IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)

The 14th annual Independent Game Festival finalists have been announced, and this year's finalists are indie-licious (yum). Titles include pop-indie hits Fez, Frozen Synapse, Spelunky and Atom Zombie Smasher, as well as some of our own understated favorites, such as Freebird Games' To the Moon.

The winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize receives $30,000, the winner of the Nuovo Award for "abstract, shortform and unconventional game development" gets $5,000, and all other category winners receive $3,000. The awards will take place March 7 at GDC. Check out the entire list of finalists right here:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize:

Dear Esther
FEZ
Frozen Synapse
Johann Sebastian Joust
Spelunky

Excellence In Visual Art

Botanicula
Dear Esther
Lume
Mirage
Wonderputt

Technical Excellence

Antichamber
Fez
Prom Week
Realm of the Mad God
Spelunky

Excellence In Design

Atom Zombie Smasher
English Country Tune
Frozen Synapse
Gunpoint
Spelunky

Excellence in Audio

Botanicula
Dear Esther
Pugs Luv Beats
To the Moon
Waking Mars

Best Mobile Game

ASYNC Corp.
Beat Sneak Bandit
Faraway
Ridiculous Fishing
Waking Mars

Nuovo Award Finalists:

At a Distance
Dear Esther
Fingle
GIRP
Johann Sebastian Joust
Proteus
Storyteller
WAY

Reader Comments (17)

Before Terraria came out I played Spelunky non-stop.
I still play it occasionally. That game is freaking amazing.

do want Botanicula and Fez.

What percentage of those games are pretentious?

@Undulation There's a few. Dear Esther can be intolerably so, but things like Frozen Synapse and Spelunky are brilliant and function completely as games without an overwhelming sense of 'doing it for the art'.

@Undulation

I'm just going to assume the ones nominated for the nuovo are pretentious. Except I know GIRP isn't, so maybe not all of them are. Oh well.

"IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)"

...with a box of scraps?

I have some trouble with games being given awards before they're playable by the public. I sort of imagine what would happen if the Oscars worked the same way, and some movie only 50 people in the world had ever seen post-production walked away with best picture.

What I'm saying is.. If i can't actually play it, I don't care what it won. It's out of my reach and its accolades are irrelevant.

That's not the case for all of these entries, but I know some of them still haven't had a public release. And I'm irked.

@Clockw0rk
So, Best of E3, CES, PAX, Etc awards are lost on you?

@Clockw0rk
Yes, because Best Picture is never won by art house movies that nobody really watched. Oh wait, that happens a fair amount.

Just like this year's Grammy for Best Album went to a goddam hipster band.

@Clockw0rk

Agreed. I'm as anxious as anyone to play a game like Fez. It's won all kinds of awards and continuously gets it's release pushed back. How is it winning awards for several years? Let me actually play it, or I don't give a shit anymore. It's just a bunch of ego stroking and the word Pretentious definitely comes to mind.

@Clockw0rk

But that does happen in the film industry. IGF is more like a film festival, such as Sundance or Cannes, rather than the Oscars which is more akin to the British Academy Video Game Awards.

Pulp Fiction was awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes 6 months before it's general release.

Spelunky had better win excellence in design. That game is bloody brilliant, terribly addictive and an absolute blast EVERY time i play.

Glad to see English Country Tune win something. That game is seriously underrated.

Predictions! Fez - Seumas McNally, Botonicula (or Dear Esther) for Excellence in Visual Arts, Antichamber (or Fez or Spelunky) for Technical Excellence, Frozen Synapse - Excellence in Design, To the Moon - Excellence in Audio, Ridiculous Fishing - Best Mobile Game, Joust or At a Distance - Nuovo

Place your bets!

So sick of hearing about Fez since I seen it at pax east last year. Come out damnit I want to play you.

Errrr, Dust: an Elysian Tail isn't there and I believe it was entered. That's a shame as it looks so good. I hope it lives up-to my personal anticipation. Some of the other ones look good too though.

Seriously Atom Zombie Smasher needs to win something, got it in the humble bundle and played stupid amounts of it, that game is so fun and addictive, I'm glad it's getting more recognition

Spelunky

IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)

Reader Comments (17)

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 3:35PM Captaindrek1 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 3:39PM IveDefected said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 3:49PM Undulation said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 3:58PM Azurist said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 4:59PM Acosta02 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 4:00PM Shadow Hog said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 4:04PM Clockw0rk said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 4:30PM The Great Cornholio said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 5:01PM Jennacide said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 5:02PM HaVoK308 said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 5:10PM oOWallaceOo said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 4:32PM The Great Cornholio said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 5:07PM I dont have a good username said

Posted: Jan 10th 2012 6:12PM ninjapresident said

Posted: Jan 11th 2012 12:28AM srslyyou said

Posted: Jan 11th 2012 6:13AM GhostH said

Posted: Jan 11th 2012 7:45PM Ninjanun said

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