The Walking Dead and Journey Lead Videogame Bafta Nominations

TellTale Games' The Walking Dead and thatgamecompany's Journey will lead the nominations at the 2013 British Academy Games Awards.

Journey is up for the most awards with eight nominations including the Artistic Achievement award, Audio Achievement award and the award for best game design. The Walking Dead is just behind with seven Bafta nods, though both games are in the running for the coveted Best Game award.

Other contenders include Far Cry 3, which has six nominations, atmospheric first-person game Dear Esther with five nominations and Fireproof Games' mobile puzzler The Room which has four nominations.

The Room and Dear Esther will also compete for the Best British Game award along with Forza Horizon, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, LEGO The Lord of the Rings and Super Hexagon. British comedian Danny Wallace is also nominated in the Best Performance category for his voiceover work in Mike Bithell's Thomas Was Alone.

Surprisingly absent from the list of nominations are Spec Ops: The Line and Max Payne 3, both of which were heralded by critics in 2012 for their gameplay and writing.

The British Academy Games Awards have been held annually since 2003, and were last year presented by Black Mirror writer Charlie Brooker. The 2013 awards will be held on 5 March in London.

A full list of the nominees is below:

Action

Borderlands 2 - Gearbox
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Treyarch
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft Montreal
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Hitman: Absolution - Io Interactive
Mass Effect 3 - BioWare

Artistic Achievement

Borderlands 2 - Gearbox
Dear Esther - Robert Briscoe/thechineseroom
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft Montreal
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Journey - That Game Company
The Room - Fireproof Games

Audio Achievement

Assassin's Creed III - Ubisoft Montreal
Beat Sneak Bandit - Simogo
Dear Esther - thechineseroom
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Journey - That Game Company

Best Game

Dishonoured - Arkane Studios
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft Montreal
FIFA 13 - EA Canada
Journey - That Game Company
Mass Effect 3 - BioWare
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

British Game

Dear Esther - Thechineseroom
Forza Horizon - Playground Games/Turn 10 Studios
LEGO: The Lord of the Rings - TT Games
Need for Speed Most Wanted - Criterion Games
The Room - Fireproof Games
Super Hexagon - Terry Cavanagh

Debut Game

Deadlight - Tequila Works
Dear Esther - Thechineseroom
Forza Horizon - Playground Games/Turn 10 Studios
Proteus - Twisted Tree Games
The Room - Fireproof Games
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow

Game Design

Borderlands 2 - Gearbox
Dishonored - Arkane Studios
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft Montreal
Journey - That Game Company
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Firaxis

Family

Clay Jam - Fat Pebble
Just Dance 4 - Ubisoft Paris
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes - TT Games
LEGO the Lord of the Rings - TT Games
Minecraft: XBOX 360 Edition - Mojang/4J Studios
Skylanders Giants - Toys For Bob

Game Innovation

Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Treyarch/Activision
Fez - Polytron Corporation
Journey - That Game Company
Kinect Sesame Street TV - Soho Productions
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow
Wonderbook: Books of Spells - Sony London Studio

Mobile & Handheld

Incoboto - Fluttermind
LittleBigPlanet (Vita) - Tarsier Studios
New Star Soccer - New Star Games
The Room - Fireproof Games
Super Monsters Ate My Condo - Adult Swim Games
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Online - Browser

Amateur Surgeon Hospital - Mediatonic
Dick and Dom's HOOPLA! - Team Cooper
Merlin: The Game - Bossa Studios
Runescape - Jagex
The Settlers Online - Blue Byte Software
SongPop - FreshPlanet

Online-Multiplayer

Assassin's Creed III - Ubisoft Montreal
Borderlands 2 - Gearbox
Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Treyarch
Halo 4 - 343 Industries
Journey - That Game Company
Need For Speed Most Wanted - Criterion Games

Original Music

Assassin's Creed III - Ubisoft Montreal
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Journey - That Game Company
Thomas Was Alone - David Housden/Mike Bithell
The Unfinished Swan - Giant Sparrow
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Performer

Adrian Hough (Haytham) - Assassin's Creed III
Danny Wallace (The Narrator) - Thomas Was Alone
Dave Fennoy (Lee Everett) - The Walking Dead
Melissa Hutchinson (Clementine) - The Walking Dead
Nigel Carrington (The Narrator) - Dear Esther
Nolan North (Nathan Drake) - Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Sports/Fitness

FIFA 13 - EA Canada
F1 2012 - Codemasters Birmingham
Forza Horizon - Playground Games/Turn10 Studios
New Star Soccer - New Star Games
Nike Kinect Training - Sumo Digital Ltd
Trials Evolution - RedLynx

Story

Dishonoured - Arkane Studios
Far Cry 3 - Ubisoft Montreal
Journey - That Game Company
Mass Effect 3 - BioWare
Thomas was Alone - Mike Bithell
The Walking Dead - Telltale Games

Strategy

Dark Souls: Prepare To Die - From Software
Diablo III - Blizzard Entertainment
Football Manager 2013 - Sports Interactive
Great Big War Game - Rubicon Development
Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai - The Creative Assembly
XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Firaxis

BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital

Pixel Story - Loan Wolf Games
Project Thanatos - Raptor Games
StarcrossedKimi Sulopuisto - Kind of a Big Deal