Candidates for the 2014 IGF Awards were distributed to nearly 375 elite judges for evaluation. Expert juries specializing in distinct disciplines for each category then selected the IGF finalists following playthroughs and recommendations from the more than 650 IGF entrants. The numbers of entries have increased significantly from previous years, and are a testament to the growing popularity and importance of the IGF.
This year's finalists are led by various standout titles nominated for multiple awards including Simogo's hybrid audio/visual/textual mobile game DEVICE 6, Lucas Pope's darkly humorous cold war immigration station simulation game Papers, Please, and hand-crafted stop-motion musical detective game Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!", from creator Deirdra Kiai.
Multiple juries also recognized games including The Yawhg, a richly illustrated multiplayer choose-your-own-adventure experience from Damian Sommer and artist Emily Carroll, and Galactic Cafe's self-aware meta-adventure The Stanley Parable, while the Nuovo jury honored 'abstract... and unconventional game development' with a unique selection of games including Peter Lu and Lea Schönfelder's Kinect-enhanced life-sim Perfect Woman.
The IGF Awards will take place the evening of Wednesday, March 19th at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center. The IGF Awards will precede the Game Developers Choice Awards, which recognizes the best games of the year across all sections of video game development. Winners of the IGF Awards will also receive nearly $60,000 of prizes in various categories, including the $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
The full list of finalists in each category for the 2014 Independent Games Festival, with jury-picked "honorable mentions," is as follows:
Excellence In Visual Art
DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
Gorogoa (Jason Roberts)
The Banner Saga (Stoic)
Perfect Stride (Arcane Kids)
Samorost3 (Amanita Design)
Drei (Etter)
Honorable mentions: Shelter (Might & Delight), Galak-Z (17-BIT), The Swapper (Facepalm Games), The Yawhg (Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll), Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment)
Excellence In Narrative
The Yawhg (Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)
Paralect (Paralect Team)
DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!" (Deirdra Kiai Productions)
The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)
Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
Honorable mentions: Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games), Gorogoa (Jason Roberts), Redshirt (The Tiniest Shark), Detective Grimoire (SFB Games), Monster Loves You! (Radial Games Corp. & Dejobaan Games)
Excellence In Design
TowerFall Ascension (Matt Thorson)
868-HACK (Michael Brough)
Mushroom 11 (Untame)
Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment)
Crypt of The NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)
Honorable mentions: The Banner Saga (Stoic), Perfect Stride (Arcane Kids), Threes (Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend & Jimmy Hinson), DEVICE 6 (Simogo), Gorogoa (Jason Roberts)
Excellence In Audio
Samorost3 (Amanita Design)
Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!" (Deirdra Kiai Productions)
The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)
Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)
DEVICE 6 (Simogo)
The Yawhg (Damian Sommer & Emily Carroll)
Honorable mentions: Sokobond (Alan Hazelden, Harry Lee & Ryan Roth), The Banner Saga (Stoic), Potatoman Seeks the Troof (Pixeljam), Jazzpunk (Necrophone Games), Don't Starve (Klei Entertainment)
Nuovo Award
Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!" (Deirdra Kiai Productions)
Luxuria Superbia (Tale of Tales)
Extrasolar (Lazy 8 Studios)
Perfect Woman (Peter Lu and Lea Schönfelder)
SoundSelf (Robin Arnott)
Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
Save the Date (Paper Dino Software)
Corrypt (Michael Brough)
Honorable mentions: Shelter (Might & Delight), DEVICE 6 (Simogo), Elegy for a Dead World (Dejobaan Games with Popcannibal), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT team), 18 Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
