Ninth Annual Independent Games Festival Names 2007 Mod Competition and Student Showcase FinalistsFirst-Ever 'Best Mod' and 'Best Student Game' Prizes to Be Awarded at IGF Ceremony During GDCPRNewswire SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Independent Games Festival (IGF) has revealed the 2007 winners of the four Modding Competition categories, as well as this year's top ten Student Showcase games. Along with the IGF Main Competition finalists, the games will be exhibited at the IGF Pavilion March 7-9, 2007, at the Game Developers Conference (GDC). GDC, CMP Technology's annual conference dedicated to the art, science and business of games, takes place March 5-9, 2007 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. For the first time, the top four Mods will compete for an overall Best Mod Award and a $5,000 cash prize, while the ten Student Showcase games will compete for an overall Best Student Game Award and a $2,500 cash prize. Winners will be announced at the IGF Awards Ceremony at GDC on March 7, 2007. The IGF Modding Competition and Student Showcase both received record numbers of entries this year, with the Modding finalists chosen out of more than 35 entrants, and the Student Showcase out of 102 top-quality entries. All finalists for both competitions receive a $500 travel stipend to attend the IGF ceremony and exhibit their games at the IGF Pavilion at the GDC Expo. "The IGF Modding Competition and Student Showcase are both vibrant competitions in their own right which show the amazing state of indie gaming," said Simon Carless, IGF chairman. "Modifying existing games can create creative, spectacular results, and today's game students are making ever more stand-out games, so we're delighted to honor them both in the IGF." The four winners of the IGF Modding Categories which will be considered for the 2007 Best Mod Award are: Best Singleplayer FPS Mod -- Weekday Warrior mod for Half-Life 2, by Cut Corner Company Productions Best RPG Mod -- Darkness over Daggerford mod for Neverwinter Nights, by Ossian Studios Best Multiplayer FPS Mod -- Eternal Silence mod for Half-Life 2, by ES Team Best Other Mod -- Spawn of Deflebub mod for Unreal Tournament 2004, by Ludocraft The top ten Student Showcase games which will be considered for the 2007 Best Student Game Award are: And Yet It Moves by Tu Wien Ball of Bastards by Koln International School of Design Base Invaders by DigiPen Euclidean Crisis by Stanford University Gelatin Joe by DigiPen Invalid Tangram by Guildhall at SMU Opera Slinger by Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Rooms by SongKyunKwan University The Blob by Hogeschool van de Kunsten, Utrecht Toblo by DigiPen 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, much the way that the Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film community. GDC 2007 will see the Game Group expanding its support of independent gaming with the debut of the Independent Games Summit March 5-6. With conference sessions focused on independent games scheduled during the main conference, this brings indie content to every day of the GDC. The IGF Pavilion, where GDC attendees can experience the finalist games in the IGF Main, Modding, and Student Competitions, is open on the GDC show floor March 7-9. More than 12,500 game industry professionals will convene during GDC, the world's largest games industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of resources, tools and technologies used to create interactive entertainment. The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. To register for the Game Developers Conference and review conference information, please visit http://www.gdconf.com/. Press registration is also currently open. About the CMP Game Group (http://www.cmpgame.com/) A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, the Serious Games Summit D.C., GDC Mobile, GDC Europe, the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice Awards, GDC London, the London Games Summit, GDCTV, GDCRadio, and the GDC Focus On event series. For more information, please visit http://www.cmpgame.com/. About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/) CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. SOURCE: CMP Game Group CONTACT: Sibel Sunar, sibel@fortyseven.com, or Brian Rubin, Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/ |