The Spotlight Awards was hosted annually by the

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...

(GDC) from 1997 to 1999. Its focus was on the

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

and

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

industry. GDC now hosts another video game award ceremony called

Game Developers Choice Awards The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding video game developer, game developers and video game, games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by ...

since 2001.

List of winners

Best Game

:1997 : ''

Super Mario 64 ''Super Mario 64'' is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combini ...

Best Console Game

:1997 : ''

'' :1998 : (not awarded) :1999 : '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''

Best PC/Mac Game

:1997 : ''

Civilization II ''Sid Meier's Civilization II'' is a turn-based strategy video game in the ''Civilization'' series, developed and published by MicroProse. It was released in 1996 for PCs, and later ported to the PlayStation by Activision. Players build a ...

'' :1998 : (not awarded) :1999 : ''

Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay. Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to: Film * Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang * ''Half Life: ...

Best Arcade Game

:1997 : ''

Virtua Fighter 3 is a 1996 fighting video game developed and published by Sega, the sequel to 1994's ''Virtua Fighter 2'' as part of the ''Virtua Fighter'' series. Released originally in arcades, ''Virtua Fighter 3'' was the first arcade game to run on the Se ...

Best Action Game

:1997 : ''

Duke Nukem 3D ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is a 1996 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by 3D Realms and published by FormGen for MS-DOS. It is a sequel to the platform games ''Duke Nukem (video game), Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'', published ...

'' :1998 : ''

Quake II ''Quake II'' is a 1997 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by Activision. It is the second installment of the Quake (series), ''Quake'' series, following ''Quake (video game), Quake''. Develope ...

'' :1999 : ''

Best Adventure Game/RPG

:1997 : '' The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall'' :1998 : ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first ...

'' :1999 : ''

Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both t ...

Best Sports Game

:1997 : '' NHL Hockey '97'' :1998 : :1999 : ''

NFL Blitz ''NFL Blitz'' is a series of American football themed video game originally released by Midway featuring National Football League (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 arcade game '' NFL Blitz'' that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series of ...

Best Multiplayer Game

:1997 : '' Quake'' :1998 : ''

'' :1999 : ''

StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance amon ...

Best Strategy/War Game

:1997 : '' Command and Conquer: Red Alert'' :1998 : :1999 : ''

Best Simulation Game

:1997 : '' MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries'' :1998 : (not awarded) :1999 : '' Gran Turismo''

Best Flight or Flight Combat Simulator

:1998 :

Best Military Simulation

:1998 :

Best Trivia or Puzzle Game

:1997 : ''

You Don't Know Jack XL ''You Don't Know Jack'' is a video game released in 1995 by Jellyvision, later Jackbox Games, and is the first release in the '' You Don't Know Jack'' video game series. History Prior to developing ''You Don't Know Jack'', Learn Television was a c ...

'' :1998 : :1999 : '' You Don't Know Jack 4: The Ride''

Best Educational/Children's Game

:1997 : '' Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse'' :1998 : :1999 : ''

Lego Creator Lego Creator (stylized as ''LEGO Creator'') is a List of Lego themes, Lego theme for generic models. Creator sets have few specialized bricks to create buildings, creatures, vehicles, and robots. Some sets featured instructions for three differ ...

Best Use of Audio

:1997 : '' Quake'' :1998 : ''

PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was originally released in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration w ...

'' :1999 : ''

Best Music or Soundtrack

:1997 : '' Quake'' :1998 : ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

Best New Technology

:1997 :

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

from

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

:1998 :

Best Use of Innovative Technology

:1997 : ''

'' for the N64

Best Use of Graphics

:1998 : ''

'' :1999 : ''

Best Use of Video

:1997 : ''

Wing Commander IV ''Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'' is the fourth main game in the ''Wing Commander'' science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1996 and the Sony ...

Most Innovative Game Design

:1998 : ''

'' :1999 : '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''

Best Script, Story or Interactive Writing

:1997 : '' You Don't Know Jack XL''

Best Adaptation of Linear Media

:1997 : ''

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a post-apocalyptic short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of ''IF: Worlds of Science Fiction''. The story is set against the backdrop of World War ...

Best AI (Artificial Intelligence)

:1999 : ''

Best Animation

:1997 : ''

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...

Best Prerendered Art

:1997 : ''

Zork Nemesis ''Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands'' is a graphic adventure game, developed by Zombie Studios, Zombie LLC, published by Activision, and released in 1996 for Windows 95, MS-DOS, and Macintosh. It is the eleventh game in the ''Zork'' series, and ...

Annual Achievement Award for Game Design and Development

:1998 : ''

Age of Empires ''Age of Empires'' is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first title in the series, ''Age of Empires'', focused on events in Europe, Afri ...

Lifetime Achievement Award for Game Design and Development

:1998 : Dani Bunten Berry :1999 :

Louis Castle Louis Castle is an American video game designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios, designing the PC game ''Blade Runner'', and collaborating with Steven Spielberg on the '' Boom Blox'' and '' Boom Blox Bash Party'' video games for th ...

References

Archive / 1999 Spotlight Awards

Video game awards Awards established in 1997 Awards disestablished in 1999 {{videogame-culture-stub