Independent Games Festival 2011 Finalists Announced

The 13th Annual Independent Games Festival finalists for 2011 have been announced. These are the creme of the crop of indie games, Minecraft is up for 3 awards including the "Seumas McNally Grand Prize." As is the terrifying Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Other finalists include Supergiant Games' Bastion, Gaijin Games' Bit.Trip Runner, and Messhof's Nidhogg. Those attending the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco will be able to check out all of these games on the show floor starting February 28, 2011. Check out all the nominees below, the IGF awards will be held March 2nd.

Seumas McNally Grand Prize:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)
• SpyParty (Chris Hecker)
• Desktop Dungeons (QCF Design)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Nidhogg (Messhof)

Honorable mentions: Neptune's Pride (Iron Helmet Games); Super Crate Box (Vlambeer); Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (Carpe Fulgur); Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games); Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment).

Excellence In Visual Art

• Bastion (Supergiant Games)
• The Dream Machine (Cockroach)
• Cave Story (2010 Edition) (Nicalis)
• Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games)
• Hohokum (Honeyslug & Richard Hogg)

Honorable mentions: Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment); Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio); Faraway (Steph Thirion); Helsing's Fire (Ratloop); Flotilla (Blendo Games).

Technical Excellence

• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Confetti Carnival (SpikySnail Games)
• Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)
• Neverdaunt:8Bit (Robot Loves Kitty)
• Miegakure (Marc Ten Bosch)

Honorable mentions: Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio); Achron (Hazardous Software); Hazard: The Journey Of Life (Demruth); Overgrowth (Wolfire Games); Swimming Under Clouds (Piece Of Pie Studios)

Excellence In Design

• Desktop Dungeons (QCF Design)
• Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)
• Nidhogg (Messhof)
• Faraway (Steph Thirion)
• Minecraft (Mojang)

Honorable mentions: Helsing's Fire (Ratloop); Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (Carpe Fulgur); Flotilla (Blendo Games); Bo (Mahdi Bahrami); Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now [B.U.T.T.O.N.] (Copenhagen Game Collective)

Excellence In Audio

• Bastion (Supergiant Games)
• Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment)
• Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)
• Bit.Trip Beat (Gaijin Games)
• Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio)

Honorable mentions: Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games); Cave Story (2010 Edition) (Nicalis); Jamestown (Final Form Games); NightSky (Nicalis); Planck (Shadegrown Games)

Best Mobile Game

• Shot Shot Shoot (Erik Svedang)
• Colorbind (Nonverbal)
• Helsing's Fire (Ratloop)
• Solipskier (Mikengreg)
• Halcyon (Stfj)

Honorable mentions: Flick Kick Football (PikPok); Shibuya (Nevercenter); Spirits (Spaces Of Play); Tentacles (Press Play); Trainyard (Matt Rix)

Gamerzitch Game of the Year Nominees

Well it's that time, 2010 is almost over and 2011 is almost here. Around the Gamerzitch crew this means one thing Deathmatch... wait... I meant the 1st official "Gamerzitch Game of the Year Awards." 2010 was a great year for games with Triple A blockbusters like Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, Starcraft II, Halo Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops. As well as indie darlings like Super Meat Boy, Limbo, and Deadly Premonition. Well now it's time to give these games their recognition. 21 categories with a total of over 40 games all battling for a chance to be called the best.

Awards for best shooter, best RPG, best racer, best action/adventure, best art direction, best writing, many more, and of course the coveted Game of the Year award. Below is the list of categories along with the nominees for each, the actual awards will be announced on January 1st, 2011, along with the premier episode of the Gamerzitch Podcast.

So take a look at our nominees, let us know what you think of them, and tell us what you think should be winning.

Action/Adventure

• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
• Red Dead Redemption
• Bayonetta
  
• God of War III
• Darksiders

Best RPG

• Fallout New Vegas
• Mass Effect 2
• Dragon Quest IX
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Fable III

Best Shooter

• Halo Reach
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• BioShock 2
• Battlefield Bad Company 2
• Mass Effect 2

Best Sports Game

• NBA 2k11
• Madden 11
• NHL 11
• Fifa 11
• MLB 10 The Show

Best Multiplayer

• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Halo Reach
• Starcraft 11
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
  
• Rock Band 3

Best Racer

• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
  
• Grand Turismo 5
• Blur
• Split/Second
• Modnation Racers

Biggest Surprise

• Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
• Toy Story 3
• Transformers: WfC
• 3D Dot Game Heroes
  
• Deadly Premonition

Best Sound Design

• Alan Wake
• Limbo
• Red Dead Redemption
  
• Metro 2033
• Halo Reach

Best Soundtrack

• Red Dead Redemption
  
• Rock Band 3
• Halo Reach
• Mass Effect 2
• Nier

Best DLC

• Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
• Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
  
• Left 4 Dead: The Passing
• Red Dead Redemption: Undead Zombie Nightmare
• Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

Best Downloadable Game

• Super Meat Boy
• Limbo
• Costume Quest
• Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
• Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Best Handheld

• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
• Dragon Quest IX
• Persona 3 Portable
• Super Scribblenauts
  

Most Original

• Heavy Rain
• Limbo
• Minecraft
  
• Enslaved
• Deadly Premonition

Best New Character

• John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)
• Francis York Morgan (Deadly Premonition)
• Thane Krios (Mass Effect 2)
• Alan Wake (Alan Wake)
• Scott Shelby (Heavy Rain)

Best Art Direction

• Epic Mickey
• Red Dead Redemption
• God of War 3
• Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
• Limbo

Best Writing

• Red Dead Redemption
• Alan Wake
• Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
• Mass Effect 2
  
• Heavy Rain

Best Fighter

• Super Street Fighter 4
• Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars
• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift

Best RTS

• C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight
  
• Starcraft 2
• Civilization V

Game Most Likely To Steal Your Life

• Civilization V
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Halo Reach
• Minecraft
• World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
  

Biggest Disappointment

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
• Crackdown II
• Medal of Honor
  
• Fable III
• Lost Planet II

Game of the Year

• Mass Effect 2
• Red Dead Redemption
• Epic Mickey
• Halo Reach
• God of War III
• Super Meat Boy
• Starcraft II
• Limbo
• Heavy Rain
  
• Super Mario Galaxy 2
• Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood