Daniel Mullins Games’ horror puzzle game Inscryption won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game at the 2022 Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, along with three other awards—sweeping every category it was nominated in.
Inscryption is a genre-bending love letter to video games that blends deckbuilding, roguelike escape-room style puzzles and psychological horror into a surprising mix. In addition to the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, Inscryption won Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Design, and Excellence in Narrative.
Papetura, a handcrafted puzzle adventure game with a unique world handmade entirely out of paper, won the Excellence in Visual Art award. The Nuovo Award, which honors the title that makes jurors "think differently about games as a medium," went to developer Lily Zone for Memory Card, a downloadable project for Windows that is an ever-expanding dumping ground compiled from stuff found on a hard-drive.
The Best Student Game winner, Live Adventure, is a second-person adventure game that follows the expedition of two young explorers in search of their parents. Mini Motorways by Dinosaur Polo Club won the Audience Award, chosen by fans through a public voting process.
Here's a video showcasing this year's winners for the 2022 IGF Awards. We've also provided a full list below.
Best Student Game
Live Adventure (Live Adventure Team)
Excellence in Design
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
Excellence in Visual Art
Papetura (Petums)
Excellence in Audio
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
Nuovo Award
Memory Card (Lily Zone)
Excellence in Narrative
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
Audience Award
Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
The 24th annual IGF Awards, which took place at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, is part of the longest-running festival, summit, and showcase celebrating independent games and their creators. All IGF titles, including both finalists and winners, are playable for any GDC pass holder at the IGF Pavilion located on the GDC Expo Floor in San Francisco's Moscone Center through Friday, March 25th.
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