The Independent Games Festival’s 2017 award nominees have been listed over on the सरकारी वेबसाइट। निम्नलिखित resignation of former IGF chairman, Brendon Boyer, back in 2015, many indie developers have been looking toward the organization to clean up its act and give a fair shake to indie developers out there who weren’t friends with the chairman. I suppose we’ll see how well the meritocracy of the IGF will be put into practice with this year’s event.

The current nominees are listed under a variety of categories, including the Seumas Mcnally Grand Prize, which includes the following games:

• Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy)
• Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
• West of Loathing (Asymmetric Publications)
• उल्लंघन में (सब्सट्रेट गेम्स)
• Heat Signature (Suspicious Developments)
• बाबा आप (हेमपुली)

जबकि रात वुड्स was a true game designed for hipsters, it’s nice to see that क्रोध के पश्चिम और बेनेट फोडी के साथ इसे खत्म करना made the cut in this particular category, two games that were actually popular with normal gamers, hardcore gamers, and normies. Sadly, Cuphead only made it as an honorable mention, along with खोखले नाइट.

में Excellence In Visual Art category, the following games made the cut:

• Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
• Cuphead (StudioMDHR)
• Echo (ULTRA ULTRA)
• Luna (Funomena)
• The Gardens Between (The Voxel Agents)
• Chuchel (Amanita Design)

Once again, we see that the hipster-friendly रात वुड्स is in the list, pretty much setting the tone that we can expect that it’s likely going to walk away with at least one award when all is said and done. However, it’s great to see that Cuphead made the cut, too.

RSI Excellence In Audio category includes the following nominees:

• Tormentor X Punisher (e-studio)
• Cuphead (StudioMDHR)
• Vignettes (Skeleton Business)
• Rain World (VIDEOCULT)
• Uurnog Uurnlimited (Nifflas Games)
• सेलेस्टे (मैट मेक गेम्स)

Most surprising to me was that a game like टॉरमेंटर एक्स Punisher from e-studio made the cut in the list. Why? Because it’s a violent game with blood, guts and gore. I suppose since the main character is a pink-haired, foul-mouth woman maybe that’s why it was recognized? But it’s like a top-down version of the classic कयामत but cranked up to 11. It’s a seriously hardcore shooter, as evident with the trailer below.

Raw Fury is the publisher, though, and we all know how they threw Tim Soret from Odd Tales under the bus in order to appease Social Justice Warriors who attacked him for being pro-#GamerGate. So maybe the nomination isn’t as out of the blue as one might expect?

One of the more important categories sees a few games you might not have expected to make the cut. Check out the nominees for Excellence In Design:

• उल्लंघन में (सब्सट्रेट गेम्स)
• Shenzhen I/O (Zachtronics)
• Wilmot’s Warehouse (Richard Hogg, Ricky Haggett, Eli Rainsberry)
• बाबा आप (हेमपुली)
• Uurnog Uurnlimited (Nifflas Games)
• Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy)

I can’t fault them for putting बेनेट फोडी के साथ इसे खत्म करना in there because you have to admit that the game really is a technical masterpiece in terms of how it works with what limited controls and design mechanics at play. There’s a lot of thought that went into the physics and manipulation of the sledgehammer while scaling the environment. It lists honorable mentions such as बैटल चीफ ब्रिगेड और मृत कोशिकाओं as well, two games that I think definitely deserve an honorable mention. I am a little perplexed how a game like Factorio was a main nominee but यूर्नोग यूरेन्मेंट यह था? Factorio is a game with a lot more nuance and layers.

के लिए नामांकित व्यक्ति Excellence In Narrative इस प्रकार हैं:

• Tacoma (Fullbright)
• Attentat 1942 (Charles University and Czech Academy of Sciences)
• Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games)
• Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
• Butterfly Soup (Brianna Lei)
• Tooth and Tail (Pocketwatch Games)

देखना अच्छा लगता है टूथ एंड टेल make the cut, but it’s quite obvious that clique-darling Fullbright will likely walk away with the award for टकोमा. The game didn’t sell well at all since most core gamers were wise to the wiles of gaming media (a media who no longer has the element of surprise or guile on their side); especially considering that Fullbright is the same minds behind घर गया. I doubt the more unique टूथ एंड टेल from Pocketwatch Games will pick up the win, but would you really expect anything else from the IGF?

के लिए नामांकित व्यक्तियों Nuovo Award इस प्रकार हैं:

• Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy)
• Tarotica Voo Doo (TPM.CO SOFT WORKS)
• 10 Mississippi (Karina Popp)
• A Mortician’s Tale (Laundry Bear Games)
• Cosmic Top Secret (klassefilm)
• Everything Is Going to Be OK (Nathalie Lawhead)
• बाबा आप (हेमपुली)
• Kids (Playables)

A lot of these games arne’t even real games, but the best of the bunch is still बेनेट फोडी के साथ इसे खत्म करना.

And last and least is सर्वश्रेष्ठ छात्र गेम, which includes the following nominees:

• IO Interloper (DANG!)
• Don’t Make Love (Maggese)
• Penny Blue Finds a Clue (DigiPen Team Cactus Curse)
• We Were Here (Total Mayhem Games)
• बाबा आप (हेमपुली)
• Guardian of the Gears (DigiPen Team Studio 76)

I have to admit, a couple of them are actually pretty cool like Guardians of the Gears. That looks like a real game. Also IO Interloper seems like an interesting game about corporate espionage. We really don’t get more of those kind of games.

Overall, how do you see the IGF nominees for 2017? More or less cancerous than when Brandon Boyer was running that alleged corruption ring of cliques a few years back? I suppose a lot of it will boil down to what the actual awards will look like when they’re handed out and whether or not the proper teams win. It’s a shame that Cuphead didn’t receive more nominations, though.