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IGF 2013 finalists set a Little Inferno, dial Hotline Miami for Thirty Flights of Loving

David Hinkle — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST

This year's Independent Games Festival finalists have been selected, a smattering of almost 30 top independent games that have launched within the past year. Leading multiple-nomination games are Subset Games' Best of the Rest 2012 favorite FTL: Faster Than Light, Cardboard Games' adventure offering Kentucky Route Zero, street vendor sim Cart Life from Richard Hofmeier and Little Inferno, the surprisingly delightful Wii U game about burning things from Tomorrow Corporation.

Other notable mentions include The Fullbright Company's nod for excellence in writing with its first game, Gone Home; Blendo Games' sequel Thirty Flights of Loving is also up for the win in writing. Terry Cavanagh's Super Hexagon is up for an award in design, while Dennaton Games' Hotline Miami is up for the Seumas McNally grand prize along with all the games listed in the first paragraph of this post. And, as announced back in December, IGF finalists will be offered a Steam distribution deal.

For the full list of nominees, hit up the source link below - the nominees will be playable and showcased during GDC in San Francisco, March 27-29. The winners will be revealed during the annual awards show on Wednesday night, March 27.

IGF 2013 finalists set a Little Inferno, dial Hotline Miami for Thirty Flights of Loving originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fez wins 2012 IGF 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize'

Xav de Matos — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:22:00 EST

The dust has settled and only one independently developed title is left standing. Seconds ago Fez was announced as the winner of the 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize' at the 14th annual Independent Games Festival Awards.

This is the second IGF award for the Polytron-developed title. In 2008, Fez took home the IGF award for excellence in art. After nearly five years of development, Fez is undergoing certification for release on Xbox Live Arcade.

Fez wins 2012 IGF 'Seumas McNally Grand Prize' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tonight's nominees (and winners) at the 14th annual IGF Awards

Xav de Matos — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:30:00 EST

In only a few moments, the Independent Games Festival will honor the best in indie gaming with the 14th annual IGF Awards.

The nominees are listed after the break and we'll make sure to update the list as awards are handed out.

Continue reading Tonight's nominees (and winners) at the 14th annual IGF Awards

Tonight's nominees (and winners) at the 14th annual IGF Awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IGF 2012 Audience Award voting now open

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

Despite being into awards shows before they were cool, we're hoping you're not above voting for this year's Independent Game Festival "Audience Award." Voting has just kicked off for 2012's entrants, which comprise all finalist games across all IGF 2012 categories (yes, the list once again includes Fez).

Should you choose to cast your favor towards any particular game, you'll want to head to this particularly yellow form and fill things out before February 19. Once you've done as much, we're told a verification email will come through to make sure you're not an evil robot. If you are, in fact, not an evil robot, things should go swimmingly.

IGF 2012 Audience Award voting now open originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST

The 14th annual Independent Game Festival finalists have been announced, and this year's finalists are indie-licious (yum). Titles include pop-indie hits Fez, Frozen Synapse, Spelunky and Atom Zombie Smasher, as well as some of our own understated favorites, such as Freebird Games' To the Moon.

The winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize receives $30,000, the winner of the Nuovo Award for "abstract, shortform and unconventional game development" gets $5,000, and all other category winners receive $3,000. The awards will take place March 7 at GDC. Check out the entire list of finalists right here:

Continue reading IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave)

IGF finalists Smash a Frozen Fez To the Moon (from a cave) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IGF 2012 entrants have a crack at winning the first ever 'XBLA Prize'

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:00 EST

Independent Games Festival entrants aren't just charming, attractive, and creative -- they're also potential XBLA developers. At least they are now, after today's announcement of the first "XBLA Prize" by Microsoft and Game Developers Conference administrators UBM, which gives IGF entrants a crack at being fast-tracked on Xbox Live Arcade for publishing by Microsoft.

According to the prize sponsors, a "standalone jury of independent game creators" will apparently collaborate with Microsoft to "identify a shortlist" -- a list which will then be considered for the XBLA prize. If the winner so chooses, his/her project will then be offered funding for development across Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, and Windows, as well as given the opportunity to employ Microsoft's bevy of testing, marketing, and usability support.

