Eleventh Annual Independent Games Festival Announces Finalists
has named the main competition finalists for its historic eleventh annual set
of awards, celebrating the most ground-breaking creations to come out of the
independent game community this year, as download store Direct2Drive
(http://www.direct2drive.com/), a leader in digital distribution, has
partnered with the festival as this year’s official Download Partner to offer
distribution, promotion and an additional cash prize for IGF contestants.
From a record field of 226 entries, 30% over last year’s totals, a number
of notable games scored multiple nominations this year, including 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).
Other examples of the finalists, which number more than twenty, include
charming exploration-game Blueberry Garden and music-based block puzzler
Musaic, both double nominees, and several of the finalists for the new
Innovation award, including Ratloop’s Mightier,
Tale Of Tales’ The Graveyard.
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.
“IGF has seen another record-breaking year, both in terms of volume of
entries and the bar of quality and innovation across the board,” said
Carless
Direct2Drive for working with us to help celebrate and encourage the
creativity that comes from a healthy indie community.”
In an industry first, Direct2Drive has aligned with the IGF to serve as
the festival’s official download partner, offering both promotion and a
dedicated digital distribution vehicle for independent developers on
Direct2Drive. In addition to IGF’s prize package, Direct2Drive will also
offer an additional cash prize to IGF participants via a Direct2Drive award,
which will be announced at GDC in March. The partnership signifies a larger
initiative by Direct2Drive to support independent game developers both in the
U.S. and in
dedicated promotion and marketing of independent titles throughout the site
and the IGN Network. Direct2Drive is a leading digital download store, which
successfully distributes AAA titles from every top publisher in the industry
and will 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 more than 30 million unique visitors that visit IGN every month. For
Direct2Drive’s indie games, check out
http://www.direct2drive.com/buy-indie-games-download.
“We congratulate the newly announced finalists and are excited to partner
with the IGF to help bring to market the best in independent games,” said
partnership, Direct2Drive will be rolling out a number of features and
promotions that will provide independent game developers a great platform to
market and distribute their titles to millions of new consumers.”
Finalist games will available in playable form on the GDC show floor, and
will compete for nearly
Excellence in Design, and the coveted
well as the new Direct2Drive prize.
Winners will be announced on stage at the prestigious Independent Games
Festival Awards on
Francisco
Developers Choice Awards, and both award shows are part of the 2009 Game
Developers Conference. Full festival information is available at
http://www.igf.com.
The finalists for the 2009 Independent Games Festival are:
Seumas McNally Grand Prize:
Blueberry Garden (Erik Svedang)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Carneyvale Showtime (Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab)
Night Game (Nicalis)
Dyson (Rudolf Kremers/Alex May)
Excellence In Visual Art:
Zeno Clash (ACE Team)
PixelJunk Eden (Q-Games)
Machinarium (Amanita Design)
Cletus Clay (TunaSnax)
Feist (Filthy Grip)
Excellence In Audio:
Musaic (KranX Productions)
Blueberry Garden (Erik Svedang)
BrainPipe (Digital Eel)
PixelJunk Eden (Q-Games)
Retro/Grade (24 Caret Games)
Excellence In Design:
Retro/Grade (24 Caret Games)
Snapshot (Six AM)
Night Game (Nicalis)
Musaic (KranX Productions)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Innovation Award:
Between (Jason Rohrer)
Mightier (Ratloop)
The Graveyard (Tale Of Tales)
Coil (From The Depths)
You Have To Burn The Rope (Mazapan)
Technical Excellence:
PixelJunk Eden (Q-Games)
Cortex Command (Data Realms)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
The Maw (Twisted Pixel Games)
Incredibots (Grubby Games)
The IGF was established in 1998 by Think Services to encourage innovation
in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers, in
the way that the Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film community.
A separate set of finalists, for the Student Showcase award, will be announced
during the week of
competition following in late January.
For more information on the Independent Games Festival and to register for
GDC, please visit http://www.gdconf.com.
About the Think Services Game Group
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drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and
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Developer Research, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com,
GameCareerGuide.com, WorldsInMotion.biz, GameSetWatch.com, GamesOnDeck.com,
SeriousGamesSource.com, the Game Developers Conference(R), the Austin Game
Developers Conference(R), the Paris Game Developers Conference(R), GDC Mobile,
the Game Career Seminars, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the
Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit:
http://www.tsgamegroup.com/.
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SOURCE Think Services Game Group