The Indie Prize competition at Casual Connect USA 2018 featured many exciting and innovative entries. Casual Connect is now announcing the nominees and winners.
Best Game Audio
The winner of Best Game Audio was Floor Kids, developed by MERJ Media from Canada. Floor Kids is a break dance battle game that rewards musicality, originality and style. It can be played in solo freestyle mode or in two player battles.
Also nominated for Best Game Audio were Stack & Crack, a 3D puzzle game by Jambav from India; Orbit – Playing With Gravity, a game that has players launching planets and attempting to get them into stable orbits around black holes, by HIGHKEY Games from the United States; and Rumble League, a real-time, action packed strategy game by Lorraine Studio of the United States.
Best Game Design
The winner in the Best Game Design category was Molecats, created by Vidroid from Ukraine. In this puzzle adventure game, the goal is to guide the molecats through caves as they face dangerous traps, monsters and tricky challenges. To succeed, the player must take control of their environment and change the course they follow.
The other nominees for Best Game Design were SIMULACRA, a horror/adventure game where you must find the owner using only her lost phone, developed by Kaigan Games of Malaysia; AntVentor, a point-and-click adventure game in which the player takes on the character of an ant inventor, the creation of LoopyMood from Ukraine; and The Raven and Orion, a point-and-click crime adventure game featuring a legendary thief called The Raven, developed by Always Player 2 Studios of the United States.
Best Game Art
The Best Game Art winner was AntVentor by LoopyMood of the Ukraine. This adventure game takes place in a photorealistic world where you see everything from the point of view of an ant.
Also nominated for Best Game Art were Past Cure, a story-driven game in which the character is searching for missing pieces of his mind, created by Phantom 8 Studio from Germany; Brave Hand, a card game adventure by Heart Shaped Games of the United States; and Molecats by Vidroid from the Ukraine.
Best Game Animation
The winner in the Best Game Animation category was Bushy Tail developed by Fuero Games of Poland. In this game three children are processing their experiences through telling the tale of their fictional hero, a fox called Bushy Tail. But each child tells the story from a different point of view, in this way transforming the story.
Other games nominated for Best Game Animation were Tanks a Lot! by Highcore Labs LLC from Belarus, a 3v3 battle arena game with teams using tanks and a variety of tactics; Floor Kids, the break dance battle game by MERJ Media of Canada; and Zebrainy ABCs, a learning game for young children that follows the adventures of Zebra through the different letter worlds, developed by Zebrainy from Malta.
Best Game Narrative
The Best Game Narrative was also Bushy Tail by Fuero Games of Poland. The other nominees in this category were SIMULACRA by Kaigan Games from Malaysia, Past Cure by Phantom 8 Studio from Germany and Skye by Puny Astronaut from Scotland. Skye follows the adventures of a friendly dragon as it wanders the world.
Best Multiplayer Game
The Best Multiplayer Game winner was King of the Hat developed by Hyroglyphik Games of Canada. King of the Hat is a fast-paced fighting game. It is based on your hat, but when you throw your hat you are risking your life.
Also nominated for Best Multiplayer Game were Massive Warfare: Rush, an all-out war game with powerful tanks, helicopters and sea warships, by TinyBytes of Chile; Kluno: Hero Battle, a PVP battle arena game with the game controlled by a match-3 game board, created by Gameka from Malaysia; and Imposter Drawster, in which players collaborate in creating a work of art with one player as an imposter, developed by Up at Night from the United States.
Best Kids and Family Game
In the Best Kids and Family Game category, the winner was Zebrainy’s ABCs by Zebrainy from Malta. Also nominated in this category were Pets Race, a multi-player racing game where the characters are cute animals, by Kooapps from the United States; Drawing for Kids, a game that uses animation to encourage children to explore drawing, developed by Bini Bambini of the Ukraine; and Skye by Puny Astronaut of Scotland.
