Consume Me and Despelote have received the most nominations for this year's Independent Games Festival awards, the Game Developers Conference announced on Wednesday, unveiling the full shortlist.
The Independent Games Festival, held on March 26 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, celebrates independent games and the artists behind them. The event takes place during the massive Game Developers Conference, which takes place from March 17th to 21st.
Consume Me received five nominations, including Excellence in Design, Excellence in Visual Arts, Excellence in Narrative, Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Award. The game follows developer Jenny Jiao Hsia's experiences with food, dieting, and eating disorders. She developed the game alongside AP Thomson, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder, and Jie En Lee.
"Despelote" received four nominations for Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Audio, Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Award. Developed by Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena, the game tells the story of football in the community of Quito, Ecuador, set in 2001.
Nearly 500 games were selected for this year's awards, which were judged by professionals in the video game industry. Award categories include Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Visual Arts, Excellence in Design, Best Student Game, Nuovo Award and Seumas McNally Award. Additionally, the Audience Award is open, allowing the public to vote for their favorite entry.
Here's the full list of nominees:
Excellent narrative
"Caves of Qud" (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Closing the distance” (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
“Consumption Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
"Despelote" (Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic)
"INDIKA" (Odd Meter / 11-Bit Studios)
“No case should remain unsolved” (Somi)
Honorable mentions:
"Blue Prince" (Dogbomb/Raw Fury), "Miniature" (additional story interaction), "Gargling" (wrong organ/key reflex), "Tactical Breakthrough Wizard" (questionable development), "Thank God you're on Here!” (Coal Dinner/Panic), “Thaumaturge” (Theory of Fools/11-Bit Studios).
Excellent audio
"Anger Foot" (Free Lives / Devolver Digital)
"Despelote" (Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic)
"INDIKA" (Odd Meter / 11-Bit Studios)
"ODDADA" (Sven Algren, Mathilde Hofmann, Bastien 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” (Mosmouth).
Excellence in Visual Arts
“Children of the Sun” (René Rother/Devolver Digital)
“Consumption 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 Suns" (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).
Excellent design
"Balatro" (LocalThunk/Playstack)
"Blue Prince" (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
"Caves of Qud" (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Consumption Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
“Pacific Avenue” (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
"Tactical Breakthrough Wizard" (questionable development)
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, Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games/Playstack).
Best Student Games
"Double Ascent" (Mountain Toad Entertainment/Rubika Supinfogame)
"DisplaceMen" (Eversea Club / leafaleaves)
“Growth spurts: The twists and turns of miscalculation” (My Computer Games)
“Slot Waste” (Vinny Roca/pickpanpuck produced)
"The WereCleaner" (Howlin' Hugs/USC Games)
"Unknown Year" (Julian Hauser)
Honorable mentions:
Cards of Heart (GoodMind Games), Duck Paradox (Magic Games / Midwest Games), Lost Gardens (Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), A Perfect World (Michael Overton Brown), Timeworks ” (Star Studios).
new award
“Consumption Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
"Despelote" (Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic)
"Extreme Evolution: Towards Divinity" (Sam Atlas)
"Ginger" (Kevin Doo/lizu ktap)
“Death to Individualism in the Age of the Internet: A Rant Manifesto Against Big Tech’s Asset-Flipping Shovelware” (alienmelon)
"Starship Home" (bio)
‘tapeçaria’ (mut/moochi with help from the plunderludics team)
"The Exit 8" (KOTAKE CREATE / Active Gaming Media Inc).
Honorable mentions:
"Arctic Egg" (Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX), "Judero" (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya), "Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity" (Kas Ghobadi, Julian) Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), "The Price of Flying" (WATERBOX), "Project Y" (Project_Y Production Committee), "Refinding Yourself: Personality Test Game" (Lizardry / PLAYISM).
Sumas McNally Award
"Caves of Qud" (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
“Consumption Me” (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
"Despelote" (Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena/Panic)
"INDIKA" (Odd Meter / 11-Bit Studios)
"Thank God you're here!" (Coal Dinner/Panic)
"UFO 50" (Mosmouth)
Honorable mentions:
"Animal Well" (Billy Basso / Bigmode), "Balatro" (LocalThunk / Playstack), "Blue Prince" (Dogbomb / Raw Fury), "Mouthwashing" (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), "Nine Sols" (RedCandleGames), "Tactical Breakthrough Wizard" (a questionable development).