TECHNICIANS at Revolution Software, the world-renowned York multimedia venture, were today still basking in the glory of having earned no fewer than three nominations at the BAFTA awards.

Their £2 million gothic narrative game, Broken Sword, Sleeping Dragon, was up for best design, best PC game and best adventure categories in the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards at London's Portman Hotel on Wednesday.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts recognised interactive entertainment in 1997, but this year was the first time that the category had been split into two, with games given their own slot away from other aspects of new media like DVD, websites and education.

Broken Sword, Sleeping Dragon is the third in the Broken Sword trilogy produced by the company, with two previous storylines selling more than a million discs each for a total of $100 million.

In the latest version, released on PC, PlayStation3 and Xbox, George and Nico return to fight through the steaming jungles of the Congo, eerie castles in Prague, the chic back-streets of Paris and the historic town of Glastonbury.

Their mission: To unravel the secrets of the Sleeping Dragon and save mankind from global catastrophe.

The 20-person Revolution Software team, which was also responsible for devising the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game software, worked for 18 months on the project at its office in King Street, launching it in November

Charles Cecil, managing director said: "We are honoured and flattered to be nominated, particularly when you consider the extraordinary competition we were up against and the fact that we were named by our peers in the videogame industry.

"It was also an achievement given that there were a number of nominations whose works were launched in 2002 as well as 2003."

Ultimately Broken Sword, Sleeping Dragon was just pipped to the post by Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which swept the board in five categories including best design and best PC game; and by Nintendo's The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker in the best adventure class.

Updated: 12:14 Monday, March 01, 2004