Earlier tonight (or in the middle of the night / early morning for us Europeans) the Independent Games Festival (IGF) and Game Developer Choice (GDC) awards were handed out to games and developers that have made an impact in the last year.
From “best student game” to “lifetime achievement awards” the combination of IGF for independent games and GDCA for the more established industry put a wide variety of games in the spotlight. Here are some of the highlights from the show!
The simplistic 2D puzzle game Baba Is You took the IGF price for Best Student Game,
Congrats to the Baba is You team for winning the best student game IGF award!! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/o8KDorLfTN
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
Celeste, the brutally difficult but adorable platformer won the coveted IGF Audience Award,
Congrats to the Celeste team for winning the IGF audience award!!! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/UCGKZduppe
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
and finally, Night in the Woods, whose praise I’ve sung before, won both Excellence in Narrative and the Grand Prize.
Congrats to @bombsfall and colleagues for winning the IGF Seumas McNally grand prize!!!! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/JhpohUfGEo
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
In case this makes you excited to play some of these amazing games, Steam has helpfully put together a page with all the nominated games in one place.
After the IGF Awards it was time for the Game Developer Choice Awards – awards for more established studios, designers and games.
Rami Ismail, co-founder of Vlambeer and co-designer of games like Nuclear Throne and Luftrausers, received an Ambassador Award for his work to bring people from all over the world into the video game industry,
Thank you @tha_rami for all your work bringing games to the world!! Congrats on your GDCA ambassador award! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/Sm2OFBhpHY
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
Tim Schafer, the legendary designer behind The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Psychonauts and founder of Double Fine Productions, received a Lifetime Achievement Award,
Congratulations to @TimOfLegend on your lifetime achievement award!!!! Thank you for all the games you’ve brought us, and your leadership at @DoubleFine!! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/u25XdGp3gG
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
however, the ultimate winner of GDCA has to be Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The latest installment of the Zelda series took home prizes for Best Audio, Best Design and Game of the Year. It seems not much can stand up to BotW in the eyes of fellow game developers this year.
Congratulations to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild team for winning the GDCA award for game of the year!!! #GDC18 pic.twitter.com/VkrTJu2E0g
— Official_GDC (@Official_GDC) March 22, 2018
Like the IGF games, GDCA nominees can also be found in collection on a steam page with the obvious exception of Breath of the Wild. You’re going to need a Switch for that one
