The Game Developers Choice Awards are to Gaming, what the Grammy’s are to Music. Remember the VGA’s? Those are like the MTV awards, cute but not exactly coveted (Can you say “Most Addictive Game fueled by Dew”?) Anyway, the list of nominees just rolled in, and boy are there some doozies! How about “Peggle” on the ipod for Handheld Game of the Year. Or “Flow” for Best Downloadable Game. Hmm, really? Better than “Super Stardust HD” or “Warhawk”???…. I guess…..

With 5 nominations each, 2k Boston’s media darling “BioShock” and Valve’s surprise cult classic “Portal” lead the pack in what was arguably one of the best years in decades for gaming.

Here’s a little excerpt from the official website:

“Behind every great game is a great team, and it’s a core principle of ours to honor and recognize that talent on stage,” said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director of the Game Developers Conference. “Given the open peer-based structure, the Game Developers Choice Awards have earned the utmost respect within the developer community and we’re looking forward to the award ceremony next month to see who the 2008 recipients are. Good luck everyone!”

Complete list of categories and nominees after the jump!

Best Game Design

• BioShock
• Call of Duty 4
• Mass Effect
• Portal
• Super Mario Galaxy

Best Visual Art

• Assassin’s Creed
• Team Fortress 2
• Crysis
• BioShock
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Best Technology

• Halo 3
• Crysis
• Call of Duty 4
• Portal
• Assassin’s Creed

Best Writing

• Portal
• God of War II
• Mass Effect
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2
• BioShock

Best Audio

• Call of Duty 4
• Everyday Shooter
• BioShock
• God of War II
• Mass Effect

Best Debut

• Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
• flOw (ThatGameCompany)
• The Witcher (CD Projekt)
• Everyday Shooter (Queasy Games)
• Aquaria (Bit Blot)

Innovation

• Rock Band
• Portal
• flOw
• Peggle
• Mass Effect

Best Handheld Game

• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• Phase
• Contra 4
• Peggle (for iPod)

Best Downloadable Game

• Pac-Man Championship Edition
• Everyday Shooter
• Peggle
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (XBLA version)
• Flow

Game of the Year

• BioShock
• Call of Duty 4
• Portal
• Rock Band
• Super Mario Galaxy