Alongside today's prize announcement, Microsoft head of first-party publishing Ted Woolsey also revealed that Microsoft invests upward of $20 million annually on XBLA titles, and offered support for the multi-year partnership with the IGF. "The independent development scene wouldn't be nearly as robust as it is today without the exposure provided by the IGF. We look forward to working with the IGF and having a window into to the huge array of independent games that are submitted every year so that we can continue to find the best games to share with our customers."

IGF 2012 entrants have a crack at winning the first ever 'XBLA Prize' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IGF announces 2011 Student Showcase winners

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EST

The 2011 Independent Games Festival has named the winners of this year's Student Showcase. Created by student teams all over the world, each of the eight titles will be featured and playable at the 2011 Game Developers Conference next month. The games also serve as finalists for Best Student Game at the IGF awards, which will be presented on March 2.

The finalists cover a wide swath of styles and gameplay concepts, from ambient shooters to Myst-like adventures. And then there's the one about an octopus trying to make it in human society. See the list of nominees, with links to their IGF pages, after the break.

Continue reading IGF announces 2011 Student Showcase winners

IGF announces 2011 Student Showcase winners originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival 2011 competition finalists announced

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

Out of nearly 400 entries, the 2011 Independent Games Festival has narrowed down finalists into six categories for another year's festivities, culminating in the actual awards presentation on March 2. Featured prominently in this year's awards are world creator Minecraft and the terrifying Amnesia: The Dark Descent, both taking three category nominations. Supergiant Games' Bastion and QCF Design's Desktop Dungeons each earned two.

Aside from being granted free passes to this year's Game Developer's Conference (where the IGF awards show happens), finalists must present "playable versions of their game to all GDC attendees at the IGF Pavilion on the GDC Expo Floor from Wednesday, March 2nd through Friday, March 4th." That means, after winning the $20,000 grand prize, that team has to stay on the show floor and contain their explosive excitement for the next two days, while dullards like ourselves ask questions about this and that. The ultimate game? Perhaps!

Head past the break for all the finalists broken down by category.

Continue reading Independent Games Festival 2011 competition finalists announced

Independent Games Festival 2011 competition finalists announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IGF China honors indie games from Asia and Australia

Mike Schramm — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:30:00 EST

The Chinese arm of the Independent Games Festival has announced its award winners for the year, and you can see all of them on its official blog. 2D platformer Sugar Cube (not to be confused with The Crying Sugar Cube Leprechaun game) walked away with the Best Game award and iOS App Store puzzler Train Conductor 2: USA won Best Mobile Game. Best Student Game went to a sandbox-style tower defense title called The White Laboratory, available in demo form on Google Code.

The IGF China awards honor games from both Asia and Australia, and are awarded every year at GDC China. Winners picked up a cash prize and will be shown off in Shanghai during the conference itself.

IGF China honors indie games from Asia and Australia originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival expanding focus to include handheld titles

Randy Nelson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

As the Independent Games Festival enters its thirteenth year, chairman Brandon Boyer has announced a couple of significant changes to the awards format. This year, handheld games -- including those for DS, PSP and iPhone -- will be included in the main judging and be up for the same awards as non-portable titles. A new "Best Mobile Game" category is also being added to the IGF Awards suite; the separate IGF Mobile Awards of years past has, effectively, been rolled into the main ceremony. The next IGF Awards event is scheduled for March 2, 2011.

Additionally, the field for the IGF Nuovo Award, which is given to more "abstract" entries, is being widened from five to eight titles. Finally, judging will be overhauled: 170 IGF member judges will evaluate the initial entries, recommending them for specific categories, which will then be judged by smaller, more specialized panels to determine a winner for each award.

The Independent Games Festival runs from February 28 through March 4, 2011, during GDC 2011 in San Francisco. Submissions are now being accepted.

Independent Games Festival expanding focus to include handheld titles originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Direct2Drive indie award finalists named, threatened with Chobot lick

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST

Aside from a spot on Sony's The Tester, we can't imagine a contest in the game industry with a much more ominous prize than Direct2Drive's Vision Award winner. Aside from the $10,000 bounty, apparently the trophy will be presented onstage at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival by IGN's one and only lick-happy reporter, Jessica Chobot.

