Good heavens, Skyrim keeps on winning awards, does it not?

Last night, the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards took place in Las Vegas. For… um… 15 years, the event has recognized games, people, and teams of people that have made outstanding contributions to the forward development of the industry.

The darling of the event was, as you may expect (given the opening line), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which took home a nice total of five awards last night, including (big surprise) Game of the Year. Runners-up were Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and Portal 2, which both came in with three IAAs apiece. Other notable achievements belong to Infinity Blade II, The Sims Social, and Fruit Ninja Kinect, winners of Mobile Game of the Year, Social Networking Game of the Year, and Casual Game of the Year, respectively.

Martin Rae, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, had this to say: "Each year the Interactive Achievement Awards sees the top minds and personas of our industry coming together to not only celebrate, but recognize one another for the achievements of the year. 2011 produced an outstanding number of fantastic games in all areas of the industry - console, PC, social and mobile - we are truly witnessing a new golden age of gaming. Bravo to our winners!"

Winners were chosen by members of the Academy's Peer Panels, which are made up of some of the most talented men and women in the industry. Each panel was in charge of a single award category.

Speaking of categories, behold, the full list of award categories, as well as the winners of said categories (noticed how I said "categories" three times in that sentence?):

• Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Portal 2 
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Battlefield 3 
• Outstanding Achievement in Story: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 
• Outstanding Character Performance: Portal 2 - Wheatley 
• Downloadable Title of the Year: Bastion 
• Casual Game of the Year: Fruit Ninja Kinect 
• Social Networking Game of the Year: The Sims Social 
• Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Online Game of the Year: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 
• Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Skylanders Spyro's Adventure 
• Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 12 
• Racing Game of the Year: Forza Motorsport 4 
• Fighting Game of the Year: Mortal Kombat 
• Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Orcs Must Die! 
• Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet 2 
• Mobile Game of the Year: Infinity Blade II 
• Handheld Game of the Year: Super Mario 3D Land 
• Adventure Game of the Year: Batman: Arkham City 
• Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: Star Wars: The Old Republic 
• Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity: Portal 2 
• Action Game of the Year: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 
• Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception 
• Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception 
• Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception 
• Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 
• Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 
• Game of the Year: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 

Source: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences press release

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