Andrew S. Zucker, an attorney in the entertainment industry, founded the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in 1991 and served as its first president.

[2] AIAS co-promoted numerous events with organizations such as the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, and Women in Film.

Their first awards show program, Cybermania '94, which was hosted by Leslie Nielsen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, was broadcast on TBS in 1994.

[3] The AIAS was formally reestablished on November 19, 1996, with Marc Teren as president, soon replaced by game developer Glenn Entis.

Summit (short for "Design Innovate Communicate Entertain"), a convention centered around the presentation of the awards to providing funding for the organization.

Rae opted to implement a number of changes to the Summit, shorting talk times to give more attention to the speakers, and rebranding the awards as the D.I.C.E.