We've listed all five of the games up for the Vision Award after the break -- a list that includes Hello Games' Joe Danger and Edmund McMillen's Super Meat Boy. The awards presentation will be held during GDC 2010, specifically taking place on Thursday, March 11. We here at Joystiq would like to wish all the contestants luck. Also, you might wanna bring a towel. Just in case, ya know?

Continue reading Direct2Drive indie award finalists named, threatened with Chobot lick

Direct2Drive indie award finalists named, threatened with Chobot lick originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 IGF Student Showcase winners announced

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST

Are you ever curious about what the future of video gaming is going to look like? Perhaps you envision a world where young people control the actions of prison inmates remotely, as they compete in a gruesome deathmatch? Or maybe it's world where games that are played with the hands are curtly dismissed as "baby toys." However, for a glimpse at the more immediate future of our industry, we need not look further than the IGF Student Showcase -- a round-up of the neatest titles being developed by the big industry names of tomorrow ... today!

The IGF committee recently announced the winners of the 2010 Student Showcase, highlighting ten games independently developed by the bright minds currently attending some form of educational institute across the globe. These games will go on to compete in the Best Student Game category of the IGF Awards on March 11 -- an award which nets the winner a cool $2,500.

Check out the full list of finalists -- some of which are totally free and available to download now -- right after the jump.

Continue reading 2010 IGF Student Showcase winners announced

2010 IGF Student Showcase winners announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival 2010 finalists announced

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:28:00 EST

The contenders for the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival awards have been announced today -- you can find the full list of finalists after the jump. In addition to the Seamus McNally Grand Prize (nominees for which include Joe Danger and Super Meat Boy), there are specialized categories recognizing excellence in art, design, audio, and technical achievement. There's also the Nuovo Award, which honors "abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development." Previous winners of the Nuovo include N+ co-creator Mare Sheppard and Passage developer Jason Rohrer.

We find ourselves particularly invested in this year's awards show, as -- deep breath now -- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard For Gravity was nominated for Excellence in Design. We've got, like, a million jokes we still want to make about that game title, but we're running out of opportunities to do so.

Continue reading Independent Games Festival 2010 finalists announced

Independent Games Festival 2010 finalists announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival 2010 competitors announced

Randy Nelson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST

Each year, indie developers from around the world submit their creations to the Independent Games Festival Main Challenge in hopes of becoming the next cola-to-Cristal success. This year, the IGF has received a whopping 306 entries (last year: 224) competing for the top prize of $20,000. Last year's winner, Erik Svedang's Blueberry Garden, was picked up for distribution on Steam.

Screens, videos and details on all 306 entries can be perused on the IGF website, while many of the games are either downloadable or directly playable from their developer's homepages. Finalists will be picked in January, with the winners in various categories -- including art, design, audio, and innovation -- set to be announced during GDC 2010, which runs March 9-13, 2010.

[Via Eurogamer]

Independent Games Festival 2010 competitors announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Independent Games Festival accepting submissions

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST

If you're ready to unleash your totally deviant, totally original and totally counter-cultural Tetris remake upon the world, your best chance to do so has arrived. The Independent Games Festival is now accepting entries into its Main and Student Showcase categories. You've got until November to get your submissions in, and finalists in the Main Competitions will be announced January 4.

If you're looking for reasons to enter your humble project, the festival's organizers have about 20,000 good ones, and by "ones" we mean dollars, by which we mean $20,000 is the grand prize for the competition. In addition, finalists will have their games exhibited on the GDC show floor, where they can be played, admired and possibly exalted by the gaming press -- a treatment received by titles such as World of Goo and Castle Crashers in the past. If your game is of that caliber, we highly suggest throwing your hat into the ring.

2010 Independent Games Festival accepting submissions originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mega64 punches people, makes out at IGF Awards

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:05:00 EST

If you thoroughly enjoyed Mega64's video shenanigans at last year's Independent Games Festival Awards show, brace yourselves for round two. This year's IGF Awards featured a pair of clips from the comedic quartet, both of which you can find posted after the jump.

