It was a great night for Star Wars: The Old Republic, as BioWare won four awards in the third annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards, including Best New Online Game and Best Online Visual Arts. The Austin, Texas based developer also picked up awards for Best Online Technology and best Online Game Design, earning them top place on the trophy table.

League of Legends also did well at the ceremony, with Riot Games picking up awards for Best Live Game and Best Community Relations, as well as the gamer-voted Audience Award. This marks the second time that LoL has been the fans’ favourite, following over 66,000 votes cast worldwide.

Originating in 2010, the Game Developers Choice Online Awards take place as part of GDC Online, the yearly conference for game developers in MMO, social and connected gaming. Two special awards this year included an Online Game Legend award for Raph Koster and Hall of Fame induction for World of Warcraft. 

This October sees the arrival of the third annual conference aimed at those in the MMO, social and online gaming industry. Hosted in the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, the Game Developers  Conference Online (GDC Online) will see some 3500 industry professionals share ideas and join summits that shape the future of our favorite gaming genre.

The three day event also includes the Game Developers Choice Online Awards, celebrating the best in online gaming. This is where you come in: voting has opened for the Audience Award, with players worldwide encouraged to support their favorite persistent online game! Previous winners have included KingsIsle's Wizard101 and Riot Games' League of Legends.

Voting is open through to September 14th, so get to the Audience Award page pronto! If you’re looking for inspiration on who to vote for, cast your eyes over the nominations in other categories for this year’s awards. The winners will be announced as part of an award ceremony on October 10th, and we’ll be sure to bring you all the results.

Gareth “Gazimoff” Harmer, Staff Writer

Photo: Jesse Knish/GDC Online