GDC announces finalists for the 27th Independent Games Festival

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week announced the finalists for the Independent Games Festival awards ceremony, part of the former conference. The IGF awards ceremony, where the winners of each award will be announced, will take place on March 26th in conjunction with the Game Developers Choice Awards. The previous winner The winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize in 2024 was Venba from Visai Games.

The games with the most nominations are Jenny Jiao Hsia’s “Consume Me,” a dark life simulation inspired by the creator’s experiences with eating disorders; and Despelote, a slice-of-life game about playing soccer and meeting people on the streets of Quito, Ecuador.

Here is a full list of nominees:

Seumas-McNally Grand Prize

• Caves of Qud (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 Bit Studios)
• Thank God you’re here! (Coal Dinner / 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)

New award

• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity (Sam Atlas)
• Ginger (Kevin Doo / lizu ktap)
• Individualism in the Age of the Dead Internet: an Anti-Big Tech Asset Flip Shovelware Rant Manifesto (Alienmelon)
• Spaceship Home (creature)
• tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut/moochi (with the help of the 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 Maisillind 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 (Lizard Lore / PLAYISM)

Excellence in Fine Arts

• Children of the Sun (René Rother / Devolver Digital)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)
• Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya)
• Nine Sols (RedCandleGames)
• Thank God you’re here! (Coal Dinner / 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 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 WP, 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 God You’re Here! (Coal Supper / Panic), The Thaumaturge (Fool’s Theory / 11 Bit Studios)

Excellent 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 WP, 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)

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 God you’re here! (Coal Dinner / 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)

Best student game

• A Double Climb (Mountain Toad Entertainment / Rubika Supinfogame)
• DisplaceMen (Eversea Club / leafaleaves)
• Growth Spurt: A Meandering Pause in the Afterhours of a Misjudgment (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)