While the major AAA titles typically dominate the market, it is nice to spread some love to the smaller game developers who pour just as much effort into their projects. The Independent Games Festival aims to do just that by giving out awards tospecially crafted indie games.
The competition has been going on for 23 years, the longest-running festival like this organized by Informa Tech, and has a variety of different categories and special game awards. In total, there were 504 entries submitted into the competition, which has been the smallest number of submissions since 2011. This is most likely due to theCOVID-19 effects on the gaming industry.
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There are seven different categories that specialize indifferent aspects of game design, such as audio, narrative, and visual design. Each category awards the winning game $2,000 except for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize Pool, which awards its winner $10,000.
One title, in particular,Genesis Noir,has taken nominations in four different categories, including the Seumas McNally grand prize. Developed by Feral Cat Den, the game is set during the time of the Big Bang. Gamers play as a cosmic being whose goal is to stop the universe from expanding to save the love of their life, and it is already available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Epic Games, and Xbox consoles.
Each category also has a list of honorable mentions that fans can browse through on the company website. The Independent Games Festival has given other independent titles in the past well-deserved recognition, includingA Short Hike, Outer Wilds, Her Story, Fez,andMinecraft. The virtual event will take place from July 19 to July 23. Category winners will be announced on July 21 at 4:30 p.m. at the online IGF Awards show.
Here is the full list of Independent Game Festival 2021 Awards nominees:
