Last week the nominees for The Game Awards 2015 were unveiled, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt leading the pack with the most nominations. That live show takes place in LA on December 3rd so it's fitting that a week later, we're learning of the finalists for the 2015 Canadian Videogame Awards, takes place just after The Game Awards, on December 6th.

The CVAs celebrate video game titles that are made - at least in part for the related category - in Canada as the country is the third largest developer of video games in the world. This CVAs have always been designed to be “by the industry and for the industry” with an interest in engaging public and fan participation. This year's show moves to a much larger venue in the Mattamy Athletic Centre (Maple Leaf Gardens) and will be open for public ticket holders to attend. It's also the headlining event that closes out CVA FanFest, a weekend celebration of video games.

The complete list of nominations for the Canadian Videogame Awards is below where all categories will be voted on by a jury (myself included) except for two fan-voted categories for Best Canadian-Made Game and Best International Game. Among the nominees, Assassin's Creed Syndicate leads with the most nominations - including a nod for game of the year - while its predecessor, last year's problematic Assassin's Creed Unity, understandably didn't make the cut for as many.

Game of the Year

  • Alto's Adventure (Snowman)
  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Bruce Lee: Enter the Game (Hibernum Creations)
  • Cryptark (Alientrap)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Invisible, Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Runbow (13AM Games)
  • Super Mega Baseball (Metalhead Software)

Best Console Game

  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Klei Entertainment)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • FIFA 16 (EA Canada)

Best Downloadable Game

  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Invisible, Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
  • N++ (Metanet Software Inc.)
  • Runbow (13AM Games)
  • The Castle Game (Neptune Interactive Inc.)

Best Game on the Go

  • Bruce Lee: Enter the Game (Hibernum Creations)
  • Marvel Contest of Champions (Kabam Inc.)
  • Siegefall (Gameloft)
  • Skylanders SuperChargers Racing (Beenox)
  • The Walking Dead: Road to Survival (IUGO Mobile Entertainment)

Best iOS Game

  • Alto's Adventure (Snowman)
  • Don't Starve: Pocket Edition (Klei Entertainment)
  • Hitman: Sniper (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (Square One Games Inc.)

Best Social/Casual Game

  • Bean Boy (Tyson Ibele)
  • Crusaders of the Lost Idols (Codename Entertainment)
  • Cupkins (Joydrop)
  • I Love Potatoes (A Vali Fugulin game /Minority and Ruben Farrus)
  • Waldo & Friends (Ludia Inc.)

Best Animation

  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)

Best Audio

  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)

Best Game Design

  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Last Voyage (Semidome Inc.)
  • TowerFall Dark World (Matt Thorson)

Best Game Innovation

  • Clandestine: Anomaly (ZenFri Inc.)
  • Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Klei Entertainment)
  • Lamper VR 2 (Archiact Interactive Ltd.)
  • Last Voyage (Semidome Inc.)
  • Pulse (Pixel Pi Games)

Best Indie Game

  • Alpha Quest (rikkir inc)
  • Alto's Adventure (Snowman)
  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Klei Entertainment)
  • Invisible, Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
  • Last Voyage (Semidome Inc.)
  • Lastronaut (Darrin Henein & Stephan Leroux)
  • LOST ORBIT (PixelNAUTS Games)
  • Planet of the Eyes (Cococucumber)
  • RocketsRocketsRockets (Radial Games Corp.)

Best New Character

  • Armillo (Fuzzy Wuzzy Games) - Armillo
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec) - The twins Jacob and Evie Frye
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montreal) - Arno
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal) - Pagan Min
  • Invisible, Inc. (Klei Entertainment) - Olivia 'Central' Gladstone

Best Original Music

  • Apotheon (Alientrap) - King of the Gods
  • Don't Starve: Pocket Edition (Klei Entertainment) - D.R. Style (Vinyl)
  • Forgotten Memories: Alternate Realities (Psychose Interactive Inc.) - End Credits Rose Theme
  • Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions (Gigataur) - Defender of Kothal
  • The Castle Game (Neptune Interactive Inc.) - The Castle Game Theme

Best Technology

  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Clandestine: Anomaly (ZenFri Inc.)
  • Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 (Hibernum Creations)
  • Hitman: Sniper (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Lamper VR 2 (Archiact Interactive Ltd.)

Best Visual Arts

  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Last Voyage (Semidome Inc.)

Best Writing

  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montreal)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Invisible, Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
  • Meg 9 (Skunkwerks Kinetic Industries)​

Fans' Choice Award: Best Canadian-Made Game

  • Apotheon (Alientrap)
  • Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec)
  • Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montreal)
  • Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Klei Entertainment)
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition (BioWare)
  • Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montréal)
  • Hitman: Sniper (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Lara Croft GO (Square Enix Montreal)
  • Last Voyage (Semidome Inc.)
  • N++ (Metanet Software Inc.)

Fans' Choice Award: Best International Game

  • Batman Arkam Knight (Rocksteady Studios)
  • Bloodborne (FromSoftware)
  • Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios)
  • Halo 5 Guardian (343 Industries)
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios)
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)
  • Super Mario Maker (Nintendo)
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED)

For full event information visit: www.cvawards.ca or follow along on Facebook or Twitter (#CanadianVideogameAwards).

The Canadian Videogame Awards were co-founded by Reboot Communications and EP media, are produced by Reboot Communications and Swaf Media, and are officially endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Interactive Ontario and DigiBC. The producers are joined by a national advisory board of developers and leaders in the Canadian digital entertainment industry.