IGF Mobile 2010 Reminds On December 1st Entry Deadline
Following record entries for IGF's Main and Student competition, IGF Mobile organizers are reminding of a December 1st deadline for the third annual festival honoring handheld indie games.
This year's competition -- the sister event to the main Independent Games Festival -- will again feature independently-developed handheld games for all mobile devices including Apple's iPhone, other cellphone and smartphone OSes, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and other handheld devices.
More information on the imminent deadline and competition is available via the Gamasutra article on the subject and the official IGF Mobile website.
November 18, 2009
IGF 2010 Reveals Record Student Entry Numbers
Following record Main Competition entries, organizers of the 2010 Independent Games Festival -- the leading worldwide independent games showcase -- have revealed 193 Student Showcase entries, a record 33% more entries than last year.
After this year's 12th Annual IGF Main Competition -- just one of the three IGF competitions taking place this year -- amassed 306 game entries, information on the almost 200 Student Showcase entries is now available on the official IGF website.
Previous notable IGF Student Showcase honorees have included DigiPen's Narbacular Drop (evolved into Valve's acclaimed Portal), USC's The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom (now signed by 2K Games for XBLA), Hogeschool van de Kunsten's The Blob (made into a console title by THQ as De Blob), and early USC/ThatGameCompany (Flower) title Cloud.
This year's IGF Student Showcase entries will be judged by an opt-in subset of the more than 160 notable game industry judges, before the student-specific finalists are announced in mid-January 2010.
Ten Student Showcase winners will be given all-access GDC 2010 tickets to show their games at the show, as well as $500 towards travel costs. The overall Best Student Game will be awarded $2500 at the IGF ceremony during Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco next March.
Finally, IGF 2010 organizers are reminding that entries to the IGF Mobile competition -- encompassing iPhone, mobile phone, PSP, DS, Android and other handheld games -- are due by December 1st, 2009.
November 02, 2009
2010 Independent Games Festival Gets Record Main Competition Entries
The organizers of the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival -- the longest-running and largest festival relating to independent games worldwide -- are proud to announce record entry numbers for IGF 2010's Main Competition, for which entries closed last night.
This year's Main Competition -- just one of the three IGF competitions taking place this year -- amassed 306 game entries, many of them new titles from leading indie developers.
Information, screenshots and videos on each of the IGF Main Competition entries are now available on IGF.com. This total entry tally comprises 35% more games than last year's record 226 Main Competition entries, itself a 30% increase on the previous year -- showing the continuing popularity of independent games and the IGF.
This year's IGF entries will be checked and distributed to the more than 150 notable industry judges for evaluation, before finalists are announced in January 2010 and winners awarded at the IGF ceremony during Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco next March.
IGF 2010 organizers are reminding that games are due for submission in the free to enter Student Showcase category by November 15th, 2009, and entries to the IGF Mobile competition -- encompassing iPhone, mobile phone, PSP, DS, Android and other handheld games -- are due by December 1st, 2009.
October 23, 2009
IGF 2010 Reminds On Deadline, Reveals Nuovo Award Specifics
The organizers of the 2010 Independent Games Festival are reminding entrants that there's one week left before the Nov. 1st main deadline, revealing over 100 entries and new specifics on the Nuovo prize.
Entries to the 12th Annual IGF's Main Competition are due by 11.59pm PST on November 1st, with submissions accepted for easy digital submission from game creators worldwide, in multiple PC, computer and console formats.
Games selected as finalists for the world's leading independent games competition will be available in playable form on the GDC 2010 show floor and will compete for nearly $50,000 in prizes, including awards for Excellence in Design, Art, the Audience Award and the coveted $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Winners will be announced on stage at the prestigious Independent Games Festival Awards on Thursday, March 11, 2010.
As well as the Main Competition entry deadline on the 1st, organizers are reminding that games are due for submission in the free to enter Student Showcase category by November 15th, 2009, and entries to the IGF Mobile competition -- encompassing iPhone, mobile phone, PSP, DS, Android and other handheld games -- are due by December 1st, 2009.
Continue reading "IGF 2010 Reminds On Deadline, Reveals Nuovo Award Specifics" »
October 13, 2009
Unity Takes IGF Gold Sponsorship, To Give Unity Pro To Finalists/Winners
Unity Technologies, the provider of the Unity development platform for PC, Mac, Wii and iPhone is proud to announce it is the Gold Sponsor of the Independent Games Festival (IGF) at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), to be held in San Francisco in March 2010.
