August 31, 2018

IGF 2019 Inspirations: 2018 Grand Prize winner Night In The Woods

Hey game makers, don't forget: Game Developers Conference organizers are currently accepting submissions for the 21st annual Independent Games Festival (IGF), the longest running festival, summit and showcase of independent games!

Entries for all IGF categories are being accepted through October 1, 2018, with finalists announced in early January 2019. Whether you end up winning or not, participating in the IGF is a great way to bring some attention to your work, build camaraderie with your fellow indie devs, and partake in a major celebration of the best in indie games.

To help inspire you, we thought it might be nice to highlight some past IGF winners and showcase what makes them so special. Today we're kicking things off with a brief look at Infinite Fall's Night in the Woods, which debuted early in 2017 and went on to pick up multiple award nominations in last year's IGF, ultimately winning both Excellence in Narrative and the Seamus McNally Grand Prize

Initially crowdfunded in 2013 by indie game dev Alec Holowka, writer Bethany Hockenberry, and artist/animator Scott Benson, Night in the Woods grew into an anthropomorphic Rust Belt adventure game with singular style and sharp wit. By the time it shipped in 2017, the game bore the imprint of many collaborators (including the folks at indie studio Finji, which published the game), and it won critical acclaim for its remarkably impactful characters and narrative.

"I grew up in Mifflin County, PA, and it's just cool that a lot of people really enjoyed a lot of the stories that were things that I grew up with, and family history," said Hockenberry during the team's on-stage Grand Prize acceptance speech. "It seemed to hit a chord with people, so thank you."

"Thank you to all the people who have supported us over the years," said Benson, during the same acceptance speech. "This is a weird game; we're still shocked that it found an audience of people who are into it."

You can watch their full acceptance speech for both the Excellence in Narrative award and the Grand Prize (including a nice shoutout to Finji team member Ico the cat) on Twitch, where the livestreamed 2018 IGF and Game Developers Choice Awards ceremonies are archived. Look at it as inspiration: that could be you on that stage next year!

The IGF is part of the Game Developers Conference 2019, which will take place from March 18th through March 22nd at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center. Now that submissions are officially open for IGF 2019, you can refer to our official rules for the IGF Competition in much greater detail.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop us an email at chairperson (at) igf.com. Hope you're all having a great year, and we're all looking forward to seeing what you're all preparing for this year's Festival!

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