NAVGTR Awards

The NAVGTR Awards are an award show in the video game industry, arranged by the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, or NAVGTR, a non-profit organization which was founded in 2001 as the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Corp.
The organization has more than 800 professional members from the gaming press that vote on the game nominations. For the 2013 edition, there were 54 award categories and for the 2019 edition, there were 57 award categories.
Categories
Animation
The first animation categories were Animation in a Game Cinema (renderings for cinematics) and Animation in a Game Engine (gameplay and possibly in-engine cutscenes).
Camera Direction in a Game Engine
Camera Direction is the last surviving category recognizing work limited to game engines. The category can reflect creative direction of independent pre-programmed camera movements or the engineering of how the camera flows and reacts to user movements and integrates seamlessly with gameplay. Cameras are often a usability problem in game development. Gabe Olson was nominated for the award in 2013 under the previous category name of Game Engineering.
Game of the Year
As with many game award programs, Game of the Year is the highest honor in the NAVGTR Awards program. Winners have included Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Half-Life 2, Shadow of the Colossus, , Bioshock, Little Big Planet, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, Minecraft, Journey, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey, God of War, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Game, Original Role Playing
Role playing games are awarded in this category (for new intellectual property). Genre conventions include a point-based system for character attributes, hit points to measure health, experience points based on player progression, and town craftsmen selling weapons, armor, and items. was the first winner. The most popular winners were Kingdom Hearts, World of Warcraft, Mass Effect, and Undertale. Additional winners include Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Titan Quest, Demon's Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Bastion, Dragon's Dogma, Dragon's Crown, Child of Light, Darkest Dungeon, and Pyre.
Game, Original Sports
Sports games are awarded in this category (for new intellectual property). While most sports video games re-create North american football, association football (soccer), baseball, basketball, golf, and their fantasy versions, some games in this category have attempted to innovate and arguably expand the scope of sports with an "indie" avant-garde feel, such as the 2002 winner, Jet Set Radio Future. Other notable winners include Wii Sports, Kinect Sports, and Rocket League
Game, Puzzle
Puzzle games awarded in this category take many forms. For the genre, recognizing patterns is a common gameplay skill required to unlock items or paths forward. Puzzles are sometimes solved by moving pieces within the gameplay environment, either from separate rooms or the same room in the game environment. After nominations for 2002 and 2003, the puzzle categories (original and franchise) were short-lived until they were revived as a combined category in 2015. Under the combined category, Her Story was the first new winner.
Game, Simulation
The Simulation category has existed since 2001, but its first nominations were not realized until 2002. Steel Battalion was the first winner from that year. Sim City 4 won in 2002. The Sims 2 won in 2004. Notable wins include Spore, Kerbal Space Program, and Stardew Valley. The genre allows players to develop and tweak systems of interactivity, rewarding stability and efficiency of player-created ecosystems that often resemble complex real-world planning. Examples can involve city-building, transportation design, managing war machines and spacecraft, farm or zoo sustainability, racecar or fighter pilot instrumentation, and home economics, sometimes embued with humorous conflicts and consequences that can be considered commentary on the real world. Additional winners over the years include , Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, The Sims 3, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, Tropico 4, Star Command, and The Sims 4.
Game, Special Class
Special Class games in this category defy typical genre classification of the time. The most critically acclaimed winners include Flower, Journey, Monument Valley, and That Dragon, Cancer. Over the years, the label has included dance games, music games, interactive quiz shows, puzzle games, card games, board games, one button games, experimental games, text-based games, cooking games, and even pinball games, all in electronic form. Like the categories of Character Design, Control Precision, Costume Design, Direction in a Game Cinema, and Game of the Year, the Special Class category has retained the same name since inception in 2001. The first winner was Frequency, a conceptual precursor to Guitar Hero from the same developer, Harmonix. Additional winners include DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution, Karaoke Revolution, Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Lumines, , Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, , The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, Swarm, Rain, The Talos Principle: Road To Gehenna, and Pinball FX 3.
Game, Strategy
Strategy games awarded in this category often combine aspects of role playing and simulation to create deep systems for the player to manage. Gameplay conventions often revolve around troop and resource management. Like the categories of Character Design, Control Precision, Costume Design, Direction in a Game Cinema, Game of the Year, and Outstanding Special Class Game, the Outstanding Strategy Game category has retained the same name since inception in 2001. The first winner was Advance Wars.
Graphics, Technical
The Graphics, Technical Award honors programming achievement related to generating consistently-performing graphics. Work can relate to motion capture, special effects, model and motion design, engine tools, and other relevant work of technical artists, engineers, and programmers.
Lead Performance in a Drama
The Voice Performance category was originally a single category. The first year (2001) had no nominations, but Ray Liotta won for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002. A split resulted in new lead and supporting categories beginning in 2004. In the very next year, roles were further split into comedy and drama. In any form, the category has never been divided by gender. The first winner under the lead drama division was Thomas Jane for Gun.
Lighting/Texturing
The "Lighting/Texturing" Award honors artistic or technical achievement in rendered textures as well as lighting and shading effects which combine to give a dramatic impression of realism or amazing artistry. Like the categories of Character Design, Control Precision, Costume Design, Direction in a Game Cinema, Game of the Year, Outstanding Special Class Game, and Outstanding Strategy Game, and Graphics (Technical), the Lighting/Texturing category has retained the same name since inception in 2001. The first winner was Ico.
Sound Editing in a Game Cinema
One of the more esoteric categories in the NAVGTR Awards, the award for Sound Editing was introduced in 2004.
Discontinued Categories
Some categories in the NAVGTR Awards were discontinued due to renaming/recategorization/reclassification, diminishing nominations in quality or quantity, lack of support or participation, or difficulty in adjudicating nominations. Affected categories include Innovation in Game Play, Innovation in Game Technology, Original Musical Score, Voice Performance, Voice Performance (Lead), Voice Performance (Supporting), Writing (Dialogue), Writing (Story), Outstanding eSports Game, and Performance in a Sports Game.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu