Cogs, Gear win first annual Indie Game Challenge at DICE

Although they sound like they came from the same mechanical naming bin, Cogs and Gear (two totally different games) have won the first annual Indie Game Challenge at the conclusion of DICE. Sponsored by the AIAS, GameStop and The Guildhall at SMU, the winners will receive $100,000 to build more games ... or to go on the most epic Blueberry Muffin Tops consumption bender in history.

Cogs, which won in the professional studio category, also took the $2,500 prizes for Achievement in Art Direction and Achievement in Gameplay. Designed by Lazy 8 Studios, the addictive (and challenging) puzzle game took the prize for its original PC incarnation, however there's a version of it available on iPhone and team lead Rob Jagnow tells us that an iPad and Mac port are planned. Jagnow also informed us he's "staying on the Cogs train for a while," but the studio's next project will be a "foray into social gaming, maybe a Facebook game."

Winning the non-professional category, Gear was designed by Digipen students Josh Maiche, Brian Lee, Andrew Hill, Ben Frazier and Mike Halbrook. Most of the members have several years of school still ahead of them. Asked if they'd drop out if they'd won, the team agreed they'll stay in school -- except for Halbrook, who recently graduated and is looking for a job.

To check out all the winners and nominees, head on over to the Indie Game Challenge site.