Debuting in 1999, the Independent Games Festival has highlighted the hard work and artistic craft of some of the most celebrated independent games in history, including ground-breaking titles like Papers, Please, Braid, World of Goo, Her Story and Minecraft among many others.

After an initial round of judging by over 340 evaluators, the more than 650 entries for the 2017 IGF Awards were distributed to a group of experts from across the industry for final consideration. These expert juries specializing in distinct disciplines for each category have selected the IGF finalists after playing, discussing and rigorously evaluating them.

Among the diverse selection of 30 different titles, a few games have received award nominations in multiple categories, including Virginia, developer Variable State's first-person thriller propelled by a thought-provoking and mysterious narrative, which has received a total of four nominations (Best Audio, Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Visual Arts and The Nuovo Award for innovation).

Three other titles are being recognized for their excellence with three nominations apiece, they include Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine, an intense and highly-stylized action adventure RPG that harkens back to classic 16-bit adventures. Inside by developer Playdead, is their much-anticipated follow-up to 2010's Limbo and follows a boy as he finds himself drawn into the center of a secretive and darkly haunting project. Event[0] by Ocelot Society is a sci-fi narrative exploration game in which players must interact with an elaborate onboard AI to communicate and negotiate their way back home.

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• Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (Sundae Month)
• Lily, Colors of Santa Luz (Lily, Colors of Santa Luz Team)
• Un Pas Fragile (PAF team)
• FAR: Lone Sails (Mr. Whale's Game Service / Mixtvision)
• Frog Climbers (TeamCrew)
• Bamboo Heart (Sokpop Collective)

• The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood)
• GoNNER (Art in Heart)
• Virginia (Variable State)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• Everything (David OReilly)
• Inside (Playdead)

• Imbroglio (Michael Brough)
• Ultimate Chicken Horse (Clever Endeavour Games)
• Duskers (Misfits Attic)
• Overcooked (Ghost Town Games)
• Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
• Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)

• Ladykiller in a Bind (Love Conquers All Games)
• 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (iNK Stories)
• Virginia (Variable State)
• Orwell (Osmotic Studios )
• Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
• One Night Stand (Kinmoku)

• The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Virginia (Variable State)
• Old Man's Journey (Broken Rules)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• She Remembered Caterpillars (jumpsuit entertainment)

• Islands: Non-Places (Carlburton LLC)
• Close (Tobias Zarges and Moritz Eberl)
• Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (Sundae Month)
• Oiκοςpiel, Book I (David Kanaga)
• Everything (David OReilly)
• Virginia (Variable State)
• Mu Cartographer (Titouan Millet)
• Lieve Oma (Florian Veltman)

• Inside (Playdead)
• Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe)
• Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Games)
• Event[0] (Ocelot Society)
• Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
• Overcooked (Ghost Town Games)