The Independent Games Festival has announced the finalists in the sixth annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) Competition, which will exhibit their games the Game Developers Conference March 24-26, 2004 in San Jose, California. Selected by a panel of game industry professionals, game development teams will compete for more than $40,000 in cash prizes, double the payout from previous years.
The 10 games selected for the "Open" category are (in alphabetical order):ACMI by Selectparks (Richmond, Victoria, Australia)ANITO: DEFEND A LAND ENRAGED by Anino Computer Entertainment, Inc. (Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, The Philippines) BONTAGO by Circular Logic (Redmond, Washington) FACADE by InteractiveStory.net and The Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)FASHION CENTS by My Game Company (La Mesa, California)FUZZEE TEEVEE by Gastronaut Studios (Washington, DC)SAVAGE: THE BATTLE FOR NEWERTH by S2 Games (Rohnert Park, California)SPARTAN by Slitherine Software UK Ltd. (Epsom, Surrey, U.K.)STARSHATTER by Destroyer Studios (Rancho Santa Margarita, California)TAKE COMMAND: 1861 THE CIVIL WAR BY MadMinute Games, Inc. (New Freedom, Pennyslvania)
The 10 games selected for the "Web/downloadable category" are (in alphabetical order):ALPHAQUEUE by Large Animal (New York City)BEESLY'S BUZZWORDS by Flashbang Studios, LLC (Tempe, Arizonia)BILLIARD BOXING by Shizmoo Games, Inc. (New York City)CHOMP! COMP! SAFARI by AstroManic Studios (San Francisco)DR. BLOB'S ORGANISM by Digital Eel (Kirkland, Washington)DUNGEON SCROLL by Robinson Technologies (Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan)GISH by Chronic Logic LLC (Santa Cruz, California)OASIS by Mind Control Software (San Rafael, California)SPACE STATION MANAGER by Mistaril (Helsinki, Finland)YOHOHO! PUZZLE PIRATES by Three Rings Design, Inc. (San Francisco)
Responding to the skyrocketing number of games played within web browsers, and games small enough to be downloaded from Websites, the IGF split the competition into two categories: "Web/Downloadable Games" and an "Open" category for all other games. Games in each category will be 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.
The Independent Games Festival 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 the Sundance Film Festival has benefited the independent film community. More information about the finalist games can be found at www.igf.com.
