The Independent Games Festival Competition has announced the nominees for all categories for 2021. This year's nominees for the Big Shiny Prize, known as the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, which has been awarded in previous years to "A Night in the Woods," "Papers, Please," and "Minecraft," are surrealist immortal detective adventure "Paradise Killer," the destruction sandbox "Teardown," the color-themed puzzle platformer "Chicory: A Colorful Tale," the jazzy cosmic adventure "Genesis Noir," the ferry master's Spiritfarer, an afterlife sim, and Umurangi Generation, a photo safari set in the "shitty future."

Genesis Noir, a game that dares to ask "what if the Big Bang was more like the Big Sleep," fared particularly well. It was nominated not only for the Grand Prize, but also for the Awards of Excellence (Audio), Excellence (Narrative), and Excellence (Visual Arts).

This year's "Games I didn't realize were made by students until they were nominated for Best Student Game" were "Dorfromantik," a landscape-building strategy game from Hexgrid, and "Hadr," a puzzle game where you play a sentient bedsheet that eats anything it touches It's.

If you were prepared to ask, "What are awards in the first place?" the answer in this case is the $10,000 that the Grand Prize winner will get. The entry fee to the IGF is $75, reduced to $25 for students. Exemptions are available for "interesting or experimental work that might not otherwise qualify for content due to the participation fee."

The IGF awards will be presented on July 21 as part of the Game Developers Conference, a virtual event that will take place this year from July 19 to July 23. Nominees in each category are as follows.

Seumas McNally Grand Prize:

Audio Excellence Award:

Best Student Game Award:

Design Excellence Award:

Narrative Excellence Award:

Visual Arts Excellence Award:

Nuovo Award: [23]