Indie developers, download-only titles and low-budget hits were the big winners at the Bafta Games Awards.
Only four big-budget, boxed games won awards at the ceremony held in London on Tuesday night.
The indie adventure game Journey was the big winner on the night, taking awards for artistic achievement, original music, audio achievement, game design and online multiplayer.
Thatgamecompany's title was initially released as a download exclusive for the PlayStation 3. It won plaudits from critics for its highly original gameplay, in which a player travels with online companions through a mysterious desert - without enemies to battle or even words to communicate with.
READ MORE: Bafta Games Awards 2013 Nominations
Another notable indie success came from New Star Soccer, a British-made football game which eschews 3D graphics and official licenses for addictive 2D gameplay.
But despite its low budget its creator Simon Read beat FIFA 13, F1 2012, Forza Horizon, Nike+ Kinect Training and Trials Evolution to win 'Best Sports Game'.
In a victory for the bigger studios, stealth action game Dishonored picked up the prize for Best Game.
Developers Bethesda jokingly apologised onstage for the Americanised spelling of the game's title.
BAFTA Games
Wins for Far Cry 3 (Best Action Game), Lego Batman 2 (Best Family Game) and Xcom: Enemy Unknown (Best Strategy) were the only other wins for titles released by mainstream studios.
Telltale Games' adaptation of The Walking Dead - which has taken huge praise for its resonant story and narrative - won awards for best mobile game and best story.
The Unfinished Swan, a game in which players explore a strange world by splattering ink against an otherwise blank landscape, also won two awards for best debut game, and best innovation.
This year's Baftas included a prize for best British game for the first time - taken this year by The Room, in which players solve puzzles to uncover the contents of a mysterious box.
Writer Danny Wallace took the award for best performance in a video game for his voice work in Thomas Was Alone.
Gabe Newell, Valve's chief executive and one of the creators of Half Life, Portal and the Stream download service, was presented an Academy Fellowship. He accepted the award "on behalf of everyone at Valve and all of the gamers who have gone with us on this adventure".