The first video is aptly titled IF YOU'RE NOT INDIE, F**K YOU, and features a bunch of people getting punched in the face, except The Behemoth co-founder Dan Paladin, who is, as legend tells us, unpunchable. The second video, Topher Great Payens: "The GDC" (an homage to the equally unsettling Shine on Me by renowned musician Chris Dane Owens) is, well, extremely bizarre. Or extremely arousing. We haven't decided yet.

Continue reading Mega64 punches people, makes out at IGF Awards

Mega64 punches people, makes out at IGF Awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Fez dev site hints at possible XBLA release

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:45:00 EST

It's been quite some time since we've had any sort of substantial news on the Fez front, but if a screen and (somewhat vague) hint on developer Polytron's website is to be trusted, it looks like we should hear "something wonderful" in the near future.

Posting just the image you see above and the headline, "SOMETHING AWESOME THIS WAY COMES," the 2008 Independent Games Festival winner (in "Excellence in Visual Art") clearly intends (at the very least) rampant speculation over the inclusion of a tiny green "A" -- like a certain console's controller button you may know -- in the lower right of the massive, hilariously mistranslated, text box. We've put in word to both Polytron and Microsoft for word on this and will let you know if and when we hear something back.

[Via Geekadelphia]

Rumor: Fez dev site hints at possible XBLA release originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival audience award polls now open

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

Were you completely enraptured by a number of 2008's independent gaming offerings? Perhaps you were infatuated with Q-Games' PixelJunk Eden, or bowled over by the bizarre meiosis exhibited in Coil, or, much like us, you were strangely obsessed with the brilliantly minimalistic You Have to Burn the Rope. If you want to show that appreciation in a worthwhile manner, you might want to cast your vote in the recently opened polls of the Audience Award category for the 2009 Independent Games Festival, which will be held in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference later this month.

Even if your favorite independent titles didn't make the list (or if your gaming habits stuck explicitly to big-budget blockbusters), most of the 15 finalists in the category are accompanied by their download links. Come for the exercise in democracy, stay for the free games!

Independent Games Festival audience award polls now open originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone dominates list of IGF Mobile 2009 finalists

Ross Miller — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Mobile

Whereas last year's entries seemed more diverse (with a heavy Java slant), the 2009 Independent Games Festival Mobile finalists are almost entirely composed of iPhone / iPod touch games -- 11 of the 14 contestants, to be exact. The remaining three entries are represented by a Nintendo DS, Java and Flash game.

A trio of games lead the pack with three nominations apiece: Wardive, Edge and Fieldrunners (pictured). We're not anywhere close to calling it "the future of gameplay," but the iPhone's App Store -- not to mention massive install base -- has proven to be a viable and tempting business model for aspiring developers.

iPhone dominates list of IGF Mobile 2009 finalists originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PixelJunk Eden nominated for three Independent Game Awards

Jem Alexander — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

Nominations for the Independent Games Festival Awards 2009 have been announced today and one of our favorite PSN titles, PixelJunk Eden, has been nominated for three categories. The categories are: Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio and Technical Excellence. Eden is one of few console games to be nominated in this year's awards, and the only PlayStation Network title to get recognition.

The winners will be revealed at the Independent Games Festival which takes place in San Francisco between March 23rd and 27th. If you want to learn more about all the games on the list be sure to check out Joystiq's IGF nominee run-down. Good luck to PixelJunk Eden, there's some strong competition there.

PixelJunk Eden nominated for three Independent Game Awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Independent Games Festival finalists announced

Scott Jon Siegel — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: PC, GDC

The finalists for the 2008 Independent Games Festival have been officially announced, with twenty independent titles spanning six categories.

Noteworthy are the four music-based games (Audiosurf, Synaesthete, Fret Nice, and Cinnamon Beats), indicating a stronger emphasis on the rhythm genre than in previous years. Other notable finalists include Kokoromi's Fez, and Petri Purho's Crayon Physics Deluxe. All finalists will be playable at the Game Developers Conference in February 2008, and the winners will be announced at the IGF Awards Ceremony during GDC.

[Via GameSetWatch]

Independent Games Festival finalists announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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