Google is very much about promoting independent developers, with annual competitions held in both the US and Europe to encourage Indie developers to create great content. The latest contest, which was announced in October last year, has now ended and Google has announced a winner, some runners up and other notable entries.

The announcement was made at the Saatchi Gallery in London where 20 developers gathered to hear the results of the competition. The contest was judged by luminaries from the development community including developers, investors and of course Googlers.

An overall winner was chosen, with Bury me, My love from Playdius taking out the prize which includes a 25,000 EUR voucher from Chartboost for social media marketing, a 50,000 EUR voucher from Bidalgo to further promote their game and promotion from Google in the form of an Android Developer Story video and promotion from the Android Developer/ Play developer marketing channels and the big one – a trip for two to attend GDC San Francisco 2018

So, here’s the details:

Winner

Bury me, my love

Playdius

France

A reality-inspired interactive fiction designed for mobile phones. It tells the story of Nour, a Syrian woman trying to reach Europe in hope of a better life.

Runners up

Old Man’s Journey

Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH

Austria

A story game about life’s precious moments, broken dreams, and changed plans.

Yellow

Bart Bonte

Belgium

A puzzle game for you! A love letter to a marvelous colour and to the little wonder called touchscreens. Warning: very yellow!

As well as these winners, there were notable entries with Google listing seven other entries which made it into their top 10. Those entries are:

• Captain Tom Galactic Traveler from Picodongames – An open world platformer and space exploration game. Embark on an exploratory mission, discover planets, collect oxygen, play with gravity.
• I Love Hue from Zut! – A minimalist, ambient puzzle game influenced by mindfulness apps and abstract art. Players arrange shuffled mosaics of coloured tiles into perfectly ordered palettes.
• Jodeo from Gamebra.in – Jodeo is a 2D jelly critter. There’s something it’s curious about: what if 3D objects and 2D physics are in the same game? How can 2D objects interact with 3D objects?
• Kami 2 from State of Play – The calming yet addictive puzzle game is back! With over 100 handcrafted puzzles, it takes you on a mind-twisting journey that combines logic and problem-solving.
• Kenshō from FIFTYTWO – A tile sliding puzzle with a wonderful soundtrack. Mysterious things happen in a ruined room. Doors inside that room lead to different worlds and beautiful landscapes.
• No More Buttons from Tommy Søreide Kjær – A hand-drawn platformer where the buttons are part of the environment.
• The Big Journey from Catfishbox – Designed for kids and adults alike, this a beautiful, casual adventure. Tilt to roll around and explore a beautiful world with Mr. Whiskers.

I’m always on the lookout for new games to try out and this list should keep me busy for the next little while. Check them out on Google Play and see what you think.