As part of its Gold sponsorship, Unity is supporting all of the finalists by giving them a copy of the Unity Pro package (worth $1,500) to every winning team member - in addition to one copy for each finalist team.
Nicholas Francis, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Unity said, "We're honored to be sponsoring the IGF - Unity started out as an indie game studio, so in a way this feels like coming home. We can't wait to have some of these talented developers see what we do, so we'd like to give away a lot of Unity Pro copies. In short, we're proud to sign on as sponsors and show our support for Indie gaming."
Continue reading "Unity Takes IGF Gold Sponsorship, To Give Unity Pro To Finalists/Winners" »
IGF Note From The Organizers, October 2009: Deadline Reminders, IGS Austin, GAMMA @ GDC, New Judges
As the Independent Games Festival continues, we thought it might be a good idea to update periodically with the latest news on submissions, previous winners, judging, relevant events, and so on. Here's the final update before the November deadlines, with info on those dates, news from IGF China and the Independent Games Summit at GDC Austin, plus a new indie event that's debuting at GDC 2010.
Deadline Reminders
We've heard from a lot of you who are preparing to submit your game to this year's Independent Games Festival, so we know you're getting ready. But another reminder doesn't hurt -- and you'll need to submit by November 1st, 2009 for the IGF 2010 Main Competition, and by November 15th, 2009 for the IGF 2010 Student Showcase Competition. Don't be late!
One notable new thing this year - several indies such as Resonance's Vince Twelve and Flywrench's Mark Essen are funding their IGF entrance fee and time to prepare their games for our Festival through the pledge-based website Kickstarter -- an interesting new method of bankrolling independent games.
Also worth noting, for those who didn't see our recent announcement - the Independent Games Festival Mobile is returning for 2010, with handheld-specific submissions being accepted at the official IGF Mobile website through December 1st, 2009. We're looking forward to a host of interesting game entries for platforms like iPhone, cellphone, DSi, PSP, and even perhaps new platforms like Google's Android operating system.
October 12, 2009
First IGF China Awards Topped By Captain Forever
Organizers of the inaugural Independent Games Festival China have announced this year’s IGF China winners during a packed riverside IGF Awards Ceremony, held on the first evening of the 2nd Game Developers Conference China in Shanghai, on October 11th 2009.
The ceremony, presented by IGF China judge and Chinese game industry veteran Kevin Li, awarded the best independent game developers and student creators from the Asia-Pacific area.
The first ever IGF China Best Game award, including a RMB 20,000 ($2,900 U.S.) cash prize and two all-access GDC 2010 passes, went to Australian creator Farbs and his unique modular 2D space adventure game, Captain Forever (pictured).
Some of the other top awards went to notable Chinese game creators, with You Yun Tech's XNA-based kung fu combat title HurricaneX2 picking up the Technical Excellence award, and Magic Day Studio's lush fantasy strategy game Donovo winning the Excellence In Art Direction award.
In addition, Best Student Game went to National University Of Singapore's Autumn Dynasty, which uses a brush and touch screen to have the player direct fantasy Far-Eastern armies with virtual brushstrokes.
The full set of IGF China 2009 winners are as follows:
Continue reading "First IGF China Awards Topped By Captain Forever" »
October 03, 2009
2010 IGF Mobile Announced, Calls For Submissions
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) Mobile, the premiere venue that celebrates creativity and innovation on handheld platforms, has opened submissions for its third annual festival.
The overall IGF Mobile winner will be awarded at the IGF Awards Ceremony, which precedes the Game Developers Choice Awards on March 11th, 2010. Both the IGF Awards Ceremony and the Game Developers Choice Awards are part of the 2010 Game Developers Conference, which takes place in San Francisco's Moscone Center in March.
This year's competition -- the sister event to the main Independent Games Festival -- will again feature independently-developed handheld games for all mobile devices including Apple's iPhone, other cellphone and smartphone OSes, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and other handheld devices.
IGF Mobile submissions are now being accepted at the competition's official website through December 1, 2009; finalists will be announced in January 2010, and will each receive one pass to attend the 2010 Game Developers Conference.
Continue reading "2010 IGF Mobile Announced, Calls For Submissions" »
October 01, 2009
First-Ever IGF China Event Announces Finalists
[Though the main Independent Games Festival doesn't close entries for a few weeks, we've just announced the finalists for IGF China. We'll be in Shanghai at GDC China in a few days to give out prizes, and we're really pleased to be honoring indie titles across Asia and Australasia.]
