Return of the Obra Dinn racks up nominations at Independent Games Festival

The Independent Games Festival has today announced the finalists for its 21st annual awards ahead of the event at GDC 2019.

The finalists were chosen from over 500 entries first by a screening process with over 300 industry judges, followed by juries for each category that judged and discussed the titles in question. Leading the pack this year in number of nominations is Return of the Obra Dinn, which is up for Excellence in Audio, Design, Visual Art, Narrative and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Other titles with multiple nominations include Do Not Feed The Monkeys, Paratopic, Alto's Odyssey, Noita, and Mirror Drop, among others.

The IGF award winners will be announced and honored at GDC 2019 on Wednesday, March 20 with winners taking home various prizes collectively totaling over $50,000, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize of $30,000.

Here are the finalists for each category of the 2018 IGF, as well as honorable mentions:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann)
• Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)
• Noita (Nolla Games)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
• Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
• Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Honorable Mentions: Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Moss (Polyarc); Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Virtual Virtual Reality (Tender Claws); Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Excellence in Visual Art

• Forgotton Anne (ThroughLine Games)
• Alto's Odyssey (Team Alto)
• Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
• Just Shapes & Beats (Berzerk Studio)
• Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Moss (Polyarc); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Guildlings (Sirvo Studios); Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Excellence in Audio

• ETHEREAL (Nonsense Arts - Nicolás Recabarren and Tomás Batista)
• Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)
• Moss (Polyarc)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
• Alto's Odyssey (Team Alto)
• Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Honorable Mentions: Creaks (Amanita Design); Holedown (grapefrukt games); Pikuniku (Sectordub); The Messenger (Sabotage); Distance (Refract Studios); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Wattam (Funomena)

Excellence in Design

• What the Golf? (Triband)
• Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
• Noita (Nolla Games)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
• Dicey Dungeons (Terry Cavanagh, Chipzel, and Marlowe Dobbe)
• Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)

Honorable Mentions: Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Carto (Sunhead Games); Black Room (Cassie McQuater); JUMPGRID (Ian MacLarty); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Excellence in Narrative

• Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit)
• Genital Jousting (Free Lives)
• Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games)
• Seers Isle (Nova-box)
• Watch Me Jump (Jeremy Gable)
• Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Honorable Mentions: Do Not Feed The Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios); The Hex (Daniel Mullins Games); Speed Dating for Ghosts (Copychaser Games); after HOURS (Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel); Fortune-499 (AP Thomson); Marie's Room (like Charlie); Tango: The Adventure Game (Gualicho Games)

Nuovo Award

• Circle0 (yesyes)
• eCheese Zone (Seemingly Pointless)
• Noita (Nolla Games)
• Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)
• Black Room (Cassie McQuater)
• Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)
• Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
• Nth Dimension[al] Hiking (Zachariah Chandler)

Honorable Mentions: All Our Asias (Sean Han Tani); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Cyberpet Graveyard (alienmelon); levedad