Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor
Shadow of Mordor is a surprisingly violent take on JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. Warner Bros

Nominations for the D.I.C.E Awards 2015 have been announced.

The D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit is a global conference attended by industry heads each year in Las Vegas. This year it will take place on 3-5 February.

This year's awards include a new category, the "D.I.C.E. Sprite Award", which is described as an award for games with "disproportionate resources for development and exposure (as compared to AAA titles), represent a higher degree of risk tolerance, and advances our industry with innovative gameplay and experiences."

Warner Bros' and Monolith Studios' Lord of the Rings RPG Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the pack with nine nominations, including one in the Game of the Year category.

The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 5 February and will be hosted by comedian Pete Holmes.

Last year Naughty Dog's The Last of Us took home the game of the year prize.

The full list of nominations...

Game of the Year
Destiny
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Far Cry 4
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin's Creed Unity
inFAMOUS Second Son
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Sunset Overdrive
Titanfall

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Assassin's Creed Unity
Monument Valley
Sunset Overdrive
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Outstanding Character
Jonathan Irons - Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Abigail "Fetch" Walker - inFAMOUS First Light
Delsin Rowe - inFAMOUS Second Son
Talion - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Destiny
Far Cry 4
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Transistor

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Assassin's Creed Unity
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Destiny
Far Cry 4
Valiant Hearts: The Great War

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

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Far Cry 4
inFAMOUS Second Son
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Sunset Overdrive

Action Game of the Year
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Destiny
Far Cry 4
Titanfall
Wolfenstein: The New Order

Adventure Game of the Year
inFAMOUS Second Son
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The Wolf Among Us

Family Game of the Year
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition)
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
LittleBigPlanet 3
Project Spark
Skylanders Trap Team

Fighting Game of the Year
Guilty Gear Xrd
Nidhogg
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
Ultra Street Fighter IV

Racing Game of the Year
Forza Horizon 2
Mario Kart 8
The Crew

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
The Banner Saga
Bravely Default
Divinity: Original Sin
Dragon Age: Inquisition
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 15
Madden NFL 15
MLB 14: The Show
NBA 2K15

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Boom Beach
Dungeon of the Endless
Endless Legend
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
The Banner Saga
Hohokum
Monument Valley
Threes!
Transistor

Handheld Game of the Year
Bravely Default
Child of Light
Shovel Knight
Super Smash Bros. 3DS
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Mobile Game of the Year
80 Days
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Kingdom Rush Origins
Monument Valley
Threes!

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Destiny
Elite: Dangerous
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
World of Tanks: XBox 360 Edition

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Destiny
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Project Spark

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Dungeon of the Endless
Far Cry 4
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Titanfall

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Lumino City
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Monument Valley
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Game of the Year Destiny Hearthstone