You know the Independent Games Festival, right? Happens every year during the Game Developers' Conference and rounds up a slew of amazing games made by smaller entities? Usually winds up blowing your mind with how awesome the nominated games are? Yeah, that's the one. The finalists for the 2013 IGF represent some of the most technically inventive, narratively ambitious and straight-up funky creations being crafted by present-day game-makers.
There's one important difference about this year's IGF Grand Prize finalists. Usually, you have to wait for months after the ceremony to get your hands on these games. But most of the games nominated for the Seamus McNally award can be played in one form or another, often on multiple platforms. (Check out what Kotaku has written about Cart Life, FTL, Hotline Miami, Kentucky Route Zero and Little Inferno.) If you want to get your hands on what might be the next Braid, World of Goo or Super Meat Boy, you can get info about how/where to play the Grand Prize finalists at these links:
- Cart Life (download it here for free)
- FTL (available on Steam, GOG for PC & Mac; Linux version available via direct purchase)
- Hotline Miami (available on Steam and GOG)
- Kentucky Route Zero (available via direct purchase for Windows & Mac)
- Little Inferno (available for Wii U on Nintendo's eShop and for Windows on Steam)
You can find a list of all of the main category finalists on the official IGF site.