Develop:Brighton Announces Finalists of the 2021 Indie Showcase, Celebrating the Best Unsigned Games

Thursday 30 September: Develop:Brighton 2021 organisers Tandem Events have today announced the ten finalists for this year’s Indie Showcase competition, celebrating the best unsigned games from indie developers across Europe.

Each of the ten shortlisted games will be available to play at the Develop:Brighton 2021 Expo on Wednesday 27 October and Thursday 28 October at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, during the conference.

An Overall Winner will be decided by a panel of expert judges, while a People’s Choice award will be voted for by Expo attendees. The winners will be announced during the final session on the final day of Develop:Brighton.

The finalists were selected by a panel of judges and range from a supernatural FMV adventure, a puzzle game based on real abstract paintings and a fantasy dungeon crawler where you build the dungeon around the hero.

The Finalists

• You Suck At Parking by Happy Volcano (PC & Consoles)
  The only racing game where the goal is to stop… eventually! Drive, drift, and park your way through hundreds of physics-based levels. Unlock parking islands, collect cars, and learn new driving mechanics.
• A Little Golf Journey by Playtonic Friends (PC & Switch)
  A Little Golf Journey is a relaxing adventure golf game played on beautiful diorama courses across a variety of locations.
• The Forest Quartet by Mads & Friends (PC)
  The Forest Quartet is a 3D narrative puzzler about a gone, but not forgotten, lead singer. Play her spirit and travel through three acts unique to the members of her band for a final farewell concert.
• Please, Touch the Artwork by Studio Waterzooi (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Switch)
  Please, Touch The Artwork is a collection of calm, compelling, artsy puzzle games based on real abstract paintings. Relaxing, inspiring and educational, it answers the question: What happens if we actually DO touch the artwork?
• Guild of Dungeoneering: Ultimate Edition by Gambrinous (PC & Mac)
  In this turn-based dungeon crawler with a twist, instead of controlling the hero you build the dungeon around them. Using cards drawn from your guild decks you lay down rooms, monsters, traps and of course loot!
• Imagine Earth by Serious Bros. (PC, Xbox)
  Imagine Earth is a relaxed building sim and economic strategy game about building global civilisations, that can quickly turn into an ecological survival thriller based on your decisions.
• No Plan B by GFX47 (PC)
  Assemble your squad, gear up, and lead your ops in a gripping tactical game with no room for failure. Plan the best course of action and watch it play out through brutal FTL-like campaigns and community-made missions.
• Get Together by Studio Sterneck (PC, iOS & Android)
  Get Together is a co-op puzzle adventure in which you and a friend are thrown into an otherworldly experience with unsolved mysteries and forgotten stories.
• The Maze by Biome Collective (iOS & Android)
  The Maze is an audio-based narrative game that you play by walking, which transforms ANY location into a parallel universe full of mystery and adventure.
• Dark Nights with Poe and Munro by D’Avekki Studios Ltd (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, Mac, Linux)
  A supernatural FMV adventure in six TV-anthology-style episodes. Guide local radio hosts Poe and Munro through six TV-anthology-style episodes of supernatural strangeness and sizzling on-screen chemistry.

The quality of the entries was incredibly high this year and it was a privilege to get to play so many great games,” said Alistair Aitcheson chair of the Indie Showcase judging panel. “It was a hotly-contested selection, and that's testament to the high standard of craft, design and creativity in indie studios today.

“The final ten really impressed us with their inventiveness, top rate game-feel and stunning audio-visual design. Picking an overall winner will be very difficult! Congratulations to all the finalists and thank you to everyone who entered.”

The competition last took place in 2019, when the Overall Winner was Touch Type Tale - Strategic Typing from Pumpernickel Studio, with the People's Choice award going to Gladiabots by GFX47. In 2018, the People’s Choice award went to Skybolt Zack from DEVS MUST DIE. The Overall Winner was Triband’s What The Golf?, which went on to win Best Mobile Game at the Develop:Star Awards two years later.

“This year’s Indie Showcase finalists show the depth and breadth of games being made by talented developers across Europe,” said Andy Lane, managing director at Tandem Events. “Past finalists and winners include What the Golf? and the award-winning That Dragon Cancer, so who knows what future classics might be among this year’s finalists.”

Develop:Brighton is a three-day conference and expo running from Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 October 2021 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole. On Wednesday 27 October at the same venue, the industry will gather to celebrate its best and brightest at The Develop:Star Awards.

Conference passes are available to buy at: www.developconference.com. Entry to the expo, which includes the showcase, Indie Bootcamp sessions and networking events, is free.