Seumas McNally Honored Posthumously

This morning, the CMP Game Media Group announced that it will be changing the name of its Independent Games Festival (IGF) Grand Prize award to the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. McNally was the lead programmer and president of Longbow Digital Arts, a small developer that was designing a robust tank shooter titled Tread Marks.

Held every year at the Game Developers Conference, the IGF is meant to recognize upcoming games from promising new developers. At this past event, held during the 2000 GDC in San Jose, Calif., Longbow Digital Arts and Tread Marks swept the IDF awards, winning in three categories - including the coveted grand prize. Shortly after the show, however, Seumas McNally lost his battle against Hodgkin's disease at the young age of 21.

"Seumas McNally impressed everyone with his technical expertise and determination to complete this year's winning game, Tread Marks. He dedicated the last years of his life to finishing the wonderful game. But even more important, he was a caring person who was generous with his time and knowledge. He is an inspiration to us all, and we miss him greatly, "said IGF chairman Alex Dunne. "By renaming the top IGF award in his honor, we hope to uphold that same spirit that Seumas so freely displayed to those who shared his passion for game development."

The McNally family plans on carrying out Seamus' dream and is currently searching for a publisher for Tread Marks.