The Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week announced the finalists for the Independent Games Festival’s awards event, which is part of the former conference. The IGF’s awards event, where it reveals the winners of each award, will take place on March 26 along with the Game Developers Choice Awards. The previous winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize in 2024 is Venba at the Visai Games.

The games with the most nominations are Jenny Jiao Hsia’s Consume Me, a dark comedy of life sim inspired by the creator’s experience with unhealthy eating; and Despelote, a slice-of-life game about playing soccer and meeting people on the streets of Quito, Ecuador.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Qud Caves (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
• Thank you so much for being here! (Coal Dinner / Panic)
• UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Nine Sols (RedCandleGames), Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments )

New Award

• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• Extreme Evolution: Drive to Sanctity (Sam Atlas)
• Ginger (Kevin Du / lizu ktap)
• individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware rant manifesto (alienmelon)
• Starship House (Creature)
• tapeçaria (tapestry) (mut/moochi (with help from plunderludics working group))
• Exit 8 (KOTAKE CREATE / Active Gaming Media Inc)

Honorable Mention: Arctic Eggs (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex / CRITICAL REFLEX), Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya), Onto Maisillind Unto Infinity (Kas Ghobadi, Julián Palacios Gechtman / Kasrah Ghobadi), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Project Y (Project_Y Production Committee), Refind Self: The Personality Test drama (Lizardry / PLAYISM)

Excellence in Visual Arts

• Children of the Sun (René Rother / Devolver Digital)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Hauntii (Moonloop Games / Firestoke)
• Judero (Talha and Jack Co, J. King-Spooner, Talha Kaya)
• Nine Sol (RedCandleGames)
• Thank you so much for being here! (Coal Dinner / Panic)

Honorable Mentions: Crow Country (SFB Games), Death of the Reprobate (Joe Richardson), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive)

Excellence in Narrative

• Qud Caves (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
• Close to Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
• No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi)

Honorable Mentions: Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury), Miniatures (Other Tales Interactive), Mouthwashing (False Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments), Thank You So Much For Being Here! (Coal Supper / Panic), The Thaumaturge (Fool’s Theory / 11 bit studios)

Excellence in Design

• Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack)
• Blue Prince (Dogubomb / Raw Fury)
• Qud Caves (Freehold Games / Kitfox Games)
• Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet WP, Ken “coda” Snyder)
• Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive)
• Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Development)

Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), No Case Should Remain Unsolved (Somi), UFO 50 (Mossmouth), LOK Digital (Letibus Design, Icedrop Games / Draknek and Friends), Eigengrau (Martin Mauersics), The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Game / Playstack)

Excellence in Audio

• Anger Foot (Free Life / Devolver Digital)
• Despelote (Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena / Panic)
• INDIKA (Odd Meter / 11 bit studios)
• ODDADA (Sven Ahlgrimm, Mathilde Hoffmann, Bastian Clausdorff)
• Thank you so much for being here! (Coal Dinner / Panic)
• Utopia Must Fall (Pixeljam)

Honorable Mentions:

Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / CRITICAL REFLEX), Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive), Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games / Playstack), UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Student Game

• A Dual Ascent (Mountain Toad Entertainment / Rubika Supinfogame)
• DisplaceMen (Eversea Club / leafleaves)
• Growth Spurt: A Meandering Intermission to the Afterhours of a Miscalculation (Games for My Computer)
• Slot Waste (Vinny Roca / pickpanpuck productions)
• The WereCleaner (Howlin’ Hugs / USC Games)
• Year Unknown (Julian Heuser)

Honorable Mentions:

Cards of Heart (GoodMind Games), Duck Paradox (Magic Games / Midwest Games), Lost Garden (Ori Shany, Yoni Pushett, Ramon Zerem), Perfect World (Michael Overton Brown), Timeworks (Starworks Studios)