7th Annual Independent Games Festival Names FinalistsPRNewswire The Independent Games Festival has announced the finalists in the seventh annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) competition. Selected by a panel of industry professionals, game development teams will compete for more than $40,000 in cash prizes. Finalists will exhibit their titles at the Game Developers Conference, March 7-11, 2005 in San Francisco and winners will be announced at the Game Developers Choice Awards Ceremony March 9. More information about the finalist games can be found at www.igf.com. The IGF was established in 1998 by the CMP Game Group to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers, the way Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film community. With more than 78 entries from all over the world, the IGF reflects how global the game development community has become. The 10 games selected for the "Open" category are (in alphabetical order): * Alien Hominid by The Behemoth (San Diego, CA) * Dark Horizons Lore by Max Gaming Technologies (Strongsville, OH) * Gish by Chronic Logic LLC (Santa Cruz, CA) * Hyperbol by Iocaine Studios (Yorba Linda, CA) * Kisses by DigiPen Institute of Technology (Woodland Hills, CA) * Legion Arena by Slitherine Strategies (Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom) * Protothea by Digital Builders (Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina) * Steer Madness by Veggie Games Inc. (Vancouver, BC) * Supremacy: Four Paths To Power by Black Hammer Game (New York, NY) * War! Age of Imperialism by Donohoe Digital LLC (Castle Rock, CO The 10 games selected for the "Web/downloadable" category are (in alphabetical order): * Creatrix by Ultrafish Games (Los Angeles, CA)
* Detective Brand Gold by Detective Brand Videogames with Chronic Logic
(New Westminster, BC)
* Global Defense Network by Evertt.com LLC (Kirkland, WA)
* LUX by Sillysoft (Montreal, QC)
* N by Metanet Software Inc. (Toronto, ON)
* RocketBowl by Large Animal Games (New York, NY)
* Rotation by Alter Ego Games Studio (Sammamish, WA)
* Star Chamber by Nayantara Studios LLC (Charlottesville, VA)
* Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space by Digital Eel (Kirkland, WA)
* Wik and the Fable of Souls by Reflexive Entertainment
(Lake Forest, CA)
"The quality of games submitted for this year's competition showed range and creativity; the selection process gets more difficult each year," said Alex Dunne, IGF Chairman. "We're pleased to see developers take chances and explore new types of gameplay." Winners will be announced at the Independent Games Festival Awards Ceremony on March 9, 2005 in San Francisco. Games in each category are eligible for six awards: Innovation In Audio, Innovation In Game Design, Innovation In Visual Arts, Technical Excellence, The Audience Award and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Independent Game of the Year, for a total of $40,000 in cash awards. To register for the Game Developers Conference and review conference information, please visit www.gdconf.com. Press registration is also available at this time. About the CMP Game Group A core provider of essential information and community to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group includes the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com. CMP Media LLC CMP Media LLC (http://www.cmp.com/) is a leading integrated media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences and custom publishing. SOURCE: CMP Media LLC CONTACT: Sibel Sunar, ext. 271, sibel@bohle.com, or Craig Sinel, ext. Web site: http://www.igf.com/ Web site: http://www.gdconf.com/ Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/ Web site: http://www.cmp.com/ |