western material for the Oscars/Emmys, it's not like games from the East don't reach the mainstream population in the West. It's a pity only big name/popular Japanese games ever make it to the awards. And even then, I was rather surprised SotC even made it (then again, SotC didn't seem to make so big an impact where I come from). Perhaps, as some have pointed out, the awards are very fixated on orchestrated material.

I do think it makes more sense for the G.A.N.G. awards to have a few categories for "foreign VGM."

With regards to the Best OST winner, while I do like Jack Wall's work, Jade Empire didn't really impress me that much. Admittedly, it's pretty good. I appreciate how Wall strived for an authentic oriental sound and some of the traditional Chinese nuances were nice. But after a while, Jade Empire isn't particularly impactful, creative and original. Save for a few exceptions, there isn't enough variety in the soundtrack. I do think Wall did more interesting work in the Myst games. Then again, my opinions are based without game context so I might be missing something.

In hindsight, I think I'm somewhat underwhelmed by the score for Jade Empire because it doesn't quite live up to what I've come to expect for a wuxia (roughly translated as "martial arts") game. Having been raised on a plethora of wuxia flicks and drama serials for as long as I can remember, I've come to expect all things wuxia to have a certain style and spirit. I don't quite hear that in Jade Empire. Sure, it captures a traditional Chinese sound but where's the soul of the swordsman? Not substantial enough, I fear.

On that note, I think Hirota's and Nakano's use of the cymbals is a bit more interesting and impactful. :P