January’s a great month, really. Not only do we get to enjoy the lengthy speedrunning marathon charity, Awesome Games Done Quick, but… it’s also when the new year’s IGF finalists are found, and this time’s no exception – on either front. Like last time, we’re looking at a mix of well-known titles and, well, let’s just say I feel like the rest should be more familiar to me (and you!) than they are, based on a quick glance.
But before we get to the lovely finalists, some (more or less) important facts: IGF 2017 will take place from March 1st through March 3rd, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, during the ever-popular Game Developers Conference (GDC). Best of all, every single finalist will be playable during GDC! You best be quick about it too, as the list of those who made the cut totals thirty.
Personally, I’m rooting for Playdead’s Inside (Danish indie!) and ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley (after logging more than 80 hours, how could I not?). Will either pick up one or more awards, come March? Heck if I know! My precognition powers have been a tad wonky lately, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Best of luck to those who’ve gotten this far, and may the best indie games win!
(Source)
BEST STUDENT GAME
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (Sundae Month)
Lily, Colors of Santa Luz (Lily, Colors of Santa Luz Team)
Un Pas Fragile (PAF team)
FAR: Lone Sails (Mr. Whale’s Game Service / Mixtvision)
Frog Climbers (TeamCrew)
Bamboo Heart (Sokpop Collective)
Honorable Mentions: Awkward Dimensions Redux (StevenHarmonGames); DYO (Team DYO); Code 7 – Episode 0: Allocation (Goodwolf Studio); You Must be 18 or Older to Enter (Seemingly Pointless)
BEST AUDIO
The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood)
GoNNER (Art in Heart)
Virginia (Variable State)
Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
Everything (David OReilly)
Inside (Playdead)
Honorable Mentions: 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (iNK Stories); Kingdom: New Lands (Noio); Dropsy (Tendershoot, A Jolly Corpse); Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (Sundae Month); Sentris (Timbre Interactive); TumbleSeed (TumbleSeed Team)
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN
Imbroglio (Michael Brough)
Ultimate Chicken Horse (Clever Endeavour Games)
Duskers (Misfits Attic)
Overcooked (Ghost Town Games)
Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
Honorable Mentions: She Remembered Caterpillars (jumpsuit entertainment);Elsinore (Golden Glitch Studios); Inside (Playdead); Antihero (Tim Conkling); Replica (Somi);Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions)
EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE
Ladykiller in a Bind (Love Conquers All Games)
1979 Revolution: Black Friday (iNK Stories)
Virginia (Variable State)
Orwell (Osmotic Studios )
Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
One Night Stand (Kinmoku)
Honorable Mentions: A Normal Lost Phone (Accidental Queens); The Lion’s Song (Mi’pu’mi Games); Far from Noise (George Batchelor); Inside (Playdead); Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe); Burly Men at Sea (Brain&Brain); Sorcery! 4 (inkle / Steve Jackson)
EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ART
The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood)
Inside (Playdead)
Virginia (Variable State)
Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules)
Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
She Remembered Caterpillars (jumpsuit entertainment)
Honorable Mentions: Inks (State of Play); Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall); Mu Cartographer (Titouan Millet); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play ); Sundered (Thunder Lotus Games); Un Pas Fragile (PAF team)
NUOVO AWARD
Islands: Non-Places (Carlburton LLC)
Close (Tobias Zarges and Moritz Eberl)
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (Sundae Month)
Oiκοςpiel, Book I (David Kanaga)
Everything (David OReilly)
Virginia (Variable State)
Mu Cartographer (Titouan Millet)
Lieve Oma (Florian Veltman)
Honorable Mentions: Memoir En Code: Reissue (Alex Camilleri); Far from Noise (George Batchelor); Ladykiller in a Bind (Love Conquers All Games); Witchball (S.L.Clark); Project Perfect Citizen (Bad Cop Studios); Wheels of Aurelia (Santa Ragione); Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE
Inside (Playdead)
Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
Overcooked (Ghost Town Games)
Honorable Mentions: 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (iNK Stories); Orwell (Osmotic Studios); Imbroglio (Michael Brough); Virginia (Variable State); Duskers (Misfits Attic); Oiκοςpiel, Book I (David Kanaga)