GDC 2011 - The IGF Awards

The Game Developers’ Conference reached one of the key events of this year's event in handing out the $50 000 in prize money at the 13th Annual Independent Games Festival Awards. Host Anthony Carboni, whose current projects include Bytejacker, SGNL, and AppJudgment, led the live and internet audience through the forty-five minute show. Despite his occasionally clever comments, he ultimately was a drag on the show as he often missed the mark, especially with the brutally told Joe Liberman and Roger Ebert joke. Nonetheless, the awards show was a huge success, and went off with the only hitch being a minor technical error. The two Mega64 videos were fantastic while all individuals involved did a fabulous job in noting how independent games often "push the boundaries" of big industry titles. It is important to note that Mobile Games, for the first time ever, were eligible in every category.

 

Additionally, Direct2Drive put together a video citing the "Top Ten Reasons Why It's Cool To Be An Indie Game Developer," and the list is as follows:

10 - Fear of zombies cured.
 9 - Your momma is your only shareholder.
 8 - A social life is overrated.
 7 - I don't need to censor the nudity ... It's already pixelated!
 6 - Happy hour starts when you wake up (which is like noon anyway).
 5 - Sometimes the ladies think I said Indie Band,
 4 - It's pretty much like College.
 3 - You have way more time to play Minecraft.
 2 - Two words: Pantsless Fridays ... and Thursdays, Wednesdays, Tuesdays and Mondays.
 1 - You're not the boss of me!

However, the most inspiring moment of the night was when Andy Schatz, who won the 2010 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Monaco, came out and gave a speech before announcing this year's best independent game. He noted that "In the real world bigger is better ... when you are indie long enough ... you learn to make little things, selling one unit is thrilling" He emphasized that "IGF is not to make a small thing big, but show that there is beauty in the small things."

 

Without further adieu, the nominees and winners in each category are as follows:

 

Student Showcase Finalists:
e7, FRACT, GLiD, OctoDad, PaperPlane, Solace, Tiny and Big, and Toys.
 

And the winner is ...  Richard E Flangan's FRACT!

 

FRACT, as described on it's offical website, :"is a first person puzzle game – very much in the vein of the classic Myst titles. The player is let loose into an abstract world built on sound and structures inspired by electronic music. It’s up to the player to resurrect and revive the long forgotten machinery of this musical world, in order to unlock its’ inner workings!" FRACT's beta version can be downloaded for free on its official website.

 

Technical Excellence Finalists:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Confetti Carnival, Miegakure, Minecraft, and Neverdaunt: 8bit.

And the winner is ...  Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent!

 

Amnesia is truly a magnificent, and scary title.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent's official website notes that it  "throws you headfirst into a dangerous world where danger can lurk behind every corner. Your only means of defense are hiding, running or using your wits."

 

 

Excellence in Design Finalists:
Desktop Dungeons, Faraway, Minecraft, Nidhogg, and Super Crate Box.

And the winner is ... QFC Design's Desktop Dungeons!


"Desktop Dungeons is a hard-casual game."

 

The very humble QFC Design team notes, on their website, that Desktop Dungeons "offers an unquestionably unique approach to roguelike games by taking compactness to the extreme. It distils the entire genre to a few core ideas which pay homage to the greats while forging new ground with gameplay similar to that of Oasis or Tower of the Sorcerer. It also features emergent complexity that rewards truly skilled and thoughtful players." The full version of Desktop Dungeons is available for free on QFC Design's website.

Best Mobile Game Finalists:
Colorbind, Halcyon, Helsing's Fire, Shot Shot Shoot, and Solipskier.

 

And the winner is ... Ratloop Games' Helsing's Fire!
 

Helsing's Fire is just an all around great experience to indulge in.

 

Helsing's Fire, as described on it's offical website, "is an innovative new puzzle game created exclusively for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. With intuitive touchscreen controls, use your torch and limited supply of powerful tonics to pierce the shadows and destroy Dracula's monsters. Torch placement is critical, and different tonics affect each creature differently. Be careful not to hurt the innocent!" Helsing's Fire has a free demo available, and can be purchased for 0.99 (IPhone & IPhone Touch) and for 2.99 (in High Definition on the Ipad).

 

Excellence in Visual Art Finalists:
Bastion, Bit.Trip Runner, Cave Story (2010 Edition), The Dream Machine, and Hokokum.
 

And the winner is ... Gaijin Games' Bit.Trip Runner!

 

Bit.Trip Runner's official website notes that it is "the first fully character-based adventure for CommanderVideo with: Rhythm-based Action Platforming! Boss Battles Against Robotic Terrors! 50+ Challenges! Classic NES-Style Controls! A Pounding Chiptune-Inspired Soundtrack! Special Chiptune Guest Star Anamanaguchi! New Friends for CommanderVideo!” Bit.Trip Runner can be purchased on Steam for 9.99, and is currently on sale for 8.99!

 

Excellence in Audio Finalists:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Bastion, Bit.Trip Beat, Cobalt, and Retro City Rampage.

And the winner is ... Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent!

Audio definitely goes a long way in helping creep players out!

 

The team at Frictional Games' was more than elated to receive their second award of the evening. They have a free demo of Amnesia on Steam, and the full version can be purchased for $9.99.

 

The Audience Award was then awarded to Mojang's Minecraft!

 

Not only is it a great game, but the music is fabulous as well!
 

Minecraft, as described on it's official website, "is a game about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine. At night monsters come out, make sure to build a shelter before that happens." Minecraft is currently being sold for €14.95, but will be sold for €20 once it is fully completed.

Direct2Drive Vision Award Finalists:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Confetti Carnival, Flotilla,  Hazard: The Journey of Life, and NightSky.

And the winner is ... Amnesia: The Dark Descent!

 

Amnesia truly is a fantastic game.

This marked Amnesia's third award of the evening, and once again the individuals from Frictional Games were very thankful in noting everyone who propelled them to success.

 

 

Nuovo Award Finalists:
Bohm, Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now (B.U.T.T.O.N.), The Cat and the Coup, Dinner Date, Hazard: The Journey of Life, A House in California, Loop Raccord, and Nidhogg.

 

And the winner is ... Messhof's Nidhogg!
 

Nidhogg's music is the work of Greg Fox.

Both Mark Essen, and Greg Fox approached the stage to accept the award, but in honour of their title did so in orange and yellow morphsuits! They presented a very short, humble speech letting their fantastic title speak for itself.


Seumas McNally Grand Prize Finalists:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Desktop Dungeons, Minecraft, SpyParty, and Nidhogg.
 

 

And the winner of the $10 000 prize is ... Majong's Minecraft!

 

The Minecraft Fanbase is quite simply amazing.

Minecraft has been under development since May 10, 2009 and stands as a remarkable success in the indie gaming world. It began with Markus Perrson quitting his job as a game developer, and has exploded in something special. Thus far, as noted on the official Minecraft website, "4885661 people have registered and 1470529 people bought the game" which is just a fantastic outcome for an indie developer. Kudos to them on their success and their well deserved award.

That just about concludes our IGF Awards coverage, if there is anything that I want readers to take away from this tidbit of news is that there are some fantastic independent titles out there that deserve your attention. It doesn't hurt to give them a try as they are rapidly becoming more and more accessible to the general public through downloadable services on consoles, and Steam.

Joshua McCaul, NoobFeed.