With each passing year, video-games seem to be being treated increasingly seriously as a commendable cultural entity. Who’d have thought that a hobby once associated with masturbatory adolescents and underdeveloped man-children now has its own dedicated BAFTA event – red carpet and all?

This year’s BAFTA line-up is looking stronger than ever, with Batman: Arkham City and L.A. Noire ruling the roost with eight nominations each. Sony will be happy to see that Playstation 3 exclusives LittleBigPlanet 2 and Uncharted 3 came in with six nominations each. Valve’s wonderfully original first-person puzzler Portal 2 and the epic sandbox RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received five nominations apiece.

While the film BAFTAs make a joke of themselves by not even nominating Olivia Colman for the Best Actress Award, The Game BAFTAs have been growing in prominence each year. This year has seen the inclusion of three additional awards categories – Debut Game, Online Multiplayer and Online Browser – which have been set up to take into account burgeoning developers and the growing importance of social networking in gaming.

The ceremony will be taking place on 16th March.