'Shadow of Mordor,' 'Destiny' lead D.I.C.E Award nominations

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the nominees for the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, a ceremony voted on by members of the video game publishing and developing communities. Over 50 other games are among those nominated this year in technical, genre, and creative categories highlighting the best and most innovative games of 2014.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences announced the full list of nominees for the awards, which will be held during the 2015 D.I.C.E. Summit next month. Mordor leads with nine nominations overall, while games like Destiny and Monument Valley are among the other games with multiple nominations.

In addition to the usual categories, the academy has introduced a new honor, the D.I.C.E. Sprite Award, which recognizes a game that, despite limited resources for both development and promotion that create risk for smaller development teams, was able to create an innovative and fresh experience.

Find some of the major categories listed below, and check out the full list for individual genre awards and nominees in other technical categories.

Winners will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 5 at a ceremony hosted by comedian Pete Holmes.

Game of the Year

Destiny

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Far Cry 4

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

Lumino City

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Monument Valley

Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

Dungeon of the Endless

Far Cry 4

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Titanfall

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

Destiny

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Monument Valley

Project Spark

Mobile Game of the Year

80 Days

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Kingdom Rush Origins

Monument Valley

Threes!

Handheld Game of the Year

Bravely Default

Child of Light

Shovel Knight

Super Smash Bros. 3DS

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Outstanding Achievement in Story

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

South Park: The Stick of Truth

This War of Mine

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Wolf Among Us

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award

The Banner Saga

Hohokum

Monument Valley

Threes!

Transistor