Road to the IGF at GDC 2024 | Game Developer

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The Independent Games Festival (IGF) was established in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers. Read more about the 2024 finalists here.

Featured on Road to the IGF

The frightening Cryptmaster, and the word "sniff"

How Cryptmaster turned 'a dictionary's worth' of words into a fun dungeon crawler How Cryptmaster turned 'a dictionary's worth' of words into a fun dungeon crawler

'Once we'd settled on using words for everything, the ideas for mechanics just kept coming.'

byDanielle Riendeau

May 13, 2024

2 Min Read

A complex array of red platforming segments is playing on a screen amongst some foliage. A bird sits on the screen

Creating a prequel story to a historical figure's works in The Forest Cathedral Creating a prequel story to a historical figure's works in The Forest Cathedral

Mar 25, 2024

13 Min Read

Several ingredients on a table while a pot boils

How Venba uses food to explore connections and disconnections with culture for immigrants How Venba uses food to explore connections and disconnections with culture for immigrants

Mar 22, 2024

6 Min Read

A pair of fingers and long arms stretch across the screen to tap a button. Different people stand at the end of a depiction of a heartbeat

Using medical stories and heart conditions to create musical challenges in Rhythm Doctor Using medical stories and heart conditions to create musical challenges in Rhythm Doctor

Mar 22, 2024

17 Min Read

A small creature stands near a glowing orb, a tentacled alien being reaching out from the wall to grasp at the orb

The challenges of laying worlds upon worlds in puzzle game COCOON The challenges of laying worlds upon worlds in puzzle game COCOON

Mar 22, 2024

14 Min Read

Meat being run through a grinder pours onto a plate.

Tying music and food aesthetics together for an 'oddly satisfying' experience with Nour: Play With Your Food Tying music and food aesthetics together for an 'oddly satisfying' experience with Nour: Play With Your Food

Mar 21, 2024

9 Min Read

More from Road to the IGF

A young girl glides over the water using a small parachute made of leaves

How Tchia captures the feeling and myths of New Caledonia with its environment and play

How Tchia captures the feeling and myths of New Caledonia with its environment and play

A clutch of buildings on top of each other on an island

The complexities and delights of building up into the sky in Pile Up!

The complexities and delights of building up into the sky in Pile Up!

A person walks across a narrow rope as a parade of machines walks by below

Hand crafting a dystopian world out of cardboard in Phonopolis

Hand crafting a dystopian world out of cardboard in Phonopolis

A jester and a person poorly dressed as a dragon are having a sword fight on a stage

Capturing the spontaneity and creativity of improvisational theater with Once Upon a Jester

Capturing the spontaneity and creativity of improvisational theater with Once Upon a Jester

A pair of young women look out over a sunswept valley

Weaving the vibrant fantasy world (and horrifying nighttime land) of Little Goody Two Shoes

Weaving the vibrant fantasy world (and horrifying nighttime land) of Little Goody Two Shoes

Three topless male-presenting people stand together, hands on shoulders. Images of scissors surround them.

Exploring broken identities with a steamy post-pandemic vacation in Mediterranea Inferno

Exploring broken identities with a steamy post-pandemic vacation in Mediterranea Inferno

Several warriors getting ready to fight some skeletal enemies

How a theme of 'a road trip from hell' would shape Darkest Dungeon II

How a theme of 'a road trip from hell' would shape Darkest Dungeon II

Several symbols from a visual language and the word "Kevin"

Exploring human understanding through deciphering Kevin(1997-2077)'s invented language

Exploring human understanding through deciphering Kevin(1997-2077)'s invented language

A massive enemy starship covered in guns bears down on the player's small ship

How Cobalt Core makes movement as exciting as fighting in its roguelike deckbuilder combat

How Cobalt Core makes movement as exciting as fighting in its roguelike deckbuilder combat

Tchia screenshot featuring a beach sunset and a character climbing a tree

Road to the IGF 2024 with Joel Couture: Game Developer Podcast ep. 41

Road to the IGF 2024 with Joel Couture: Game Developer Podcast ep. 41

byDanielle Riendeau

The skeletal Cryptmaster looks at a wooden treasure chest. The word SNIFF is written above the chest

How dungeon crawler Cryptmaster responds to anything you type into its word-based systems

How dungeon crawler Cryptmaster responds to anything you type into its word-based systems

A description of stale water in a stagnant puddle. A small clutch of green squares - a digital life form - flits around

Exploring connections with digital pets through death and dying in goodbye.monster

Exploring connections with digital pets through death and dying in goodbye.monster

A gray-faced man in a trench coat tells a character not to worry - they're a murderer

How General Hospital and Junji Ito lead to the hilarious horrors of Anthology of the Killer

How General Hospital and Junji Ito lead to the hilarious horrors of Anthology of the Killer

Several robots in a shootout on a platform floating in water

RAM: Random Access Mayhem's body-swapping mechanic was born from playing roguelikes

RAM: Random Access Mayhem's body-swapping mechanic was born from playing roguelikes

A witch sitting at a table in a house that is floating in space. A humanoid snake creature is coiled around the building.

How The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood uses player-crafted tarot cards to better connect them to the story

How The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood uses player-crafted tarot cards to better connect them to the story

A floating statue looks serenely out from a mountaintop

Isles of Sea and Sky uses limitations and theme to inspire creativity in puzzle crafting

Isles of Sea and Sky uses limitations and theme to inspire creativity in puzzle crafting

A colossal horned creature in a mask gets ready to charge

Feeling out art styles to make your game stand out in Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

Feeling out art styles to make your game stand out in Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

Bodies float before a headless giant

Diverse backgrounds in theater, music, and dance shaped time-bending thriller 1000xRESIST

Diverse backgrounds in theater, music, and dance shaped time-bending thriller 1000xRESIST

Several people, one looking frustrated, wander through a massive ornate shop

How Final Profit: A Shop RPG uses every element in the pursuit of endless (immoral?) cash

How Final Profit: A Shop RPG uses every element in the pursuit of endless (immoral?) cash

A book filled with glyphs and images of people running, looking, and hiding.

Immersing players in the culture of a people with language puzzler Chants of Sennaar

Immersing players in the culture of a people with language puzzler Chants of Sennaar

Bodies hang upwards on chains against a red sky

TRY AGAIN: How frustrations with game development lead to a platformer about game development frustrations

TRY AGAIN: How frustrations with game development lead to a platformer about game development frustrations

A teenage girl runs across a stone bridge in the Scottish Highlands

A Highland Song crafts its story to make each adventure your own

A Highland Song Crafts its Story to Make Each Adventure Your Own

A colorful wasp flees from the jaws of a vibrant antlion

How NIDUS uses vibrant visuals and symbiotic characters to push players to their limits

How NIDUS uses vibrant visuals and two symbiotic characters to push players to their limits