Our Winners from the Big Indie Pitch sponsored by Xsolla at PGC Summit Shanghai

The Big Indie Pitch, sponsored by Xsolla, had a bit of a twist this year at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai.

For those that aren't familiar with the Big Indie Pitch, it's a speed-dating-style event that challenges a group of indie developers - some of whom have games that are still in development and some who have released them - to show off their title in a quick-fire pitch at tables of experts from all corners of the games industry.

Developers who participate in the Big Indie Pitch sponsored by Xsolla get valuable feedback on both their game and their pitch as a whole, as well as gain experience in pitching quickly and meeting a variety of different experts.

This year, instead of having a first, second and third place, we had several different prizes for specific categories: Gameplay, Art & Design, Audio, Honorable Mention and Grand Prix.

There were a lot of different genres in the games we saw in Shanghai, along with different pitching styles and focuses. But, let's dive into the winners:

Excellence in Gameplay and Grand Prix

Grave Seasons by Solo Game

The Excellence in Gameplay, presented by Charles, MyGamez.

Grave Seasons can be described as Stardew Valley meets murder mystery, with a bit of supernatural spice thrown in. You have moved to a small town in the countryside to take care of an old farm. Everything would be very relaxing; however, there is a murderer in town using supernatural powers to slowly kill everyone off. You have one year to figure out who is killing these people in order to save as many of them as you can and stop yourself from dying as well.

Grave Seasons also won awarded our Grand Prix presented by Rita Hou, Xsolla.

Excellence in Art & Design and Honorable Mention

Reap and Rush by Mecrew Games

The Excellence in Art & Design, presented by Chris James, Steel Media.

Reap and Rush is a fast-paced, action rougelike that takes inspiration from Chinese mythology. You play as a reaper in the underworld, needing to fight through various waves of enemies that are in this world, looking to be reborn again. There are lots of different abilities, strange relics and deadly companions that need dealing with so you can restore balance to this world. 

Reap and Rush also was awarded our Honorable Mention presented by Zaheer Kapadia, AWS.

Excellence in Audio

Rhythm Hotel by SyncArc Studio

The Excellence in Audio, presented by Elspeth Lawson, Xsolla.

Rhythm Hotel is a humorous rhythm game with iconic scenes; from Jesus to Einstein, you will be fighting away strange characters looking to get towards you by tapping at the right moment, on beat. The beats make sense, the graphics bring a lot of smiles and laughter, and there is a lot of light-hearted fun to be had.

Want to show off your exciting new game? We host Big Indie Pitch events throughout the year, so make sure to regularly check our upcoming events page over on BigIndiePitch.com.