“Consume Me” and “Despelote” garnered the most nominations for this year’s Independent Games Festival awards ceremony, the Game Developers Conference announced Wednesday, along with the full list of finalists.
The Independent Games Festival, which recognizes independent games, and the artists behind them, is held March 26 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The event occurs during the larger Game Developers Conference, running March 17-21.
“Consume Me” leads with five nominations, including Excellence in Design, Excellence in Visual Arts, Excellence in Narrative, the Nuovo Award and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. The game follows developer Jenny Jiao Hsia’s experiences with food, dieting and disordered eating. She developed the game with AP Thomson, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder and Jie En Lee.
“Despelote” has four nominations for Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Audio, the Nuovo Award and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Developed by Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena, it is about soccer in the community of Quito, Ecuador and is set in 2001.
Nearly 500 games were in consideration for this year’s awards, which were judged by professionals in the video game world. The categories are Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Visual Arts, Excellence in Design, Best Student Game, Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Additionally, the Audience Award is open and allows the public to vote for a favorite.
Here is the full list of nominees:
Excellence in Narrative
“Caves of Qud” (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Closer the Distance” (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
“Consume Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Despelote” (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
“INDIKA” (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
“No Case Should Remain Unsolved” (Somi)
Honorable Mentions:
“Blue Prince” (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), “Miniatures” (Other Tales Interactive), “Mouthwashing” (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), “Tactical Breach Wizards” (Suspicious Developments), “Thank Goodness You’re Here!” (Coal Supper / Panic), “The Thaumaturge” (Fool’s Theory / 11 bit studios).
Excellence in Audio
“Anger Foot” (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
“Despelote” (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
“INDIKA” (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
“ODDADA” (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
“Thank Goodness You’re Here!” (Coal Supper / Panic)
“Utopia Must Fall” (Pixeljam)
Honorable Mentions:
“Animal Well” (Billy Basso / Bigmode), “Mouthwashing” (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), “Pacific Drive” (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive), “Rise of the Golden Idol” (Color Gray Games / Playstack), “UFO 50” (Mossmouth).
Excellence in Visual Arts
“Children of the Sun” (René Rother / Devolver Digital)
“Consume Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Hauntii” (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)
“Judero” (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya)
“Nine Sols” (RedCandleGames)
“Thank Goodness You’re Here!” (Coal Supper / Panic)
Honorable Mentions:
“Crow Country” (SFB Games), “Death of the Reprobate” (Joe Richardson), “Miniatures” (Other Tales Interactive), “Tiny Glade” (Pounce Light), “Ultros” (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive).
Excellence in Design
“Balatro” (LocalThunk / Playstack)
“Blue Prince” (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
“Caves of Qud” (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Consume Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Pacific Drive” (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
“Tactical Breach Wizards” (Suspicious Developments)
Honorable Mentions:
“Animal Well” (Billy Basso / Bigmode), “No Case Should Remain Unsolved” (Somi), “UFO 50” (Mossmouth), “LOK Digital” (Letibus Design, Icedrop Games / Draknek and Friends), “Eigengrau” (Martin Mauersics), “The Rise of the Golden Idol” (Color Gray Games / Playstack).
Best Student Game
“A Dual Ascent” (Mountain Toad Entertainment / Rubika Supinfogame)
“DisplaceMen” (Eversea Club / leafaleaves)
“Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission into the Afterhours of a Miscalculation” (Games for my Computer)
“Slot Waste” (Vinny Roca / pickpanpuck productions)
“The WereCleaner” (Howlin’ Hugs / USC Games)
“Year Unknown” (Julian Heuser)
Honorable Mentions:
“Cards of Heart” (GoodMind Games), “Duck Paradox” (Magic Games / Midwest Games), “Lost Garden” (Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), “Perfect World” (Michael Overton Brown), “Timeworks”(Starworks Studios).
Nuovo Award
“Consume Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Despelote” (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
“Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity” (Sam Atlas)
“Ginger” (Kevin Du / lizu ktap)
“individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware rant manifesto” (alienmelon)
“Starship Home” (Creature)
“tapeçaria (tapestry)” (mut/moochi with help from plunderludics working group)
“The Exit 8” (KOTAKE CREATE / Active Gaming Media Inc).
Honorable Mentions:
“Arctic Eggs” (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX), “Judero” (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya), “Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity” (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), “Price of Flight” (WATERBOX), “Project Y” (Project_Y Production Committee), “Refind Self: The Personality Test Game” (Lizardry / PLAYISM).
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
“Caves of Qud” (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Consume Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Despelote” (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
“INDIKA” (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
“Thank Goodness You’re Here!” (Coal Supper / Panic)
“UFO 50” (Mossmouth)
Honorable Mentions:
“Animal Well” (Billy Basso / Bigmode), “Balatro” (LocalThunk / Playstack), “Blue Prince” (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), “Mouthwashing” (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), “Nine Sols” (RedCandleGames), “Tactical Breach Wizards” (Suspicious Developments).
