Originally published for Ice Gauntlet.
Wednesday night celebrated the 18th annual Independent Game Festival awards and the 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, or in other words, as close to the Academy Awards the gaming universe ever gets. Thousands of people tuned in throughout the evening via Twitch to watch as Sam Barlow’s Her Story and CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3 dominated the award shows.
While the GDCAs celebrate the video game industry’s top games and the people who make them — from the writers to the artists to the musicians and more, the IGFs celebrate the same, but from an independent perspective.
The Witcher 3 was a finalist in five GDCA categories, ultimately winning for best technology and the main Game of the Year award.
But the big story was Her Story, an interactive detective story, which walked away with three GDCAs for innovation, best handheld/mobile and best narrative, not to mention the two IGFs the game picked up earlier in the evening for best narrative and the Seumas McNally grand prize.
And if you didn’t get a chance to watch the ceremonies live on Twitch Wednesday night, fear no more! Below you find the complete list of winners and nominees, including honorable mentions.
Game Developers Choice Awards
Game of the Year
- Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
- Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
- Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Rocket League (Psyonix)
Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
Best Debut
- Studio Wildcard (ARK: Survival Evolved)
- Toby Fox (Undertale)
- Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest)
- Moppin (Downwell)
- Steel Crate Games (Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes)
Honorable Mentions: Asteroid Base (Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime), Question (The Magic Circle), Thomas Happ (Axiom Verge), Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Metro), MidBoss (Read Only Memories)
Best Audio
- Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
- Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
- Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)
Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), SOMA (Frictional Games), Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
Innovation Award
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo)
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
- Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
- The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
Honorable Mentions: Rocket League (Psyonix), Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games) Cibele (Star Maid Games), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
Best Technology
- Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
- The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
- Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
- Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios / Square Enix)
Honorable Mentions: Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)
Best Visual Art
- Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
- Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
- Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami), Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn / Sony Computer Entertainment), Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Best Narrative
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
- Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
- The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
Honorable Mentions: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), Until Dawn (Supermassive Games / Sony Computer Entertainment), Cibele (Star Maid Games), Soma (Frictional Games)
Best Design
- Rocket League (Psyonix)
- Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
- Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Lara Croft: GO (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix)
- Fallout Shelter (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
- Downwell (Moppin / Devolver Digital)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- AlphaBear (Spry Fox)
Honorable Mentions: Prune (Joel McDonald), The Room Three (Fireproof Games), Subterfuge (Ron Carmel and Noel Llopis), Pac-Man 256 (Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets / BANDAI NAMCO), Sage Solitaire (Zach Gage), SteamWorld Heist (Image and Form), You Must Build a Boat (EightyEight Games)
Independent Game Festival Awards
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
- Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
- Superhot (SUPERHOT)
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
Honorable Mentions: The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.); Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga); Affordable Space Adventures (KnapNok Games and Nifflas' Games); Twelve Minutes (Luis Antonio); Oxenfree (Night School Studio); That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games); Cibele (Star Maid Games); Soft Body (Zeke Virant)
Excellence in Narrative
- The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
- Black Closet (Hanako Games)
- That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
- The Magic Circle (Question)
Honorable Mentions: Oxenfree (Night School Studio); Orion Trail (Schell Games); Cibele (Star Maid Games); Contradiction (Tim Follin / Baggy Cat Ltd); The Writer Will Do Something (Tom Bissell and Matthew S. Burns)
Excellence in Audio
- Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
- Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
- That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
- Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)
- Lumini (Speelbaars)
- Undertale (Toby Fox)
Honorable Mentions: Heart Forth, Alicia (Alonso Martin); The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.); Gnog (KO_OP); Oxenfree (Night School Studio); Kingdom (noio & Licorice); Inside My Radio (Seaven Studio)
Excellence in Design
- Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
- Kingdom (noio & Licorice)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
- Superhot (SUPERHOT)
- Infinifactory (Zachtronics)
Honorable Mentions: Gang Beasts (Boneloaf); Imbroglio (Michael Brough); Duskers (Misfits Attic); Chaos Reborn (Snapshot Games); TIS-100 (Zachtronics); Soft Body (Zeke Virant)
Excellence in Visual Art
- Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
- Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
- Gnog (KO_OP)
- Armello (League of Geeks)
- Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
- Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)
Honorable Mentions: Forkride Grilltime Sloth (Black Pants Game Studio / Sebastian Stamm); Epistory - Typing Chronicles (Fishing Cactus); Kingdom (noio & Licorice); Alto's Adventure (Snowman); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play); Astroneer (System Era Softworks)
Nuovo Award
- The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
- Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
- Fantastic Contraption (Northway Games & Radial Games)
- Orchids To Dusk (Pol Clarissou)
- Her Story (Sam Barlow)
- Cibele (Star Maid Games)
- Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
- Progress (Tim Garbos, Martin Kvale and Joel Nyström)
Honorable Mentions: Enough (cabbibo); Sentree (Glitchnap); Affordable Space Adventures (KnapNok Games and Nifflas' Games); Vignettes (Pol Clarissou, Armel Gibson); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play); Sage Solitaire (Zach Gage); TIS-100 (Zachtronics)
Best Student Game
- Pitfall Planet (Bonfire Games)
- Ape Out (Gabe Cuzzillo)
- Beglitched (Jenny Jiao Hsia & Alec Thomson)
- Circa Infinity (Kenny Sun)
- Orchids To Dusk (Pol Clarissou)
- Chambara (team ok)
Honorable Mentions: Anarcute (Anarteam); Gathering Sky (A Stranger Gravity); Not Everything is Flammable (DAM: David Shiyang Liu, Alex Hu and Mac Lotze); FAR (Mr. Whale's Game Service); Sumer (Studio Wumpus); Bad Blood (Winnie Song)