Organizers of the inaugural Independent Games Festival China have revealed that over 100 entries were received for the first-ever showcase of Asia-Pacific indie games, and finalists have now been decided for both the Main and Student competitions. Winners will be revealed next week at GDC China in Shanghai.
Chinese submissions for the first-ever independent games event targeting this area -- a newly formed sister event to the main yearly IGF in San Francisco -- were received from Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Jiang Su Province, Guang Dong Province, Sichuan Province, and Zhejiang.
In addition, overseas submissions from Asian, Asia-Pacific and Australasian nations including the Philippines, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Pakistan, Australia, Iran, South Korea and India were considered.
Continue reading "First-Ever IGF China Event Announces Finalists" »
August 23, 2009
IGF Note From The Organizers, August 2009: Winner Highlights, IGS @ GDC Austin, Judge Additions
In the run-up to this year's Independent Games Festival deadlines this November, we thought it might be a good idea to update periodically with the latest news on submissions, previous winners, judging, relevant events, and so on.
IGF Success Stories
Firstly, I just wanted to highlight some notable successes from previous Independent Games Festival winners, showing the power of indie games in today's market. For starters, The Behemoth's 2007 double IGF award winner Castle Crashers for Xbox Live Arcade recently reached 1 million individual leaderboard entries, making it one of the most-played XBLA titles of all time - congratulations to them.
August 22, 2009
IGF China Announces Judges, Reminds On Deadline
Just a note for anyone in the Asia-Pacific region - we've just posted new information, including judge specifics, on the first Independent Games Festival China event, taking place in Shanghai this October alongside GDC China.
The deadline for IGF China is September 7th, and the smaller satellite event is free to enter, with winners being displayed at the October GDC China event. (There will also be a small Independent Games Summit with a mix of Western and Chinese speakers at the event.)
Here's the English-language page and Chinese-language page on IGF China if you'd like to learn more.
July 19, 2009
2010 Independent Games Festival Opens Submissions
Think Services, organizer of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference (GDC) events, is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for the 2010 Independent Games Festival. Entries to the 12th annual festival are due in both Main and Student Showcase categories by November 2009, with Main Competition finalists to be announced January 4, 2010.
Games selected as finalists will available in playable form on the GDC show floor and will compete for nearly $50,000 in prizes, including awards for Excellence in Design, Art, the Audience Award and the coveted $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
Winners will be announced on stage at the prestigious Independent Games Festival Awards on Thursday, March 11, 2010, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
The Independent Games Festival Awards are held alongside the Game Developers Choice Awards and both award shows are part of the 2010 Game Developers Conference. GDC 2010 also includes the 2010 Independent Games Summit, which is entering its fourth year and offers two days of inspiration and practical lectures and rants from the top minds in the independent games world.
Over the years, the Independent Games Festival has recognized the best and brightest indie game developers and their games. As the indie game mindshare continues to grow, thanks to the rise of digital distribution and a compelling aesthetic, the Independent Games Festival has played a key role in putting a well-deserved spotlight on these games. Notable former IGF winners include Everyday Shooter, Audiosurf, World of Goo, Blueberry Garden, Darwinia, Castle Crashers, and many more.
Notable evolutions to this year's Festival include a substantial increase in the number of hand-picked IGF judges - chosen, as always, from notables practicing both mainstream and indie game development, as well as discerning indie-minded games journalists.
The judging pool has more than doubled over last year's event, allowing each individual game entry to be played in much greater depth. The IGF is also adding compulsory (previously optional) written judge feedback alongside scores, an important part of deriving value and takeaway from entering the Festival, even for non-finalists.
Simon Carless, Chairman of the IGF, commented of this year's event: "We're delighted to return for our twelfth year of the Independent Games Festival, and we're really looking forward to see what the independent game community comes up with this time around. Good luck to all entrants!"
Submissions to the competition are now open to all independent game developers; important dates for IGF 2010 are as follows:
July 1st, 2009 - Submissions are Open
November 1st, 2009 - Submission Deadline, Main Competition
November 15th, 2009 - Submission Deadline, Student Competition
January 4th, 2010 - Finalists Announced, Main Competition
January 11th, 2010 - Finalists Announced, Student Competition
March 9th-13th, 2010 - Game Developer's Conference 2010
March 9th-10th, 2010 - Indie Games Summit @ GDC
March 11-13th, 2010 - IGF Pavilion @ GDC
March 11th, 2010 - IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)
Sponsors already confirmed for the 2010 Independent Games Festival include Official Download Partner Direct2Drive and Platinum Student Showcase sponsor DigiPen Institute Of Technology. For a complete list of IGF 2010 event information, please visit the official IGF website.
