Independent Games Festival finalists announced

Life isn't all about megalithic corporations churning out endless sequels. In fact, there are a vast number of independent games developers happily turning out some interesting and high-quality products. The Independent Games Festival provides a route for developers and their games to get noticed; the seventh festival will take place in March next year, concurrent with the 2006 Game Developers' Conference in San Jose.

The IGF awards encompass six categories and the finalists in each category have just been announced, after the competition received over 100 entries. Including awards for art, sound and "Best Web Browser Game", the nominees are wildly different and show a lot of originality; you can check them out at the IGF website, and download demos of some of the games. If you're jaded by the mass-market, you may find something here to enjoy.

From the IGF website, here are the nominees:

• Seumas McNally Grand Prize:
  Darwinia,
  Dofus,
  Professor Fizzwizzle,
  Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space,
  Wildlife Tycoon: Venture
  Africa.

• Best Web Browser Game:
  Dodge That Anvil,
  Moleculous,
  Dad 'N Me.

• Innovation In Game Design:
  Rumble Box,
  Strange Attractors,
  Braid,
  The Witch's Yarn,
  Darwinia.

• Technical Excellence:
  Saints & Sinners Bowling,
  Tribal Trouble,
  Tube Twist,
  Darwinia,
  Crazy Ball.

• Innovation In Visual Art:
  Dofus,
  Darwinia,
  Putt Nutz,
  Glow Worm,
  Thomas And The Magical Words

• Innovation In Audio:
  Professor Fizzwizzle,
  Saints & Sinners Bowling,
  Dodge That Anvil,
  Glow Worm,
  Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite
  Space.

[via Gamasutra]