Twelve Indie Game Challenge Finalists Named; Winners of More Than $350,000 Prizes To Be Announced February 11th at the D.I.C.E. Summit
DALLAS and CALABASAS, Calif., Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 12 finalists of the second Indie Game Challenge (IGC) sponsored by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), GameStop (NYSE: GME) and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University (SMU) have been announced. Winners will be announced February 11th at the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. Hosting the IGC awards ceremony is Adam Sessler, Editor-in-Chief of Game Content for the G4 Network and Host of G4's "X-Play"; additionally, this year exclusive online content of the Indie Game Challenge will be hosted on G4tv.com/DICE.
"Hosting the IGC awards in 2010 was nothing short of an honor," said Adam Sessler, Editor-in-Chief of Game Content for the G4 Network and Host of G4's "X-Play." "And having seen the finalists for 2011 I must say it is equally humbling to celebrate the imagination, innovation and dedication of this year's young developers."
The IGC finalists, which includes six non-professional and six professional teams, are eligible for more than $350,000 in prize monies and scholarships. Prizes up for grabs include:
- $100,000 awarded to each of the professional and non-professional category winners
- A $50,000 academic scholarship to The Guildhall at SMU
- A DesignMetrics® title assessment to each of the winners, a $30,000 value from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR)
- $10,000 to the IGC Gamer's Choice winner
- $7,500 in technical prizes
In addition to monetary awards and industry recognition, all 12 finalists have the unique opportunity to pursue potential commercial avenues for their games while at the D.I.C.E. Summit and also will be provided a full pass to the exclusive gathering. The IGC founders also arrange private face-to-face meetings between the finalists and video game executives from such top publishers and developers as Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Microsoft, THQ, Ubisoft and others.
Mirroring the continued evolution of how games are played, the IGC created a Kongregate Award for the best browser-based game. The award recipient in this category, determined by reviewing all browser-based entries by Kongregate, will be announced at IGC by the company's CEO Jim Greer. The winner's game will be featured prominently on Kongregate, one of the fastest growing social gaming sites, and will receive immediate exposure to more than 13 million avid game players.
The 12 finalists include:
Non-Professional Category (Team/game)
- Hazard - Hazard: The Journey of Life
- One Man Down - Solace
- Team Height Advantage - Subsonic
- Team Hermes - Inertia
- Toxic Games - Q.U.B.E.
- ZZZ Games - Symon
Professional Category (Team/game)
- Bad Pilcrow - Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix And Her Nightmare
- Nemesys Games - Fortix 2
- Playdead - LIMBO
- Pocketwatch Games - Monaco
- Spaces of Play - Spirits
- SpikySnail Games - Confetti Carnival
Finalists from last year's inaugural IGC have experienced major success, allowing them to successfully break into the video game industry. A list of milestones from last year's winners and finalists include:
- Professional category winner Cogs was selected as a launch title for the iPad, picked up retail sales in Europe and is currently making its way to other platforms
- Non-professional category finalist Brightside Games had their game zeit(2) release on XBOX Live Arcade by Ubisoft on January 12, 2011
- Dreamside Maroon has a team member who has taken a job with Nintendo
- Fieldrunners was featured by Steve Jobs at the iPhone 4 launch
- Gear ($100,000 grand prize winner, non-professional category) was featured in Game Developer magazine
- A Galactic Arms Race team member won the $50,000 scholarship to attend The Guildhall at SMU and started the program in August 2010
- Aaaah! was featured in the documentary, Indie Game, The Movie
For more information on the competition and to learn more about each finalist, visit: www.IndieGameChallenge.com
About the Indie Game Challenge
The Indie Game Challenge (IGC) is an annual competition for video game developers offering more than $350,000 in prizes for professional and non-professional categories. Founded by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, GameStop Corp. and The Guildhall at SMU, the IGC was created to foster game development innovation by independent developers. Prizes include cash awards, scholarships, national consumer exposure for the top games and an opportunity for the finalists to obtain professional feedback and seek commercial avenues for their games through face-to-face meetings with representatives from the leading video game publishers. For more information on the IGC visit www.indiegamechallenge.com, www.interactive.org, www.gamestop.com or http://guildhall.smu.edu.
CONTACTS: Wendy Dominguez of GameStop Corp., +1-817-722-7747, [email protected]; or Ron Jenkins of The Guildhall at SMU, +1-972-473-3546, www.guildhall.smu.edu; or Debby Chen, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, [email protected], +1-818-876-0826 ext. 206
SOURCE The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University
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