This year’s Independent Games Festival Awards are just around the corner! League of Geeks director Trent Kusters is returning after a brief absence to host the upcoming ceremony, but before the prizes are handed out on 18th March, there’s the little matter of gathering together a respectable list of who might go home with the honours – including the $10K Seumas McNally grand prize.
Will Die Gute Fabrik’s Mutazione steal the top Award from right under House House’s nose, much like a shiny bell from an oblivious villager? We shall see.
Here’s the complete list of finalists and honourable mentions for you to peruse:
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Eliza (Zachtronics)
A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
Untitled Goose Game (House House)
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust (Sean Han Tani and Marina Kittaka)
Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
Honourable Mentions: Katana Zero (Askiisoft), Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries), Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer), Wide Ocean: Big Jacket (Turnfollow), Elsinore (Golden Glitch), Astrologaster (Nyamyam), Heaven’s Vault (inkle)
Excellence in Visual Art
Mutaione (Die Gute Fabrik)
Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
Void Bastards (Blue Manchu)
Creature in the Well (Flight School Studio)
Eastward (Pixpil)
Stone Story RPG (Martian Rex/standardcombo)
Honourable Mentions: Luna: The Shadow Dust (Lantern Studio), Eastshade (Eastshade Studios), Minute of Islands (Studio Fizbin), Katana ZERO (Askiisoft), Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer), A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu), Creaks (Amanita Design)
Excellence in Audio
Observation (No Code)
Vectronom (Ludopium)
Astrologaster (Nyamyam)
Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
Untitled Goose Game (House House)
Honourable Mentions: Afterparty (Night School Studio), Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to) (Popcannibal), Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studio), Alt-Frequencies (Accidental Queens), Don’t Look (Don’t Look Team), Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries), Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (Cosmo D)
Excellence in Design
Katana Zero (Askiisoft)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries)
Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
Patrick’s Parabox (Patrick Traynor)
Honourable Mentions: Guildlings (Sirvo Studios), Nauticrawl (Andrea Interguglielmi); Blabyrinth (Sleeping Beast Games); Children of Morta (Dead Mage); Void Bastards (Blue Manchu); Untitled Goose Game (House House); Creature in the Well (Flight School Studio)
Excellence in Narrative
Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
Heaven’s Vault (inkle)
Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
Wide Ocean: Big Jacket (Turnfollow)
Eliza (Zachtronics)
Lionkiller (Sisi Jiang)
Honourable Mentions: American Election (Greg Buchanan), Night Call (Monkey Moon, BlackMuffin), Astrologaster (Nyamyam), A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu), Adventures With Anxiety! (Nicky Case), Observation (No Code)
Nuovo Award
Tales from Off-Peak City Vol.1 (Cosmo D)
Infini (Barnaque)
The Space Between (Christoph Frey)
Life Tastes Like Cardboard (Demensa)
Promesa (Julián Palacios)
Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer)
The Longing (Studio Seufz)
Pagan: Autogeny (Oleander Garden)
Honourable Mentions: Astrologaster (Nyamyam), Elsinore (Golden Glitch), Fit for a King (Brent Ellison & Tanya X. Short), My Exercise (Atsushi Wada, Ryoya Usuha, Nobuaki Doi), Where the Bees Make Honey (Brian Wilson), Smile For Me (Gabe Lane and Yugo Limbo / LimboLane)
Best Student Game
Orbital Bullet (SmokeStab)
A Juggler’s Tale (kaleidoscube)
Forgotten (Mutiny Games)
Neon Beats (OKYO Games)
Bore Dome (Goblin Rage)
Nothing in Sight (Nothing in Sight Team)
Honourable Mentions: Unhatched (Filip Loster); Du Rejser (You Travel) (Victor Selnæs Breum + Katinka); Trail Mix (Puzzsoft); Where the Bees Make Honey (Brian Wilson); Northbound (Johannes Köberle & Arno Justus); Evergreen Blues (David Su and Dominique Star)
Nice to see Neon Beats up for Best Student Game here, and it would be great to see Eliza victorious in the Excellence in Narrative category.
Roll on, March.
Wireframe #29 is out now
