IGF Awards 2015 nominees announced

We're a couple of months away from Independent Game Festival Awards #17, and so, in the spirit of competition, some finalists have been announced.

We're a couple of months away from Independent Game Festival Awards #17, and so, in the spirit of competition, some finalists have been announced. The chosen hopefuls are distributed across multiple categories covering excellence in design, narrative, audio and art.

It's a pretty eclectic mix this year. A few PC Gamer writers, myself included, were among the hundreds of others involved in the initial judging process. That early list of entrants contained a wealth of weird and wonderful games. It's nice to see that, in picking the finalists, the jurors have drawn broadly from that pool.

The nominees for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize are an equally diverse in style and scope. In the running for the main award are philosophical puzzler The Talos Principle, turn-based stealth-'em-up Invisible Inc. and the unrelenting survival story This War of Mine.

See the full nominees below. The IGF Awards will take place on 4 March. For more details, head to the IGF's site.

Excellence In Visual Art (Ben Esposito) (State of Play Games) (Niklas Åkerblad, Erik Svedäng, et al.) (XRA) (Patrick Smith) (XXIIVV and Kokorobot)

Honorable mentions: Crawl (Powerhoof); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play);(Heart Machine);(Dinosaur Polo Club);(Simogo);(The Astronauts).

Excellence In Narrative (Inkle Studios) (Nicky Case) (Down to the Wire) (Tender Claws) (11 Bit Studios) ([Bracket]Games)

Honorable mentions: (Llaura, Dreamfeeel); Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) (Upper One Games/E-Line Media);(Team Outer Wilds);(Over The Moon);(Simogo);(Croteam).

Excellence In Design (Inkle Studios) (Loveshack) (Klei Entertainment) (Joshua DeBonis & Nikita Mikros) (Team Outer Wilds) (Croteam)

Honorable mentions: (Captain Games);(Amplitude Studios);(Amplitude Studios);(Michael Brough);(Steel Crate Games);(Dinosaur Polo Club),

Excellence In Audio (SuperChop Games) (Kevin Regamey) (Yacht Club Games) (Simogo Games) (The Astronauts) (Drool)

Honorable mentions: (Rich Edwards and Colin Northway);(Santa Ragione);(Coffee Stain Studios);(Dennaton);(Vlambeer);(Mediocre).

Nuovo Award (Michael Brough and Andi McClure) (Game Oven) (Captain Games) (Dejobaan Games & Popcannibal) (Nina Freeman, Emmett Butler, Jonathan Kittaka and Deckman Coss) (Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Frei / Etter Studio) (Stephen Lawrence Clark) (Nathalie Lawhead)

Honorable mentions: (Llaura, Dreamfeeel);(Down to the Wire);(Rob Dubbin and Allison Parrish);(Team Outer Wiilds);(Kevin Regamery);(House House).

Seumas McNally Grand Prize (Inkle Studios) (Klei Entertainment) (Team Outer Wilds) (Croteam) (Patrick Smith) (11 Bit Studios)

Honorable mentions: (Ben Esposito);(Amplitude Studios);(Joshua DeBonis & Nikita Mikros);(Yacht Club Games);(Simogo Games);(The Astronauts).