The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) is the UK’s equivalent of the Oscars (well, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be pedantic) and they are holding the British Academy Games Awards tonight, Tuesday 5th March 2013 in London. The event will be livestreamed on the BAFTA website from 9pm GMT (4pm US/Eastern)
Competitive awards will be given out in a total of 18 categories, with a strong showing from Journey (7 nominations), The Walking Dead (7 nominations) and Far Cry 3 (6 nominations).
Nominees in the category of Best Game in 2013 are as follows:
- Far Cry 3
- Journey
- Mass Effect 3
- Dishonored
- The Walking Dead
- FIFA 13
But it’s good to see plenty of focus on the new, the innovative and the up-and-comers, with ghostly mod-turned-game Dear Esther nominated for 5 awards.
A full list of categories and nominees can be viewed on the BAFTA site.
The ceremony itself will be hosted by Irish comedian Dara O’Briain, whose gaming insights alone should make the show well worth watching. For a taster of his depth of knowledge on the industry and examples of his gaming prowess, here’s a very entertaining YouTube clip from his 2010 stand-up tour.
For some more sensible and more BAFTA-relevant discussion from Dara, he had this to say.
