Overview
The Independent Game Festival was set up in 1998 by Think Services. It was created as a means to promote indie games and encourage innovation in the developers who make them. The event is held concurrently with the Game Developers Conference in Moscone Center, San Francisco.
The main highlight of the festival is the IGF Awards, which is held on the third night of the GDC. It puts a spotlight on the best independent games of the year and gives them a cash prize ($10,000 for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and $2,000 for all other awards, as of 2022.)
In 2004 and 2005 the awards were split into two sections - Open Category (OC) and Web/Downloadable (WD).
Current Awards
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Excellence in Visual Art
Nuovo Award
Excellence in Audio
Excellence in Design
Excellence in Narrative
Best Student Game
Audience Award
The audience award is the only IGF Award not chosen by judges. Instead, it is chosen by the general public via online voting.
alt.ctrl.GDC Award
| Year | Game | Developer |
|---|
| 2019 | Hot Swap | |
| 2018 | Puppet Pandemonium | |
| 2017 | Fear Sphere | |
Retired Awards
Technical Excellence Award (1999-2013)
Prize Money (in 2012) - $3000
On the 8th of August 2013, (now former) IGF Chairman Bradon Boyer announced that the Technical Excellence category was being removed from competition. As a result of this, the other main categories would now feature six finalists instead of five.
Best Web Browser Game (2006-2008)
This award replaced the need for having separate Web/Downloadable sections for each category. It was later removed in 2009.
Prize Money (in 2008) - $2,500
Best Mobile Game (2011-2012)
Prize Money (in 2012) - $2,500
Records
Most Awards for a Developer
| Awards | Developer | Game(s) |
|---|
| 5 | Lucas Pope | Papers, Please (Grand Prize, Narrative, Design), Return of the Obra Dinn (Grand Prize, Narrative) |
| - | The Behemoth | Alien Hominid (Technical, Audience, Visual Art), Castle Crashers (Audience, Visual Art) |
| 4 | Amanita Design | Samorost 2 (Web Browser), Machinarium (Visual Art), Botanicula (Audio), Chuchel (Visual Art) |
| - | Daniel Mullins Games | Inscryption (Grand Prize, Narrative, Design, Audio) |
| 3 | Richard Hofmeier | Cart Life (Grand Prize, Nuovo, Narrative) |
| - | Three Rings Design | Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates (Audience, Technical), Bang! Howdy (Technical) |
| - | Introversion Software | Darwinia (Grand Prize, Visual Art, Technical) |
| - | Reflexive Entertainment | Wik & the Fable of Souls (Grand Prize, Visual Art, Nuovo) |
| 2 | 2D Boy | World of Goo (Technical, Nuovo) |
| - | Data Realms | Cortex Command (Audience, Technical) |
| - | Blendo Games | Quadrilateral Cowboy (Grand Prize, Design) |
| - | Dylan Fitterer | Audiosurf (Audience, Audio) |
| - | Edmund McMillen | Gish (Grand Prize (OC), Nuovo (OC)) |
| - | Pocketwatch Games | Monaco (Grand Prize, Design) |
| - | Frictional Games | Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Technical, Audio) |
| - | Heart Machine | Hyper Light Drifter (Visual, Audience) |
| - | Inkle | 80 Days (Narrative), Heaven's Vault (Narrative) |
| - | Playdead | Limbo (Technical, Visual Art) |
| - | Polytron | Fez (Grand Prize, Visual Art) |
| - | Sam Barlow | Her Story (Grand Prize, Narrative) |
| - | Simogo | Beat Sneak Bandits (Mobile Game), Device 6 (Audio) |
| - | Subset Games | FTL (Audience, Design) |
| - | Infinite Fall | Night in the Woods (Grand Prize, Narrative) |
| - | Mobius Games | Outer Wilds (Grand Prize, Design) |
| - | Origame Digital | Umurangi Generation (Grand Prize, Narrative) |
| - | Feral Cat Den | Genesis Noir (Visual, Audio) |
| - | Dinosaur Polo Club | Mini Metro (Audio), Mini Motorways (Audience) |
Most Awards for a Game
| Awards | Game | Categories | Year |
|---|
| 4 | Inscryption | Grand Prize, Narrative, Design, Audio | 2022 |
| 3 | Papers, Please | Grand Prize, Narrative, Design | 2014 |
| - | Cart Life | Grand Prize, Nuovo, Narrative | 2013 |
| - | Darwinia | Grand Prize, Visual Art, Technical | 2006 |
| - | Alien Hominid | Audience, Visual Art, Technical | 2005 |
| - | Wik & the Fable of Souls | Grand Prize, Visual Art, Nuovo | 2005 |
| | | | |
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