CastleVille and The Sims Social lead the pack in GDC Online award nominations

Last year, Playdom's Gardens of Time nabbed the title of "Best Social Network Game" at the Game Developers Choice Online Awards, but while Playdom's titles may not be up for that award again this year, I'd be willing to wager that some of your favorite Facebook games are. The nominations for the GDC Online 2012 Awards are in, and games like CastleVille, the Sims Social and Empires & Allies lead the pack in the social gaming categories.

Those three games, along with Rage of Bahamut and Draw Something are up for Best Social Network Game, while Empires & Allies also received a nomination for Best Online Visual Arts. Meanwhile, the Sims Social has a chance to win the Best Online Technology award, but it will have to beat out some heavy hitters like BioWare's Star Wars: the Old Republic and Blizzard's Diablo III.

CastleVille and Draw Something are both up for Best New Online Game, and the now classic Zynga title CityVille has even received a nomination, going up against the likes of League of Legends and World of Warcraft for the title of Best Live Game. You might recognize a few other hopefuls, as Diamond Dash, Solitaire Blitz, Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Adventure World, Idle Worship and more all earned nominations in various categories, proving once again that it's not just the most popular games that earn recognition.

While the Audience Award category hasn't launched just yet, you can rest assured that you too will be given a chance to voice your opinion on your favorite online games, with the prizes going to the winners this October. For a full lineup of awards and nominees, head over the GDC Online Awards website.

Are any of your favorite Facebook games up for awards this year? Which Facebook / online game has been your favorite this year? Sound off in the comments!