Sam Barlow’s Her Story won the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize” at the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards last night. The game, which resurrected full motion video storytelling to tease out its central mystery, was also the recipient of the “Excellence In Narrative” trophy.
It was a great night for independent gaming as several other games were also honored at this year’s IGF Awards. The spooky Oxenfree won “Excellence In Visual Art,” the ultra-tense Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes won “Excellence in Design,” and the hypnotic and soothing sounds of Mini Metro won “Excellence In Audio.” “The Nuovo Award,” which recognizes “abstract and unconventional games,” was awarded to Cibele for its look at online relationships. And the “Best Student Game” of the year was Jenny Jiao Hsia and Alec Thomson’s Beglitched.
Finally, the “ID@Xbox Rising Star Award” was given to Girls Make Games for The Hole Story and Undertale, developed by Toby Fox, won the “Audience Award.”
Congratulations to everyone who was a winner last night at the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards. The complete list of winners, in handy list format, can be found after the break. And don’t forget, if you’re in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference, every nominee from this year’s contest is available to try out at the IGF Pavilion.
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
Excellence In Visual Art
- Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
Excellence In Narrative
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
Excellence In Design
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
Excellence In Audio
- Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
Nuovo Award
- Cibele (Star Maid Games)
Best Student Game
- Beglitched (Jenny Jiao Hsia and Alec Thomson)
ID@Xbox Rising Star Award
- The Hole Story (Girls Make Games)
Audience Award
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
