Disclosure: The organizers of IMGA paid my way to Marseille. Our coverage remains objective.
The nominees have been released for the 11th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards. The jury for the awards screened more than 1,000 entrants from around the world.
I was part of a 48-hour judging session in Marseille, France, and helped select the finalists among the nominees in a variety of categories. In doing so, I rubbed elbows with game creators ranging from Tommy Palm, the former “games guru” at King and one of the creators for the mobile version of Candy Crush Saga, to Brianna Wu, the head of development for startup studio Giant Spacekat.
We reduced the entrants by looking at YouTube gameplay trailers and playing a lot of games. We trimmed down the categories mercilessly and then argued about who belonged in the final list. One of the controversies: Should Threes! stand alone as a nominee, or should the copycat 2048 be nominated as well? We decided to allow both games and let the final judging and public voting take its course.
In the end, we reduced the nominees to 93 across 10 categories such as excellence in storytelling, technology, and design. The final ceremony for the winners will be held on March 3 in San Francisco. The People’s Choice Award 2014 will be open for public voting on the IMGA site.
Last year’s winners included Badland and The Walking Dead.
The nominees for 2014 are:
Excellence in Innovation
Soccer Physics
Strung Along
Sometimes You Die
Threes!
Notespace Beat
Monument Valley
Framed
Bounden
Watchdogs Companion
Best Quickplay Game
Pako
UsiDorobo
Alone …
Zoi
Crossy Road
Threes!
Retry
Dumb Ways to Die 2
Timberman
Guilty Pleasure
Pair Solitaire
Zombie Highway 2
Tap Titans
Candy Crush Soda Saga
Goat Simulator
LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum
Desert Golfing
Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker
FootLOL: Crazy Soccer
Flappy Bird
2048
Best Meaningful Play
Scrap Squad
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Papers, Please
Twelve
Counting Kingdom
First Strike
Dumb Ways to Die 2
Excellence in Storytelling
Thomas Was Alone
The Banner Saga
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
50 Days
Framed
Games of Thrones
The Wolf Among Us
Out There
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
Excellence in Gameplay
Leo’s Fortune
Hearthstone
Wayward Souls
Papers, Please
Faster Than Light
Table Tennis Touch
Mujo
Royal Revolt 2
Motor Sports Manager
Smash Hit!
Best Technical Achievement
Aerena: Clash of Champions
Snowboard Party
Ace Fishing: Wild Catch
XCOM: Enemy Within
Bounden
World of Tanks
Galcon 2
Vainglory
Skylanders Trap Team
Excellence in Audio Visual Art & Design
Godfire
Notespace Beat
Haunt the House: Terrortown
Monument Valley
Tengami
Leo’s Fortune
Rival Knights
Framed
Alone…
Chronology
Best Multiplayer Game
Fates Forever
Brain Wars
Hearthstone
Vainglory
Bounden
Mucho Party
Trivia Crack
Soccer Physics
World of Tanks
Boom Beach
Best Upcoming Game
Tropical Wars
Prune
Prismatica
Space Noon
Koi
Wings of Fire
Towerslash
Swapquest
Mikma
Hoardmaster