July 15, 2009
2009 IGF China Announces Inaugural Pan-Asian Competition
[While submissions have just opened for the main IGF, we're pleased to announce that we've also created an IGF China event, starting this year - all Asian entrants should check out the IGF China site (Chinese-language version) for more info.]
Think Services, organizer of the Game Developers Conference events, has announced the first annual Independent Games Festival China. The event is to be held in conjunction with the 2009 Game Developers Conference China, which returns to the Shanghai International Convention Center, October 11-13 of this year.
After 11 years of the main Independent Games Festival competition being held at GDC in San Francisco, the Independent Games Festival will present itself to Shanghai, China for the first time in 2009, in a competition specifically designed to encourage innovation and showcase standout games from smaller companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Continue reading "2009 IGF China Announces Inaugural Pan-Asian Competition" »
July 02, 2009
Independent Games Summit @ GDC Austin Reveals First Speakers
[We're starting to announce the content for the first-ever Indie Games Summit @ GDC Austin, and this IGF-affiliated offshoot is really looking like an interesting gathering of the minds. Full info below...]
Organizers of this September's Independent Games Summit at GDC Austin have announced first speakers, with the indies behind titles like Bit.Trip Beat, Age Of Booty, Fantastic Contraption, and DeathSpank speaking on a number of notable topics.
Initial information about the September 15th-16th Summit, a separate part of the wider, 'connected game'-focused Austin-based event, is available on the GDC Austin website. Other Summits taking place at GDC Austin this year include a brand-new iPhone Games Summit and the notable, long-running Writing and Audio Summits..
Details on the Independent Games Summit at GDC Austin include specifics on the first five lectures and panels for the first-ever Austin edition of the popular main GDC event, and the highlights include:
Continue reading "Independent Games Summit @ GDC Austin Reveals First Speakers" »
May 20, 2009
IGF 2010 Info Coming Late June/Early July
Thanks to everyone for making the 11th Annual Independent Games Festival one of the best ever. As I'm sure you've noticed, a full list of winners is available on the site.
We've also updated the IGF press page, showing major BBC and The Onion AV Club coverage, as well as an updated Indie Games Summit page, with pictures and write-ups from the March 2009 IGF sister event. (Don't forget about the new GDC Austin Indie Games Summit this September, too!)
In addition, watch out for information on the 12th annual Independent Games Festival, to appear on the site in late June or early July. We'll be adding full info and submission dates for the 2010 IGF event, which we expect to once again be the biggest ever.
Finally, we've updated the site to a proper blog format, so you can now subscribe to the brand new IGF News RSS feed to be alerted when news is posted.
May 19, 2009
GDC Austin Adds Indie Games Summit, Calls For Submissions
Organizers of this September's GDC Austin have announced a call for submissions for the IGF-affiliated first-ever Independent Games Summit there, also revealing the Advisory Board and topics to be discussed at the two-day Summit.
Initial information about the September 15th-16th Summit is available on the GDC Austin website, with organizers noting that the Indie Games Summit will include "discussions surrounding business models and methods, promotion and marketing, deep game design techniques and inspirational case studies." (The IGF is skipping IGF Pavilion presence at GDC Austin this year in favor of a more educational Summit experience.)
The Advisory Board for the Summit, which will be announcing its first speakers in the next few weeks, include local Austin-area independent developers Adam Saltsman (Paper Moon, Cave Story WiiWare contributor) and Brandon Boyer (editor of indie-friendly BoingBoing-affiliated game site Offworld.com).
In addition, the three main Advisory Board members of GDC San Francisco's yearly Independent Games Summit, Flashbang Studios' Matthew Wegner and Steve Swink (Minotaur China Shop) and Independent Games Festival Chairman Simon Carless, are also helping to oversee the event.
Continue reading "GDC Austin Adds Indie Games Summit, Calls For Submissions" »
March 26, 2009
2009 Independent Games Festival Awards Winners Announced
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The winners of the 11th Independent Games Festival Awards were announced last night at the Annual IGF Awards ceremony, hosted by the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.
Congratulations to all the winners, including Erik Svedang's Blueberry Garden (pictured), which took home the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and $30,000.
You can read about the awards and see the full list of winners at this Gamasutra news story.
