07.01.10: We are pleased to reveal the finalists for the twelfth annual Independent Games Festival Main Competition! Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to all who have participated this year. Subscribe to the brand new IGF News RSS feed for regular competition updates.
2009 - The Behemoth's follow-up to Alien Hominid, the IGF-winning Castle Crashers, tops XBLA charts to critical acclaim.
2009 - IGF multi-award winner World Of Goo launches as one of the best-selling, best-reviewed WiiWare titles of all time, alongside a popular PC version.
2009 - Petri Purho's Crayon Physics Deluxe spawns an iPhone version courtesy of Hudson, plus a popular PC downloadable version.
2008 - The team behind IGF Student Showcase finalist Narbacular Drop is hired by Valve. The game is reworked into Portal and goes on to win the coveted Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" award for 2008, as well as numerous game of the year accolades.
2008 - Design Innovation winner Braid debuts on Xbox Live Arcade to significant success.
2008 - Excellence in Audio winner Audiosurf launches on Valve's Steam distribution service and goes on to become the highest selling game of February, outselling even Valve's own Orange box (including Team Fortress 2 and Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" winner Portal.)
2007 - Design Innovation winner Everyday Shooter is signed by Sony for distribution on the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, after Sony's John Hight plays the game at the IGF Pavilion during GDC 2007 - Everyday Shooter's Jon Mak also appears at the inaugural Independent Games Summit.
2006 - Grand prize winner Darwinia gets both digital distribution via Valve's Steam system and U.S. retail distribution from new indie label Cinemaware Marquee.
2005 - Multi award-winner Alien Hominid receives publishing deals in the U.S. (via O3 Publishing) and Europe(via Zoo Digital), much critical acclaim, and even spawns a mobile version.
2005 - Fan favorite N wins the audience award, and, as N+, releases as a hit XBLA title, as well as notable Nintendo DS and Sony PSP versions.
2004 - Innovative casual strategy game Oasis wins the web/downloadable grand prize, going on to launch on major online portals the following year.
2003 - Super X Studios' Wild Earth, a photographic game based around a worldwide safari, takes multiple prizes and subsequently becomes a motion simulator ride and eventually (in adapted form) a Wii title.
2000 - Tread Marks, created by the late Seumas McNally, which the IGF's grand prize is now named after, wins 3 major awards.
1999 - Vicarious Visions, now a major handheld / console developer, honored for Terminus.
IGF 2009 Main Competition Entrant
GumBeat
Company: Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab (Cambridge, MA United States)
Description: In the world of GumBeat, you take the role of a defiant teenage girl who musters up the courage to stand up against the oppressive government.
Bubble gum is outlawed across the city! Anyone spotted chewing gum is severely beaten up. But oh, how unfair it is to prevent citizens to enjoy the sweet taste of bubble gum.
In this fun and lively casual game, blow bubble gum and gather enough supporters to your cause to topple the anti-gum government. Are you up to the task?
GumBeat is a casual Flash game built with the objective of weaving the ideas of political oppression into the heart of gameplay. Commercial games intended for fun rarely deal with the topic of political oppression, but GumBeat seeks to address this topic in a simple, engaging way. By casting the player in the roleof a normal civilian and setting the game in a police state where fun behavior is outlawed, GumBeat seeks to give a fresh take on how simple gameplay can engage with complex ideas.
Video:
If you seen any information about GumBeat that needs to be corrected or updated, contact the IGF Chairman.
