IGF Awards will take place at Game Developers Conference in March
Organizers for the Independent Games Festival announced the finalists for its 21st annual awards today, with Lucas Pope’s murder mystery puzzle game Return of the Obra Dinn leading the list of nominees. The game — which landed at No. 2 on Polygon’s Game of the Year 2018 list — was nominated for excellence across five IGF categories, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
Other IGF 2019 award finalists with multiple nominations include Opus Magnum, Alto’s Odyssey, Hypnospace Outlaw, and Noita. The full list of nominees and honorable mentions is below.
This year’s IGF Awards will take place March 20 at 6:30 p.m. PT during the Game Developers Conference 2019. Meg Jayanth, the award-winning writer of 80 Days, will host this year’s awards show.
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann)
- Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)
- Noita (Nolla Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
- Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
Honorable Mentions: Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Moss (Polyarc); Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Virtual Virtual Reality (Tender Claws); Beat Saber (Beat Games)
Excellence in Visual Art
- Forgotton Anne (ThroughLine Games)
- Alto’s Odyssey (Team Alto)
- Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
- Just Shapes & Beats (Berzerk Studio)
- Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Moss (Polyarc); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Guildlings (Sirvo Studios); Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)
Excellence in Audio
- ETHEREAL (Nonsense Arts – Nicolás Recabarren and Tomás Batista)
- Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
- Alto’s Odyssey (Team Alto)
- Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)
Honorable Mentions: Creaks (Amanita Design); Holedown (grapefrukt games); Pikuniku (Sectordub); The Messenger (Sabotage); Distance (Refract Studios); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Wattam (Funomena)
Excellence in Design
- What the Golf? (Triband)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
- Noita (Nolla Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
- Dicey Dungeons (Terry Cavanagh, Chipzel, and Marlowe Dobbe)
- Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)
Honorable Mentions: Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Carto (Sunhead Games); Black Room (Cassie McQuater); JUMPGRID (Ian MacLarty); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Beat Saber (Beat Games)
Excellence in Narrative
- Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit)
- Genital Jousting (Free Lives)
- Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games)
- Seers Isle (Nova-box)
- Watch Me Jump (Jeremy Gable)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
Honorable Mentions: Do Not Feed The Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios); The Hex (Daniel Mullins Games); Speed Dating for Ghosts (Copychaser Games); after HOURS (Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel); Fortune-499 (AP Thomson); Marie’s Room (like Charlie); Tango: The Adventure Game (Gualicho Games)
Nuovo Award
- Circle0 (yesyes)
- eCheese Zone (Seemingly Pointless)
- Noita (Nolla Games)
- Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)
- Black Room (Cassie McQuater)
- Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
- Nth Dimension[al] Hiking (Zachariah Chandler)
Honorable Mentions: All Our Asias (Sean Han Tani); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Cyberpet Graveyard (alienmelon); levedad (solimporta); Subserial Network (Aether Interactive); macdows 95 (gamebra.in); The Norwood Suite (Cosmo D); Nerve Damage (Dennis Carr)
Best Student Game
- It’s Paper Guy! (Paper Team)
- Grace Bruxner Presents: The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game (Grace Bruxner)
- After HOURS (Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel)
- En Garde! (En Garde! Team)
- levedad (solimporta)
- Sole (Gossamer Games)
Honorable Mentions: We Should Talk (HeartBeetStudio); Coffin Rot Brewing Co. (Rosser-McGraw Studio); Fling to the Finish (SplitSide Games); Indecision. (Bilge Kaan); Seasons (David Su and Dominique Star); supertype (Philipp Stollenmayer); Atlas’ Fate: Between Light and Darkness (Baby Robot Games); Marbloid (Supyrb)
Source: Polygon
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