The main competition finalists for the 2017 Independent Games Festival Awards are led by the first-person thriller Virginia, which has been nominated in the categories of Best Audio, Excellence in Narrative, and Excellence in Visual Arts categories, as well as for the Nuovo Award for innovation. Following closely behind with three nominations each are Hyper Light Drifter (Best Audio, Excellence in Visual Arts, and Seamus McNally Grand Prize), Inside (Best Audio, Excellence in Design, and and Excellence in Narrative), and Event[0] (Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, and Seamus McNally Grand Prize).
The IGF Awards, honoring "the most influential, innovative and acclaimed projects in independent game development," will take place during the Game Designers Conference on March 1, immediately prior to the Game Developers Choice Awards. Beginning in February, the public will also have the opportunity to vote for any of the finalists for this year's IGF Audience Award.
The IGF Awards, like the GDC Awards, will be livestreamed on Twitch. More information about the Independent Games Festival can be found at IGF.com.
And now, let the arguing commence!
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)
If you've made it this far, here's your reward: A playlist of trailers for 574 of the games submitted for IGF Award consideration. It'll take you about 17 hours to watch them all.
