Meet the Independent Games Festival Awards finalists

The final list of nominees for the 19th Independent Games Festival Awards have been revealed, as it "honours the most influential, innovative and acclaimed projects in independent game development". Over 650 games were considered by more then 340 judges, before being reduced to the final list of 30 independent titles.

Games like Virginia, Inside, and Hyper Light Drifter where elected for several categories that will be awarded during a ceremony on March 1, during the Game Developers Conference. The show will be hosted by Nina Freeman, designer of the 2016 "Nuovo Award", Cibele. Winners of the Independent Games Festival Awards will receive over $50,000 US dollars in various categories.

You can see the full list of finalists for each category below:

Best Student Game
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)

Excellence in Audio
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)

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

Excellence in Narrative
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)

Excellence in Visual Art
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)

Nuovo Award
Islands: Non-Places (Carlburton)
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)

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

More information can be found at the Independent Game Festival's official website. Who do you think should win each category?