SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Independent Games Festival (IGF), which honors the most influential, innovative and acclaimed projects in independent game development, has revealed the finalists for the 22nd annual awards ceremony. The IGF Awards will take place March 18, 2020 during the Game Developers Conference. The event will be hosted by League of Geeks (Armello) director Trent Kusters, who is returning as host following his first stint at IGF 2018.

After an initial screening process overseen by more than 300 judges, over 550 entries for the 2020 IGF Awards were distributed to a diverse set of expert jurors from across the industry for final consideration. The juries for each individual category then selected the IGF finalists after playing, discussing and meticulously evaluating them.

The full presentation of the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF Awards), can be viewed at http://twitch.tv/gdc.

Developer Die Gute Fabrik’s Mutazione leads the pack of finalists for IGF 2020 with a total of four nominations in the categories of Excellence in Visual Art, Audio and Narrative, as well as the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Die Gute Fabrik’s “mutant soap opera” adventure game is set more than 100 years after a meteor strikes a tropical island resort and the surviving inhabitants create a small isolated community known as Mutazione. As 15-year-old Kai, players set out on a quest where the juicy personal drama is just as important as the high-stakes adventure, and young Kai must care for her ailing grandfather while navigating her personal life and uncovering the secrets of the island.

The nominees for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize also include:

• Untitled Goose Game, a game where players inhabit the webbed feet of a troublesome goose wreaking (playful) havoc on unwitting townsfolk, which earned an additional nomination for Audio.
• A Short Hike, a vibrant exploration game set in the wilds of Hawk Peak Provincial Park, which also received a nomination for Design.
• Eliza, an enthralling visual novel that draws on themes of personal connection and technological encroachment, received a nod for Narrative as well.
• Slay the Spire, an addictive card game that incorporates dynamic roguelike game elements and deckbuilding, had its full release in 2019 and has received a second nomination for Design.
• Anodyne 2: Return to Dust, an action adventure game with a charming story and a retro visual design that draws from the eras of 16-bit and 32-bit consoles.

Other titles earning multiple nominations include Knights and Bikes, a colorfully hand-painted coming-of-age adventure by Foam Sword Games, which earned nominations for Excellence in Visual Art and Audio. In addition, Elsinore, a time-looping creative reimagination of Shakespeare’s Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia, is up for the awards for Excellence in Design and Narrative.

The winners of the IGF will be announced at the Independent Games Festival Awards, which takes place the evening of Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center. The IGF Awards will immediately precede the Game Developers Choice Awards, which recognizes the best games of the year across all sections of video game development.

IGF Award winners will receive more than $20,000 of prizes in various categories, including the $10,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, and all IGF finalists this year also receive a $1,000 stipend. Both the IGF Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremonies are available to attend for all GDC 2020 pass-holders, and will be livestreamed online via http://twitch.tv/gdc.

The full list of finalists for each category of the 2020 Independent Games Festival, along with "honorable mentions," is as follows:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize
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)

Honorable Mentions:
Katana ZERO (Askiisoft); Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries); Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer); Wide Ocean, Big Jacket (Turnfollow); Elsinore (Golden Glitch); Astrologaster (Nyamyam); Heaven's Vault (inkle)

Excellence in Visual Art
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)

Honorable Mentions: LUNA The Shadow Dust (Lantern Studio); Eastshade (Eastshade Studios); Minute of Islands (Studio Fizbin); Katana ZERO (Askiisoft); Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer); A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu); Creaks (Amanita Design)

Excellence in Audio
Observation (No Code)
Vectronom (Ludopium)
Astrologaster (Nyamyam)
Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
Untitled Goose Game (House House)

Honorable Mentions: Afterparty (Night School Studio); Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to) (Popcannibal); Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studio); Alt-Frequencies (Accidental Queens); Don't Look (Don't Look Team); Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries); Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (Cosmo D)

Excellence in Design
Katana ZERO (Askiisoft)