Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences launched its first ceremony in 1998. That year, the organization presented a single award called Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering.
In 2000, the academy divided the prize into Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering and Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering. The split lasted fifteen years until 2015 when the two categories merged back together under the name Outstanding Technical Achievement.
Half-Life 2 achieved the rare feat of winning both categories simultaneously in 2004. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, SSX, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time share this dual victory status.
Naughty Dog holds the record with five wins out of ten nominations across various ceremonies. Sony Computer Entertainment leads all publishers with fourteen wins and forty-four nominations.
A tie occurred in 2006 between Guitar Hero by Harmonix and Nintendogs developed by Nintendo EAD. Both titles shared the Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering honor that year.