The Academy membership votes after the Peer Panels have narrowed down the submitted titles to a maximum of five finalists per category. The full D.I.C.E. Awards rules and procedures are published annually and can be found here.
Academy active Creative/Technical, Business, and Affiliate members are qualified to vote in all genre categories and in the following categories:
Creative/Technical members of the Academy may also vote on craft categories related to their expertise. The Academy believes strongly that to maintain the credibility of the awards; craft categories should only be voted on by those who take an active, creative role in making games.
Before the elections, the Academy sends each active Creative/Technical member a password and link to the voting website. When logging on to the website, these members will be asked to pick a field which best describes their expertise. Their choice will determine the categories in which they will be allowed to vote:
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Game Designers & Producers |
Artists, Animators & Programmers |
Audio Designers & Musicians |
| Outstanding Achievement in Story Outstanding Achievement in Character Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
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Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Outstanding Achievement in Animation Outstanding Achievement in Character Outstanding Technical Achievement
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Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition Outstanding Achievement in Character
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During voting in the craft categories, these members will be presented with up to five finalists in each category and will be asked to rank their selections in order. Once finished voting in the craft categories, these members can vote in all genre categories.
Genre categories consist of:
Finally, active Creative/Technical members will be presented with five finalists in the following categories:
Before the elections, the Academy sends each active Business and Affiliate member a password and link to the voting website.
When these members log on, they will be presented with up to five finalist choices in each genre category. Members will be asked to rank their selections in order.
Genre categories consist of:
Once finished voting in the genre categories, they will be allowed to vote for one of five finalists in each of the following categories:
The ranked voting system ensures the winning game has broad support among members. In each awards category, game developers rank up to three of their favorite nominated games in order of preference.
Votes are first counted using only each ballot’s first-choice selection. If a game receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, it wins the category. If no game reaches a majority, the game with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Ballots that selected the eliminated game are then reassigned to the next-ranked game on those ballots.
This process continues—eliminating the lowest-ranked game and redistributing those ballots—until one game achieves a majority. This method, known as Instant-runoff voting, helps ensure the winner reflects the strongest overall consensus among the voting developers.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences tabulates the votes in every category and the winners are announced at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony. Awards voting and certification is provided by Votenet Solutions, Inc.