Best Mobile Game
The winner of Best Mobile Game was SIMULACRA by Kaigan Games of Malaysia. The other nominees in this category were Corecraft, a shooter that has you shooting your way through different levels, each with its own challenging quest, by Retro Principles of Malta; Warhammer: Doomwheel, a fast-paced, infinite arcade adventure, by Katsu Entertainment of the United States; and Grapple Gum, a backwards shooter in which a piece of gum must grapple across moving objects, by Ali Mehrez from Tunisia.
Most Innovative Game
The Most Innovative Game winner was Molecats by Vidroid of the Ukraine. Also nominated for this award were SIMULACRA developed by Kaigan Games of Malaysia; Floor Kids by MERJ Media of Canada; and vocaline, a voice controlled puzzle game with dozens of levels, by Flatgames from Turkey.
Best in Show: Audience Choice
When the Audience Choice Award was announced, the crowd at the Indie Prize Awards Ceremony went wild. The Mukutu Game Studio team started hugging everyone they could as they made their way up to the stage. Their game AlphaBeatCancer works to educate kids about cancer and to destigmatize it for them.
Quick list of Nominees
Best Game Audio
- WINNER: Floor Kids (MERJ Media, Canada)
- Stack & Crack (Jambav, India)
- Orbit – Playing With Gravity (HIGHKEY Games, USA)
- Rumble League (Lorraine Studio, USA)
Best Game Design
- WINNER: Molecats (Vidroid, Ukraine)
- SIMULACRA (Kaigan Games, Malaysia)
- AntVentor (LoopyMood, Ukraine)
- The Raven and Orion (Always Player 2 Studios, USA)
Best Game Art
- WINNER: AntVentor (LoopyMood, Ukraine)
- Past Cure (Phantom 8 Studio, Germany)
- Brave Hand (Heart Shaped Games, USA)
- Molecats (Vidroid, Ukraine)
Best Game Animation
- WINNER: Bushy Tail (Fuero Games, Poland)
- Floor Kids (MERJ Media, Canada)
- Zebrainy ABCs (Zebrainy, Malta)
- World Creator! (Lionbird Limited, Hong Kong)
Best Game Narrative
- WINNER: Bushy Tail (Fuero Games, Poland)
- SIMULACRA (Kaigan Games, Malaysia)
- Past Cure (Phantom 8 Studio, Germany)
- Skye (Puny Astronaut, Scotland)
Best Multiplayer Game
- WINNER: King of the Hat (Hyroglyphik Games, Canada)
- Massive Warfare: Rush (TinyBytes, Chile)
- Kluno: Hero Battle (Gameka, Malaysia)
- Imposter Drawster (Up at Night, USA)
Best Kids & Family Game
- WINNER: Zebrainy ABCs (Zebrainy, Malta)
- Pets Race (Kooapps, USA)
- Drawing for Kids (Bini Bambini, Ukraine)
- Skye (Puny Astronaut, Scotland)
Best Mobile Game
- WINNER: SIMULACRA (Kaigan Games, Malaysia)
- Corecraft (Retro Principles, Malta)
- Warhammer: Doomwheel (Katsu Entertainment, USA)
- Grapple Gum (Ali Mehrez, Tunisia)
Most Innovative Game
- WINNER: Molecats (Vidroid, Ukraine)
- SIMULACRA (Kaigan Games, Malaysia)
- Floor Kids (MERJ Media, Canada)
- Vocaline (Flatgames, Turkey)
Best In Show: Audience Choice
- WINNER: AlphaBeatCancer (Mukutu Game Studio, Brazil)
Indie Prize platinum sponsor: ZPLAY Ads
Indie Prize silver sponsor: DeepMotion
Prizes for the winners were kindly provided by:
- Amazon Appstore
- Appodeal
- Photon
- OMUK
- NVIDIA
- intel
- tenjin
- AppSamurai
- BizDev in GameDev
The submission form for Indie Prize London is already open. Be sure to apply before the deadline on March 31st! See all the great photos from the Indie Prize Awards USA on Casual Connect’s official Facebook page.