IGF 2007 Finalists Announced

Today, the finalists for the ninth annual Independent Games Festival, held annually during the Game Developers Conference, were announced. This year's competition saw a record 141 entries across six categories: Design Innovation, Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, Technical Excellence, Best Web Browser Game, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for the year's best independent game. Additionally, finalists for the IGF Modding Competition will be announced later this month, while finalists for the IGF Student Showcase will be announced in January 2007. Bit Blot's Aquaria came out on top in terms of nominations earned, receiving nods for Design Innovation, Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Next up with three nominations was Queasy Games' Everyday Shooter, which is up for Design Innovation, Excellence in Audio, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Peter Stock's Armadillo Run, Three Rings Design's Bang! Howdy, and Naked Sky Entertainment's RoboBlitz each picked up two nomations including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize; Amanita Design garnered two nods for its web-based adventure Samorost 2. Other nominations included Sam & Max episodic developer Telltale Games being recognized for Excellence in Audio in Bone: The Great Cow Race and Alien Hominid developer The Behemoth for Excellence in Visual Art in Castle Crashers. Notably, both RoboBlitz and Castle Crashers have secured Xbox Live Arcade distribution, with the former having been recently released both on Xbox Live Arcade and Steam, while Bugs of War, from experienced Xbox Live Arcade developer NinjaBee, has been rumored to be releasing on the service some time next year. The Independent Games Festival award ceremony will take place during Game Developers Conference on March 7, 2007 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Click here for the full list of nominees.