Probably best to just get this blog post out of the way, then.

At about 5am last night, the IGF finalists were announced – I was still up working, like I have been for about 4 nights in a row now, so I saw them the moment they were posted. Unfortunately, neither Don’t Look Back or VVVVVV are up for anything.

I can’t tell you how much it would have meant to be able go to San Francisco this March. I feel a little isolated out here in Ireland, sometimes – since Increpare left, I don’t know ANYONE else in the whole country who’s doing what I’m doing. There’s no point in hiding it, I’m completely and utterly gutted.

Oh well.

The reason I was able to give this a shot at all was because of all the support I got here a few months ago – I just want to say thanks again to everyone who donated and sent me messages of encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I can mope about this later – VVVVVV will be out in just SIX days! I can’t believe it’s almost finished.

29 thoughts on “Frown Upside Down”
  1. Sorry to hear about missing out on the nominations though. I still think VVVVVV is awesome.

    Hope the game will get the attention that it deserves.

  2. Sorry to hear that. Don’t Look Back was one of my favourite games of last year.

    Hang in there, though. VVVVVV looks fantastic, and I for one can’t wait to play it.

  3. I was expecting you to be nominated for something, but awards aren’t everything. I’m sure VVVVVV will do great.

    P.S I’m also in Ireland making games, so I know how you feel with regards our rather lackluster community. 🙁

  4. Ouch. I totally expected VVVVVV to win this year. As trite as it sounds, you’re still #1 in my book. =) Keep making awesome games, there are some lucky people out there that love them to death.

  5. Sorry to hear this. But don’t be too depressed – All kinds of great things can happen once the game is released! Good luck. Looking forward to VVVVVV.

  6. Really sorry that Don’t Look Back isn’t up for the Main Competition. It was one of my favourite games of 2009 🙁
    Anyway, I hope VVVVVV will do really good in terms of sales 🙂 You’ll try again next year!

  7. Don’t worry! Whatever you may think of the leak, you’ve gotten a lot of free press after it and I believe it’ll pay off. Awards or not, vvvvvv can’t fail (completely).

  8. Sorry to hear that it didn’t get through. Don’t let it get you down, you have some beautifully crafted games. Keep up the superb work!

  9. If it helps, a lot of other people are in the “where’s VVVVVV? Why isn’t it a finalist?” boat. Double that, since Don’t Look Back is a great game too, and I know that it got a lot of buzz when it was released. It’s a shame, but at least VVVVVV will be complete and finished soon, so you can kick off your shoes and relax!

  10. You should, at the very least, be a bit proud that everybody seems quite vocal about your omission in the finalists. Reading a few blogs since the IGF post, and reading comments on the forums and blog posts people seem very supportive of VVVVVV-and rightfully so.

  11. You’re not alone.

    There’s plenty of people who support you, even though they’re not in your general vicinity. >_>

    seriously. you’re not alone. VVVVVV onwards.

  12. Like everyone, I was extremely surprised and disappointed that VVVVVV didn’t get nominated in the IGF design category. However, since EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE is posting the same sentiment on every site I visit it looks like VVVVVV is going to be a massive hit – truly the best revenge. Perhaps you’ll earn enough money to buy a ticket…

  13. I’m don’t know how this works, but could VVVVVV have qualified even though it’s not released yet? I would think they would only consider already released titles. It seems to me that it’ll be a shoo-in for the next one.

  14. Theres a reason it didn’t get in there,
    maybe one day you’ll see why.

    Its really quite obvious to anyone who played the game, hopefully your fans won’t be too dishonest to tell you the truth when the game is actually released.

  15. Heh. People like THAT are the downside to becoming too well-known. It looks like that 4chan leak got you the wrong kind of publicity: immature. Oh well; life goes on.

  16. Hey Anonymous, how about YOU tell me what you think is so wrong with the game? Maybe I’ll have time to fix it before it’s released? 🙂

  17. Ooh, I know! His problem with it is that gravity seems to be broken. You jump, but you never come back down! He also hates the pixels and the fact that it contains platforms. He can’t find the weapons or powerups anywhere! And man, that’s a really poor attempt at drawing a realistic face. And…

    okay, I’ll stop now.

  18. Hey, let me know when you release this so I can review it on my site for you. I showed it to a girl friend of mine and she craves it! 😀 Good game play, back to the essentials! 😀

  19. The game is EXCELLENT. A lot of people is looking forward to the release. I don’t think that it has anything to do with 4chan’s leak, though.

    Looking at the nominated games, I really can’t see why VVVVVV isn’t there. I’m sure your talent will be recognised by the media soon 🙂

  20. I totally expected VVVVVV to get nominated! That’s very unfortunate. You’ll get the recognition you deserve soon.

  21. Hey
    So I was looking through your blog while waiting for VVVVVV and found this.
    I just want to say that I really liked Don’t Look Back; it was excellent. 🙂

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