The IGF & Game Developers Choice Awards 2020 winners and finalists
A recap of the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards 2020 with a focus on nominees, finalists, and the winners.
The Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards is a fantastic place for indie developers to receive recognition. Although GDC 2020 was canceled this year, the team behind the event shifted to an online format. This allowed the IGF and GDC Awards to go ahead. Let’s take a look at the nominees and the winners of each category.
The Game Developers Choice Awards
Game of the Year winner: Untitled Goose Game
Nominees
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Audio winner: Control
Nominees
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Best Debut winner: ZA/UM
Nominees
- ZA/UM (Disco Elysium)
- Mobius Digital (Outer Wilds)
- William Chyr Studio (Manifold Garden)
- Foam Sword Games (Knights and Bikes)
- Chance Agency (Neo Cab)
Best Design winner: Baba Is You
Nominees
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision Publishing)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
Innovation Award winner: Baba Is You
Nominees
- Untitled Goose Game (House House/Panic)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Baba Is You (Hempuli)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Mobile Game winner: What the Golf?
Nominees
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- What the Golf? (Triband Productions/The Label Limited)
- Grindstone (Capybara Games)
- Sky: Children of the Light (thatgamecompany)
- Call of Duty: Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
Best Narrative winner: Disco Elysium
Nominees
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division)
- Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Technology winner: Control
Nominees
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Noita (Nolla Games)
Best Visual Art winner: Control
Nominees
- Control (Remedy Entertainment/505 Games)
- Death Stranding (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision)
- Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
- Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
Best VR/AR Game winner: Vader Immortal
Nominees
- Vader Immortal (ILMxLAB/Disney)
- Blood & Truth (SCEE Studio London/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Asgard's Wrath (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
- Boneworks (Stress Level Zero)
- Pistol Whip (Cloudhead Games)
Ambassador Award winner: Kate Edwards
Pioneer Award winner: Roberta Williams
Audience Award winner: Sky: Children of the Light
The Independent Games Festival Awards
Seumas McNally Grand Prize winner ($10,000): A Short Hike
Nominees
- Eliza (Zachtronics)
- A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House)
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
- Anodyne 2: Return to Dust (Sean Han Tani & Marina Kittaka)
Excellence in Visual Art winner ($2,000): Knights and Bikes
Nominees
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
- Void Bastards (Blue Manchu)
- Creature in the Well (Flight School Studio)
- Eastward (Pixpil)
- Stone Story RPG (Martian Rex / standardcombo)
Excellence in Audio winner ($2,000): Mutazione
Nominees
- Observation (No Code)
- Vectronom (Ludopium)
- Astrologaster (Nyamyam)
- Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House)
Excellence in Design winner ($2,000): Patrick’s Parabox
Nominees
- Katana ZERO (Askiisoft)
- Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries)
- Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
- A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
- Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
- Patrick's Parabox (Patrick Traynor)
Excellence in Narrative winner ($2,000): Heaven’s Vault
Nominees
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Heaven's Vault (inkle)
- Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
- Wide Ocean, Big Jacket (Turnfollow)
- Eliza (Zachtronics)
- LIONKILLER (Sisi Jiang)
Nuovo Award winner ($2,000): The Space Between
Nominees
- Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (Cosmo D)
- Infini (Barnaque)
- The Space Between (Christoph Frey)
- Life Tastes Like Cardboard (Demensa)
- Promesa (Julián Palacios)
- Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer)
- The Longing (Studio Seufz)
- PAGAN: Autogeny (Oleander Garden)
Best Student Game winner ($2,000): BORE DOME
Nominees
- Orbital Bullet (SmokeStab)
- A Juggler's Tale (kaleidoscube)
- Forgotten (Mutiny Games)
- Neon Beats (OKYO Games)
- BORE DOME (Goblin rage)
- Nothing In Sight (Nothing In Sight Team)
Audience Award winner ($2,000): A Short Hike
It was definitely a good year for indie games, so it’s great to see the developers receive recognition and praise for all their hard work. Although the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards for 2020 has concluded, it doesn’t mean the fun stops there. There’s still plenty more action left in the year, as well as a host of indie games to check out. In fact, Steam’s Game Festival is now live, featuring over 40 titles that were to be shown at GDC 2020. Go check them out.
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Shacknews
replySam Chandler posted a new article, The IGF & Game Developers Choice Awards 2020 winners and finalists
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Also Steam sale on winners and nominees https://store.steampowered.com/sale/igfgdca2020