March 22, 2009
Reminder: IGF, IGF Mobile Awards, Indie Games Summit, IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2009
We're all very busy preparing for this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, but here's all the information you'll need to know about the awards and showcases taking place this week:
- The Independent Games Summit takes place on Monday and Tuesday, March 23rd-24th from 10.00am to 5.30pm, during GDC 2009 at the Moscone Center, with some of the top independent game creators talking about the art and business of making indie games.
- The IGF Mobile awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday, March 24th at GDC Mobile, from 10:45am to 11:30am, immediately following the morning keynote. (The ceremony's winners will also be highlighted at the main IGF Awards on Wednesday night.)
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- Finally, on Wednesday, March 25th, the Independent Games Festival Awards will be held in the Esplanade Room starting at 6.30pm, with thousands of developers on hand to see this year's IGF Awards given out, before the Game Developers Choice Awards take place. Once again, Pocketwatch Games' Andy Schatz (Venture: Dinosauria) will be giving out the IGF Awards, with video skits from Mega64, introductory comments from IGF co-content directors, Flashbang Studios' Matthew Wegner and Steve Swink, and last year's Grand Prize winner, Crayon Physics' Petri Purho, giving away this year's $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
March 21, 2009
Direct2Drive Presenting $10,000 D2D Vision Award At GDC 2009
IGN's digital retail store Direct2Drive announced the four finalists for the Independent Games Festival's D2D Vision Award, which seeks to celebrate independent developers exemplifying innovation in design coupled with excellence in game-play.
The sponsored award will be presented at 2009’s Independent Games Festival on March 25 in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
More information about the prize can be found at this Gamasutra news story.
March 02, 2009
2009 Independent Games Festival Audience Awards Open
Organizers of the 2009 Independent Games Festival (IGF) have launched the IGF Audience Award voting website, allowing game fans everywhere to download, play, and choose a favorite all of the eligible Main Competition finalist indie games which submitted a publicly playable demo.
Online voting is open now and continues through Friday, March 20th, with the award given out at the IGF Awards taking place alongside the Game Developers Choice Awards at the 2009 Game Developers Conference on March 25th.
The games with eligible demos or full versions on PC, XBLA, XNA Community Games or PSN are: Retro/Grade, Dyson, Brainpipe, The Maw, IncrediBots, Osmos, Musaic Box, Cortex Command, CarneyVale Showtime, Coil, The Graveyard, PixelJunk Eden, Mightier, You Have To Burn The Rope, and Between. The winner of the Audience Award will be awarded a $2,500 prize, part of the $50,000 total in prizes being given as part of the IGF Main and Student Competitions.
February 26, 2009
Green Label Gaming Signs Up For IGF, Adds $10,000 to Grand Prize
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They are announcing that they will be adding $10,000 to the IGF's Seumas McNally Grand Prize this year, taking it all the way up to $30,000.
They are also giving away multiple All-Access passes to this year's GDC, in a design competition currently being hosted on Gamasutra.com. Thanks to them for their support of the Independent Games Festival and the indie games scene.
January 26, 2009
Bonus Announcement: IGF Mobile Finalists Revealed
Finally, our sister IGF Mobile competition announced its finalists, with its rather neat iPhone, cellphone and DS indie picks also on show at GDC - here's the full rundown via Gamasutra.
January 25, 2009
XNA, Sony, DigiPen Add Support For 2009 IGF
As well as already-signed Download Partner Direct2Drive, which will be giving away a prize during the IGF Awards on March 25th, we're pleased to announce that Microsoft's XNA has signed up as a Gold Sponsor, Sony as a Silver Sponsor, and DigiPen School Of Technology as a Platinum Student Showcase Sponsor for this year - we very much appreciate their support.
January 21, 2009
2009 IGF Student Showcase Winners Announced
We've now announced this year's IGF Student Showcase winners - click through for the full list, and congratulations to all the very worthy teams who made it! There's also a Gamasutra news story with some more detail - as noted:
"The 2009 Independent Games Festival (IGF) has announced the ten winners in the Student Showcase for its 11th annual awards, with games from three continents spanning ecological, paint-splattering and fantasy exercise games to be shown at GDC this year.
Chosen from a new record of 145 Student Showcase entries (up over 15% on last year's 125 entries), these games will appear at the IGF Pavilion and go on to compete for an overall Best Student Game prize, to be awarded at the IGF Awards Ceremony on the evening of March 25th, 2009."
January 07, 2009
Direct2Drive Now Official IGF Download Partner, New Prize
As you'll see in the official IGF finalist press release, we're also announcing today that digital download store Direct2Drive has aligned with the Independent Games Festival to serve as the festival’s official download partner this year.
