The finalists for the Independent Games Festival (IGF) have been revealed for the esteemed 19th annual awards, which honor the most influential, innovate and acclaimed projects in independent game development.

The ceremony, taking place on March 1, 2017 during the Game Developers Conference, will be hosted by Nina Freeman, the game designer of the acclaimed 2016 IGF Nuovo Award-winning title, Cibele. The breakthrough game centers around themes of love, sex and the internet, and was largely inspired by Freeman's deeply personal real-life story. Nina's current role is a level designer working on the highly-anticipated Tacoma, the follow-up to Fullbright's critical hit, Gone Home.

After an initial round of judging by over 340 evaluators, the more than 650 entries for the 2017 IGF Awards were distributed to a group of experts from across the industry for final consideration. These expert juries specializing in distinct disciplines for each category have selected the IGF finalists after playing, discussing and rigorously evaluating them. Among the diverse selection of 30 different titles, a few games have received award nominations in multiple categories, including Virginia, developer Variable State's first-person thriller propelled by a thought-provoking and mysterious narrative, which has received a total of four nominations (Best Audio, Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Visual Arts and The Nuovo Award for innovation).

Three other titles are being recognized f...