Limbo leads big-money rivals at 2011 Game Developer Awards

Its budget might be only a fraction of its bigger rivals, but indie game Limbo has received more nominations than any other title in the 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards.

The small but beautiful puzzle-platformer received seven nominations, ahead of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption (six nominations) and epic sci-fi action-RPG Mass Effect 2 (five).

While the latter two are full-price games, Playdead Studio’s Limbo can be bought for around ten bucks on the Xbox 360’s Xbox Live Arcade service. And buy it you should, because it is flippin’ ace, a dark, mysterious, beautiful little puzzler that’s also creepy as hell (those spiders).

The full list of nominees is below, and the gongs will be handed out on March 2nd in a glittering ceremony of nerd worship in San Francisco.

Best Game Design

* Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
* Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
* Limbo (Playdead)
* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
* God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Innovation

* Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
* Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Good-Feel HAL Laboratory)
* Minecraft (Mojang)
* Limbo (Playdead)
* Dance Central (Harmonix)

Best Technology

* Starcraft II (Blizzard)
* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
* Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
* Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
* God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Best Handheld Game

* God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready At Dawn/SCE Santa Monica)
* Cut the Rope (ZeptoLab)
* Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Kojima Productions)
* Game Dev Story (Kairosoft)
* Dragon Quest IX (Level 5)

Best Audio

* Limbo (Playdead)
* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
* Halo: Reach (Bungie)
* Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DICE)
* Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)

Best Downloadable Game

* Costume Quest (Double Fine)
* Limbo (Playdead)
* Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
* Minecraft (Mojang)
* Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)

Best Writing

* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
* Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
* Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
* Costume Quest (Double Fine)
* Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian)

Best Debut Game

* Limbo (Playdead)
* Darksiders (Vigil Games)
* Minecraft (Mojang)
* Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)
* Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)

Best Visual Arts

* God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
* Limbo (Playdead)
* Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
* Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)

Game of the Year

* Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
* Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
* Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
* Limbo (Playdead)
* Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)

[Via press release]