The 17th Independent Games Festival has revealed the finalists for its awards as selected by an expert jury and whose winners will be revealed at the IGF awards ceremony at the 2015 Game Developers Conference Expo on March 4th.
From 650 entrants, over 30 game titles comprise the nominations for excellence in audio, visual art, narrative, design, Nuovo award, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. It's not all about getting a shiny trophy, either. The Grand Prize comes with a $30,000 endowment and the other awards combined are worth another $30,000.
The IGF Audience Award winner begins the voting process in February, while the IGF Student Showcase award winners will be announced later in January.
Excellence in Visual Art
Donut County (Ben Esposito)
Lumino City (State of Play Games)
Else Heart.Break() (Niklas Åkerblad, Erik Svedäng, et al.)
Memory of a Broken Dimension (XRA)
Metamorphabet (Patrick Smith)
Oquonie (XXIIVV and Kokorobot)
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)
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)
Excellence in Audio
Ephemerid: A Musical Adventure (SuperChop Games)
Phonopath (Kevin Regamey)
Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
The Sailor's Dream (Simogo Games)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
Thumper (Drool)
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)
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)