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Update: GDC Committee Pulls Nolan Bushnell's Pioneer Award Amid Controversy
Update: The Game Developers Choice Awards Advisory Committee has decided not to give out a Pioneer Award at this year's Game Developers Conference after controversy surrounding this year's pick: video game and Atari luminary Nolan Bushnell.
Bushnell, by his own accounts, participated in and encouraged an atmosphere at Atari that was sexually aggressive and inappropriate. This sparked argument as to whether Bushnell was deserving of the award in the context of the contemporary #MeToo movement and others like it which are bringing sexual harassment to light and trying to change toxic cultures.
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) January 31, 2018
[Source: GDC]
Original Story:
The Game Developers Choice Awards in March will be honoring three prominent industry veterans with awards being given to Nolan Bushnell, Tim Schafer, and Rami Ismail.
The three are being recognized with different awards focusing on their contributions to the video game industry. Rami Ismail, co-founder of Vlambeer and independent game developer, is being honored with the Ambassador Award. This award is for individuals "who are helping video games advance to a better place through advocacy or action."
Nolan Bushnell has long been at the forefront of every video game history book, and as such is receiving the Pioneer Award from the GCDAs in recognition of his breakthroughs in business. Bushnell is best known in the industry for co-founding Atari and, well, pioneering the video game market as we know it.
Tim Schafer, the founder, president, and creative director of Double Fine Productions, is receiving the Lifetime Achievement award for his three decades in game development. Schafer started at Lucasarts, bringing to life beloved games Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango before founding Double Fine and creating games like Psychonauts and Broken Age.
The Game Developers Choice Awards will take place in San Francisco on March 21.
Our Take
All three recipients are well-deserving of their awards and it is always interesting to see who the games industry recognizes for their contributions.
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