Who's got two thumbs, but can't use them?

It's a new year and I've got a whole bunch of interesting people lined up for the Eurogamer Podcast already. Last year was great, relaunching the show, and the six episodes we've had should really give you an idea of where I want it to go. (Remember to check out the episode with departing editor-in-chief Oli Welsh if you haven't already, and then chase it with the Martin Robinson episode, because he's our new editor-in-chief.)

But remember, this is a show I want to consistently improve, so if you have any suggestions, I would genuinely love to hear them. Your support of the website is why I'm able to spend time on this so your opinion really matters. I hope you're enjoying the series so far.

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Inscryption and Unpacking lead the nominations at this year's Independent Games Festival.

Established in 1998 - that's 24 years ago and yes, thanks, that does make me feel very, very old - the Independent Games Festival was established to "encourage innovation in game development and to recognise the best independent game developers", kind of like a Sundance for indie games.

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The 24th annual Independent Games Festival is just around the corner and after a year filled with countless critically acclaimed indie games, the competition is pretty fierce. However, after sifting through a catalog of over 400 entries, the organizers behind the 2022 Game Developers Conference have revealed which independent titles are up for some of the festival's most prestigious awards.

Leading the pack in award nominations are Daniel Mullins Games' eerie deck-builder Inscryption and Witch Beam's heartfelt puzzle game Unpacking, two games very different in content but both celebrated for their unique mechanics and interesting narrative. Both titles have four nomination each in the same categories: excellence in audio, excellence in design, excellence in narrative, and, last but not least, the Seumas McNally grand prize.

In addition to Inscryption and Unpacking, Overboard!, Jett: The Far Shore, and The Eternal Cylinder all have multiple nomination across award categories. Up for the festival's grand prize--the Seumus McNally Award--are Inscryption, Unpacking, Loop Hero, The Eternal Cylinder, Cruelty Squad, and Unsighted.

You can read up on every game nominated for an IGF award--as well as all the honorable mentions--over on the festival's official webpage. Here's a list of the contenders for the showcase's top five categories:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters)
• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Cruelty Squad (Consumer Softproducts)
• Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk)

Excellence in Audio

• Toem (Something We Made)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)
• Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Sable (Shedworks)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)

Excellence in Design

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Strange Horticulture (Bad Viking)
• Webbed (Sbug Games)
• Midnight Protocol (LuGus Studios)

Excellence in Narrative

• Last Call (Nina Freeman and Jake Jefferies)
• Neurocracy (Playthroughline)
• Closed Hands (Passenger)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)

Excellence in Visual Art

• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (Silver Lining Studio)
• Papetura (Petums)
• Fuzz Dungeon (Jeremy Couillard)
• The Wild at Heart (Moonlight Kids)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)

Hello! We're going to start the year off with a handful of pieces looking forward to 2022. Sometimes we'll be looking at trends we've spotted or themes that will probably be continuing to define things in games for a while. Sometimes we'll just be thinking about things we've enjoyed and where they could lead. Have a lovely new year all!

Video games always want to innovate. Developers both need to make something that stands out from a crowd, and want to engage us in new ways. 2021's games had outstanding examples of this - Unpacking made us rethink the puzzle genre and the stories contained in our possessions, Wildermyth showed us the power of procedural storytelling. 2022 is set to build on that, daring us to see the genres we like in different ways, and gaming will only be better for it.

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Charlton Hill, Co-founder and Head of Innovation at Uncanny Valley, a Sydney-based progressive music technology company discusses the company’s ambitions to speed-up, democratize and re-shape music production through the use of artificial intelligence.