IndieCade was fantastic again this year. My main thought as I wandered around and played games was: I really think Joust tore the doors off of game developers’ minds.

Trends

Games this year tended to focus on physical play more than the traditional video game. Games like Recurse, Field Frogger, Killer Queen, Massive Multiplayer Thumb-Wrestling, Night Lights, Hit Me, Open Source, Pop Pop Battle J, Staccato, Switch, Swordfight, and Yamove all highlighted physical activity, such as trying to hump each other or tapping a button on the other person’s head.

It was also interesting to see how many games incorporated the iPad, such as Sphero, Splice, Bloop, and Tengami. Last year it seemed like mostly PC and Xbox titles, but this year, tablets had a strong showing.

Games I loved

• Tengami – beautiful Japanese looking pop-up book OMG I want it
• Bloop – stupid fun for the whole family…I found myself grinning like an idiot while playing
• Renga – the ENTIRE audience has to figure out what to do with a laser pointer…chaos and awesome ensues
• Wooden Sen’SeY – adorable old-schoolish platformer…did I mention how adorable it is?
• BaraBariBall – I cannot stress enough how much fun this game is to watch. Volleyball goes Eastern. ❤
• Swordfight – this game involves…peope attaching each other with phallic symbols attached to their waists…
• Super Hexagon – this game made me feel like I was on a drug…I could never comprehend the mind-boggling simplicity here
• Pop Pop Battle J – Wack-a-Mole upgraded by gamers with cute graphics
• Night Lights – Dude. You draw shapes with your flashlight. They use a camera to show the audience your drawing.
• Fistmonger – Good ol’ fashioned looking-fisticuffs. Need I say more?
• Hawken – Go play it.

So who won what? Below is a list of the award winners.

Award Winners

Grand Jury Award – Unmanned

A game that deserves a special citation for overall excellence. This could be a game that couldn’t fit into any other category.

Trailblazer Award – Elan Lee

A working game creator who has both made great contributions to the field of games and captures the independent spirit.

Special Recognition Award – The Stanley Parable

The game that best reflects the IndieCade values in the group of finalists each year.

Technology Award – Vornheim

Honors the use of the medium to create an expression that simply couldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Interaction Award – Interference

Honors those games that consider the player, while at the same time allowing the player to forget they are one.

Game Design Award – Armada d6

Honors the unique quality of gameplay that engages us with an experience or subject in that way only games can.

Impact Award – Reality Ends Here

Pays tribute to independent games that have had/can have a significant impact on the gaming landscape.

Story/World Design Award – Botanicula

Honors the special craft of revealing narratives through interactions within an imagined world which players want to inhabit and explore.

Visual Design Award – Gorogoa

Honors the quality and originality of art direction and the ability of visual design to carry us to other times and places.

Audio Design Award – Dyad

Sound and music are keys to the filmic experience, but they are even more important to the interactive experience. Audio is not only a way to create mood, feel, and ambiance within a game, but are often a principle form of feedback, letting the player know her progress and performance in the game.

Developers Choice Award – Renga

Audience Choice Award – Hokra

Make sure you follow IndieCade on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest Indie news!

See more pictures from IndieCade on our Facebook page.