Once again, it's time for the people who make games to honor their own. Today, the International Game Developers Association kicked off the nomination process for the Game Developers Choice Awards. Starting today, IGDA members can vote for their favorite games of 2003 online, with voting ending on January 23. One month later, on February 23rd, the nominees in each category will be revealed and voting will start again until March 5th.

　　The Awards themselves will be handed out on March 24th at a ceremony at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California--any IGDA member with identification is welcome to attend. The awards span a variety categories from the standard Game of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award to the more unconventional First Penguin Award (which recognizes the courage and bravery of developer who "tested the proverbial 'waters'") and the Maverick Award (which recognizes "independence in thought" while working on "alternate/emerging" games).

　　The complete list of categories is:

　　Game of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award First Penguin Award Maverick Award IGDA Award for Community Contribution Rookie Studio Award Original Game Character of the Year Excellence in Audio Excellence in Game Design Excellence in Programming Excellence in Visual Arts Excellence in Writing