The Independent Games Festival has unveiled the nominees for their 17th annual awards show, which will take place on March 4, just before the GDC Awards during this year’s Game Developers Conference. Leading the way is Inkle Studios’ 80 Days, which was nominated for three awards. 11 Bit’s This War of Mine and Croteam’s The Talos Principle weren’t far behind, as each garnered two nominations apiece.
All three games will be competing for the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize” against Klei’s Invisible Inc., Team Outer Wilds’ Outer Wilds, and Patrick Smith’s Metamorphabet.
You can find a complete list of finalists and honorable mentions for all six awards (including “Excellence In Visual Art,” “Excellence In Narrative,” “Excellence In Design,” “Excellence In Audio,” and the “Nuovo Award”) and the Student Showcase after the break.
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- Invisible Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
- Outer Wilds (Team Outer Wilds)
- The Talos Principle (Croteam)
- Metamorphabet (Patrick Smith)
- This War of Mine (11 Bit Studios)
Excellence In Visual Art
- Donut County (Ben Esposito)
- Lumino City (State of Play Games)
- Else Heart.Break() (Niklas Akerblad, Erik Svedang, et al.)
- Memory of a Broken Dimension (XRA)
- Metamorphabet (Patrick Smith)
- Oquonie (XXIIVV and Kokorobot)
Honorable Mentions: Crawl (Powerhoof); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play); Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine); Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club); The Sailor’s Dream (Simogo); The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts).
Excellence In Narrative
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- Coming Out Simulator 2014 (Nicky Case)
- Ice-Bound: A Novel of Reconfiguration (Down to the Wire)
- Pry (Tender Claws)
- This War of Mine (11 Bit Studios)
- Three Fourths Home ([Bracket]Games)
Honorable Mentions: Curtain (Llaura, Dreamfeeel); Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) (Upper One Games/E-Line Media); Outer Wilds (Team Outer Wilds); The Fall (Over The Moon); The Sailor’s Dream (Simogo); The Talos Principle (Croteam).
Excellence In Design
- 80 Days (Inkle Studios)
- Framed (Loveshack)
- Invisible Inc. (Klei Entertainment)
- Killer Queen (Joshua DeBonis & Nikita Mikros)
- Outer Wilds (Team Outer Wilds)
- The Talos Principle (Croteam)
Honorable Mentions: Desert Golfing (Captain Games); Dungeon of the Endless (Amplitude Studios); Endless Legend (Amplitude Studios); Helix (Michael Brough); Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games); Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club),
Excellence In Audio
- Ephemerid: A Musical Adventure (SuperChop Games)
- Phonopath (Kevin Regamey)
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- The Sailor’s Dream (Simogo)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
- Thumper (Drool)
Honorable Mentions: Deep Under the Sky (Rich Edwards and Colin Northway); Fotonica (Santa Ragione); Goat Simulator (Coffee Stain Studios); Hotline Miami 2 (Dennaton); Nuclear Throne (Vlambeer); Smash Hit (Mediocre).
Nuovo Award
- Become A Great Artist In Just 10 Seconds (Michael Brough and Andi McClure)
- Bounden (Game Oven)
- Desert Golfing (Captain Games)
- Elegy For A Dead World (Dejobaan Games & Popcannibal)
- How Do You Do It? (Nina Freeman, Emmett Butler, Jonathan Kittaka and Deckman Coss)
- Plug & Play (Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Frei / Etter Studio)
- Rooftop Cop (Stephen Lawrence Clark)
- Tetrageddon Games (Nathalie Lawhead)
Honorable Mentions: Curtain (Llaura, Dreamfeeel); Ice-Bound: A Novel of Reconfiguration (Down to the Wire); International Jetpack Conference (Rob Dubbin and Allison Parrish); Outer Wilds (Team Outer Wiilds); Phonopath (Kevin Regamery); Push Me Pull You (House House).
Student Showcase
- A-part-ment (University of Southern California)
- Close Your (University of Southern California)
- Downwell (Tokyo University of the Arts)
- Even the Stars (University of Bialystok)
- Gemini (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University)
- Interloper (HKU Utrecht School of Art and Technology)
- Rooftop Cop (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University)
- Stellar Smooch (New York University)
Honorable Mentions: A Story About My Uncle (Södertörn University); Ahoooj (FAMU, University of West Bohemia, CVUT FEL, and UMPRUM); Circles (University of the Arts Utrecht); Drew and the Floating Labyrinth (University of Windsor); Lisa (Elzendaal College Boxmeer); and Mecha Trigger (Michigan State University).
