IndieCade Announces Game Finalists for 2010 Festival

Press Release from IndieCade

32 Finalist Games Represent 10 Countries and Span 6 Platforms; Every Finalist Is Eligible for Every Prize Category in IndieCade’s Unique Judging System

LOS ANGELES, September 2, 2010 – IndieCade, the International Festival of Independent Games, today announced the finalist games for its 2010 festival taking place October 8–10, 2010 in Culver City, California. IndieCade 2010 will present a phenomenal lineup of 32 diverse and innovative games selected by 160 international jurors from over 350 submissions. The games will be presented throughout the 3-day run of the festival that is open to the public, with an Awards ceremony scheduled for Friday evening, October 8th at 8:00pm at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA that will be hosted by artist and storyteller LeVar Burton.

“Indie developers continue to expand their range and depth, from offering casual games featuring sock puppets to fresh experiences where you voyage through the stars as a comet,” said Stephanie Barish of IndieCade. “The spirit of independent game creation burns brightly this year, and we are thrilled to be able to bring these games to professionals interested in cutting-edge digital media, game developers, artists, publishers, and enthusiasts of all ages.”

In a twist unique to IndieCade, all finalist games in the festival are eligible for all award categories, which include the following:

Jury Award

Aesthetics

Fun/Compelling (presented by Shacknews.com)

Gameplay Innovation (presented by BBC Worldwide)

Technical Innovation

World/Story

Vanguard (presented by G4tv.com)

Sublime Experience

Wildcard

Documentary

Sound

The IndieCade 2010 Honorary Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement

The 32 games selected as finalists are as follows:

1066 - The game (Preloaded / Channel 4, United Kingdom): A historical game commissioned by Channel 4 (UK) to accompany its two part documentary series on the War of 1066 and the battle for Middle Earth. A simple, fun strategy game that leverages causal gameplay elements and beautiful design while providing its audience with interesting information and knowledge about the War of 1066. 1066 – The game was created by Preloaded, the developers behind Super Me and other social change game projects. http://1066game.com

A Slow Year (Ian Bogost, USA): A Slow Year is a collection of four game “poems” for the Atari Video Computer System, one for each season, about the experience of observation and awareness. A Slow Year stakes out a deep and interesting design problem, searching for engaging and meaningful interactivity outside the traditional reaches of modern gameplay and typical genre design. Ian Bogot is a professor at Georgia Tech, and co-founder of Persuasive Games, creator of Airport Insecurity and a series of news games for the New York Times. Ian is also co-creator of IndieCade featured Cruel2BKind. A Slow Year was featured in the 2010’s Independent Game Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference. http://www.bogost.com/games/game_poems.shtml

Auditorium (Cipher Prime, USA): Auditorium is an audio puzzle game where you convert light into sound, creating an explosion of orchestral music. Its addictively simple mechanic consists of manipulating icons to deflect light into a target on each level to generate bursts of music. The game has a flexible design, allowing for a range of solutions to each puzzle. Available for PC and Mac, and now iPhone, Auditorium was created by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime. http://www.playAuditorium.com