Although a lot of us in the States haven't heard of this particular fest, the Big Festival (BIG=Brazil Independent Games) is definitely worth paying attention to. The largest independent games event in Latin America, the 2017 BIG festival had over 20,000 visitors, with 3,500 of them participating in keynotes, and more than 1,600 guests attending business meetings, and this year is looking to eclipse that number.
The BIG festival just announced the nominees for their awards competition, and a complete list of the finalists can be found below. The winners will be announced on June 28 during the award ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The winners will be chosen out of the 460 submissions received from game developers around the world, with the bulk of them created for PC (62%). Surprisingly (to me at least) was that the second most, coming in at 29% were mobile games, VR at 8%, and console games at only 1%.
The finalists will compete in the following 20 categories: Best Game, Best Brazilian Game, Best Latin American Game, Best Sound, Best Art, Best Narrative, Best Gameplay, Innovation, BIG Impact: Educational Category, BIG Impact: Social Matters Category, BIG Impact: Diversity, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Student Game, Best Extended Reality Game, Best Mobile Game, Best Game for Children, BIG Brands (Best Commissioned Game), The People's Choice Award, the Humble BIG New Talent Award and the Nordic Game Pitch Award.
Check out the complete list of the 2019 BIG Festival finalists:
Best Game
- Gris from Nomada Studio (Spain)
- She Dreams Elsewhere from Studio Zevere (US)
- Burning Daylight from Miyu Distribution (France)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys from Fictiorama Studios (Spain)
- Cyber Ops: Tactical Hacking Support from Octeto Studios (Chile)
- Spaceline Crew from Coffeenauts (Brazil)
- Pixel Ripped 1989 from Arvore immersive experiences (Brazil)
Best Brazilian Game
- Mana Sparks from BEHEMUTT / Kishimoto Studios
- Starlit on Wheels from Rockhead Studios
- Spaceline Crew from Coffeenauts
- Sky Racket from Double Dash Studios
- Bedtime Fright from RevSutdio
- Adore from Cadabra Games
- Goroons from Epopeia Games
- Pixel Ripped 1989 from Arvore immersive experiences
- DeMagnete VR from BitCake Studio
- Fake News, isto nao e um jogo! from Patada! Studio
Best Latin American Game
- Fate of Kai from Sunflower Game Studio (Argentina)
- Cyber Ops: Tactical Hacking Support from Octeto Studios (Chile)
- Quadradit from Killabunnies (Argentina)
- Gravity Lane from Johannes Ghiletiuc (Colombia)
- Quantum League from NGD Studios (Argentina)
Best Art
- Gris from Nomada studio (Spain)
- Forgotton Anne from ThroughLine Games (Denmark)
- Creaks from Amanita Design (Czech Republic)
- Unruly Heroes from Magic Design Studios (France)
- Burning Daylight from Miyu Distribution (France)
- The Blind Prophet from Ars Goetia (France)
- Adore from Cadabra Games(Brazil)
Best Narrative
- She Dreams Elsewhere from Studio Zevere (US)
- Pikuniku from Sectordub(United Kingdom)
- Forgotton Anne from ThroughLine Games (Denmark)
- Creaks from Amanita Design (Czech Republic)
- Burning Daylight from Miyu Distribution (France)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys from Fictiorama Studios (Spain)
- My Child Lebensborn from Sarepta studio AS (Norway)
Best Gameplay
- Nimbatus from Stray Fawn Studio (Switzerland)
- Speed Brawl from Double Stallion Games (Canada)
- JUMPGRID from Ian MacLarty (Australia)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys from Fictiorama Studios (Spain)
- Mana Sparks from BEHEMUTT / Kishimoto Studios (Brazil)
- Sky Racket from Double Dash Studios (Brazil)
- Cyber Ops: Tactical Hacking Support from Octeto Studios (Chile)
Innovation
- Liff from Miyu Distribution CFrance)
- Fate of Kai from Sunflower Game Studio (Argentina)
- Alucinod from Thomas Pettus (Australia)
- Weaving Tides from Follow the Feathers (Austria)
- Pixel Ripped 1989 from Arvore immersive experiences (Brazil)
- Gravity Lane from Johannes Ghiletiuc (Colombia)
- Quantum League from NGD Studios (Argentina)
Best Sound
- Gris from Nomada Studio (Spain)
- BLACK BIRD from Onion Games (Japan)
- DEMON'S TILT from FLARB LLC / WIZNWAR (US)
- Burning Daylight from Miyu Distribution (France)
- Marie's Room from like Charlie (Belgium)
- Unheard from NEXT Studios (China)
BIG Impact: Best Educational Game
- Fake News, isto nao e um jogo! from Patada! Studio
- Cidade em Jogo from Fundacao Brava and Flux Games (Brazil)
- AWAY: The Survival Series from Breaking Walls (Canada)
- ITENO from Why Creative Sdn Bhd (Malasiya)
- Domlexia - Dom e as Letras from Plot Kids (Brazil)
BIG Impact: Social Matters
- She Dreams Elsewhere from Studio Zevere (US)
- after HOURS from Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk and Abi Meekel. (South Africa)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys from Fictiorama Studios (Spain)
- Marie's Room from like Charlie (Belgium)
- My Child Lebensborn from Sarepta studio AS (Norway)
Best Student Game
- Liff from Miyu Distribution (France)
- Intertwined from Miyu Distribution (France)
- It's Paper Guy! from The Paper Team (France)
- Wahkan from DigiPen Institute Of Technology Europe - Bilbao (Spain)
- after HOURS from Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk and Abi Meekel (South Africa)
- Burning Daylight from Miyu Distribution (France)
- Spaceline Crew from Coffeenauts (Brazil)
Best Multiplayer
- Goroons from Epopeia Games (Brazil)
- Hookbots from Tree Interactive (Costa Rica)
- Spaceline Crew from Coffeenauts (Brazil)
- Spitlings from Massive Miniteam GmbH (Germany)
- Quantum League from NGD Studios (Argentina)
Best Games for Kids Game
- Starlit On Wheels from Rockhead Studios (Brazil)
- It's Paper Guy! from The Paper Team (France)
- Inventeca - Uma forma nova de contar historias! from StoryMax (Brazil)
- Pile Up from Seed by Seed (France)
- Timo The Game from Webcore Games (Brazil)
Best Virtual Reality Game
- Moss from POLYARC GAMES (US)
- Pixel Ripped 1989 from Arvore immersive experiences (Brazil)
- DeMagnete VR from BitCake Studio (Brazil)
- Magichestra from Black River Studios (Brazil)
Best Mobile Game
- Starlit On Wheels from Rockhead Studios (Brazil)
- Quadradit from Killabunnies (Argentina)
- My Child Lebensborn from Sarepta studio AS (Norway)
- Inventeca - Uma forma nova de contar historias! from StoryMax (Brazil)
- ITENO from Why Creative Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)
BIG Brands
- Berro, o Crockissimo! from Mukutu Games e Mkt Virtual (Brazil)
- Deadly Arcade from PushStart (Brazil)
- Authentic Game Oficial from Little Giants Studio (Brazil)
BIG Diversity
- Spikes on High Heels from Amandapps (Amanda Sparks) (Brazil)
- after HOURS from Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk and Abi Meekel. (South Africa)
- Huni Kuin: Yube Baitana from Bobware/Beya Xina Bena (Brazil)
- She Dreams Elsewhere from Studio Zevere (US)
