For something that started off as a school project, Line Rider is now in rarified company. inXile entertainment announced today that Boštjan Cadež, the creator of Line Rider has won a Game Developers Choice Award for Innovation, joining fellow Innovation award winners Nintendo's Wii Sports and Capcom Entertainment's Okami. Both Nintendo's Wii Sports and Capcom Entertainment's Okami were also nominated for Game of the Year. According to the Game Developers Conference, the Innovation awards, handed out last night in San Francisco, recognize games that demonstrate true innovation, advance the state of the art, and push the boundaries of games as an expressive medium. Line Rider was honored as a game that is leading the way as the medium continues to evolve.

"I am honored to be bestowed with an award like the Innovation award," said Boštjan Cadež, creator of Line Rider. "I started Line Rider as a personal project, and I never thought that my peers would become so enamored with it. I can't wait to see the ways that Line Rider will evolve on the DS and Wii!"

Created in September of 2006, Line Rider was an immediate online phenomenon (www.official-linerider.com) , with over 15 million downloads within a three month period and thousands of videos posted on YouTube.com showing off users "custom" Line Rider tracks. In December of 2006 inXile entertainment announced that they had bought the exclusive rights to Line Rider and plan to release Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS versions of Line Rider in 2007.

"The second that I saw Line Rider I knew that it was something special," said Brian Fargo, chief executive officer of inXile entertainment. "For Boštjan to be awarded with the Innovation award along with huge titles from Nintendo and Capcom is a true honor, and only validates the fact that Line Rider is a great game and will be around for years to come."

Described as a ‘toy' by Cadež, Line Rider allows players to construct their own track filled with as many ramps, hills, and jumps as they can imagine utilizing a pencil tool. Once the player is done creating their course, they can send a virtual sledder down the route until he wipes out. The possibilities in Line Rider are only limited by physics and the player's imagination with an almost endless number of variations and replay.