Fan favourite, Papers, Please, has won the grand prize at the 16th annual Independent games Festival Awards!
The first game of its kind to make paperwork engaging has decidedly won top spot at the IGF, among other awards.
Developed for Mac and PC by Lucas Pope, the game has you play a border inspector in the fictional Eastern European region of communist Arstotzka. Papers, Please won awards for excellence in design and narrative, and of course the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, beating out other big names like Jazzpunk, The Stanley Parable, and Don’t Starve.
Call it hipster indie twaddle – maybe you just prefer AAA games – but without a doubt, there are some amazing games listed here, and all are worth your time in one way or another. It makes me happy that Papers, Please swept the awards after getting left out in the DICE awards, although The Last of Us was the definite favourite and I’m not complaining about that!
The Stanley Parable won the audiences vote, and was awarded the ‘Audience Award’, deservedly so.
I personally would like to congratulate the Risk of Rain dev team on their win in the ‘best student game’ category. I kickstarted and beta tested their game ages before they got any traction, and it makes me so happy that they’ve been able to be so successful.
Congratulations to all the winners in general. The last couple of years have been fantastic for indie games, and it can only get better.
The categories, their nominee and the winners (in bold) are listed below:
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Papers, Please
- DEVICE 6
- Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!”
- Don’t Starve
- Jazzpunk
- The Stanley Parable
Excellence in Visual Arts
- Gorogoa
- DEVICE 6
- Drei
- Perfect Stride
- Samorost3
- The Banner Saga!
Excellence in Design
- Papers, Please
- 868-HACK
- Crypt of the NecroDancer
- Don’t Starve
- Mushroom 11
- TowerFall Ascension
Excellence in Audio
- DEVICE 6
- Crypt of the NecroDancer
- Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!”
- Samorost3
- The Stanley Parable
- The Yawhg
Excellence in Narrative
- Papers, Please
- DEVICE 6
- Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!”
- Paralect
- The Stanley Parable
- The Yawhg
Nuovo Award
- Luxuria Superbia
- Corrypt
- Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!”
- Extrasolar
- Papers, Please
- Perfect Woman
- Save the Date
- SoundSelf
Best Student Game
- Risk of Rain
- Cyber Heist
- Engare
- Foiled
- Museum of Simulation Technology
- Rhythm Doctor
- Symmetrain
- Westerado
Audience Award
- The Stanley Parable
Last Updated: March 20, 2014
Admiral Chief of comments
March 20, 2014 at 10:38
Hehehe, well done!
RinceIsIngwer
March 20, 2014 at 10:39
Well done people! I love how, when asked, they said they had no intention on revisiting the game for a sequel as the are sick of it 🙂
Admiral Chief of comments
March 20, 2014 at 10:40
*they
And yes, I also lolled at that! (not the spelling, but that they said they were gatvol)
Mossel
March 20, 2014 at 11:25
‘Tis on the backlog. Clocking in at a whopping 40mb, I had to buy data for my uncapped line to download this beast.
Admiral Chief of comments
March 20, 2014 at 12:09
Good grief man, where did you find the money to afford that?????
Mossel
March 20, 2014 at 12:11
I don’t like to boast or anything, but I’m pretty good with finances, so I always have extra cash for situations like this!