Direct2Drive is a leading digital download store, which successfully distributes AAA titles from every top publisher in the industry. It'll now deliver that same service to top independent game developers, by providing them with a dedicated platform to promote and sell their games to the >30 million unique visitors that visit the site and parent entity IGN's network every month.
This includes a new Direct2Drive Award given out at the IGF Awards this March, and the service has now opened dedicated, IGF-supported Direct2Drive indie game area, including many previous IGF finalists and winners and other notable independent games.
2009 IGF Main Competition Finalists Announced
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"The 2009 Independent Games Festival (IGF) has revealed the finalists for this year's ninth installment of the pre-eminent indie game competition. From a record field of 226 entries, 30% over last year’s totals, a number of notable games scored multiple nominations this year.
These include orbital osmosis sim Osmos (3 nominations), abstract PSN action-er PixelJunk Eden (3 nominations), time-reversing guitar-compatible antishooter Retro/Grade (2 nominations), and atmospheric ball-ambulator Night Game (2 nominations), as well as charming exploration-game Blueberry Garden and music-based block puzzler Musaic Box, both double nominees.
Finalists were decided by a panel made up of over 40 industry-leading game creators and journalists, including the makers of previous IGF honorees World Of Goo, Braid, Aquaria and N+; industry veterans from studios including Maxis, Big Huge Games, and SuperVillain Studios; and noted writers from Wired, Newsweek, and MTV."
December 05, 2008
IGF Reveals Record Entries For 2009 Competition
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In addition, information on the 226 separate IGF Main Competition entries, including screenshots, descriptions, and links to official game websites, are now available to view on the official IGF website.
In addition, the 145 IGF Student Showcase entries are also available for viewing on the official IGF website, with descriptions, screenshots, and official website information.
The IGF judges, which currently comprise notable journalists,
indie and mainstream game creators, are now in the process of judging this year's titles. with almost $50,000 in prizes to be handed out, including the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
Finalists will be announced in early January 2009, and winners, as picked by the 2009 IGF judges, will be announced on stage at the prestigious Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
December 03, 2008
IGF Mobile Announces Record Entries
The organizers of the Independent Games Festival Mobile have revealed a total of 107 entries for the second year of the event, more than doubling the amount of entries seen in the inaugural competition. The entries were bolstered with a strong showing from the emergent iPhone and iPod Touch platform, but entries spanned platforms including mobile phones, DS, PSP and the Zune.
The event, a sister competition to the main IGF event, has seen a host of notable independent projects enter the contest -- for which $30,000 in prizes are to be awarded at GDC 2009 next March. Nvidia is Platinum and Founding Sponsor for the event, and the prize pool includes a Best iPhone Game, presented by Gold Sponsor ngmoco.
A full list of IGF Mobile 2009 entries is now available, including screenshots and details on each of the entries.
October 15, 2008
IGF Judges Announced, Festival Deadlines Set
Firstly, we've now revealed the IGF judges for this year via IndieGames.com, with a host of top indie/mainstream creators and media deciding this year's honorees - with headshots and full bios now added to IGF.com.
Rather importantly, we're also issuing a reminder to all prospective entrants of the main Independent Games Festival that the deadlines are November 1st, 2008 at 11:59pm PDT for the IGF Main Competition.
In addition, the deadline is set at November 15th, 2008 at 11:59pm PDT for the IGF Student Competition. Finally, the sister IGF Mobile event, for iPhone and mobile device games, has its deadline on November 17th, 2008 at 11:59pm PDT. Don't be late!
October 06, 2008
ngmoco, IGF Team Up To Offer $10,000 'Best iPhone Game' Prize
Think Services, organizers of the Game Developers Conference and the Independent Games Festival, have entered a new partnership with high-profile iPhone game publisher ngmoco. The deal will add a $10,000 'Best iPhone Game' prize to 2009's Independent Games Festival Mobile, and increase the maximum amount of prizes in the hotly contested indie mobile competition to a record $30,000.
The partnership with ngmoco, the Kleiner Perkins-funded iPhone publisher co-founded by former EA executive Neil Young, includes a Gold Sponsorship of the IGF Mobile event, which is now in its second year. The mobile-centric indie event, originally created by Think Services and Founding Sponsor Nvidia, is expanding to include iPhone games this year.With last year's Grand Prize winner Critter Crunch already a successful title on Apple's handheld, organizers are expecting a surge in iPhone game entries.
For more information on IGF Mobile and entering this year’s competition, for which the deadline is November 17th, please visit the IGF Mobile website.
