EVENTS AT GDC

14TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAME FESTIVAL (IGF)

About the Independent Game Festival

The UBM TechWeb Game Network (producers of Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, and the Game Developers Conference®) established the Independent Games Festival in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers. Just as the Sundance Film Festival benefits the independent film community, the IGF creates a similar event for independent game developers in addition to the student population of game developers.

Located at the Moscone Center at the Game Developers Conference, and open to any members of the public or game professionals who have passes with access to the Expo Floor, the IGF Pavilion showcases every single finalist for this year's Festival in playable form. Game submissions are also browsable on the official IGF site before and during GDC. Members of the development team for each IGF finalist are on hand to discuss and demonstrate the title and talk to top game publishers and distributors attending the show.

The IGF Awards will take place on Wednesday, March 7, at the Game Developers Conference, with thousands watching the awards presentation before the Game Developer's Choice Awards are presented. In its 14th year, the IGF has given away hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes and major recognition to innovative and independently created video games from all over the world.

IGF AWARDS

South Hall A Moscone Center

Wed., March 7, 2012

6:30-8:30 pm

IGF PAVILION

Expo Floor

Wed., March 7, 2012

IGF SUMMIT

Expo Floor

March 5 - March 6, 2012

IGF Contest Overview

IGF Competition
The main IGF Competition will give out eight major awards:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($30,000)
Excellence In Visual Art ($3,000)
Excellence in Audio ($3,000)
Excellence in Design ($3,000)

Technical Excellence ($3,000)
Nuovo Award ($3,000)
Best Mobile Game ($2,500)
Audience Award ($3,000)

There are five specifically named finalists for each award, with the exception of the Nuovo Award, which has eight finalists. All finalists will be invited to the IGF award ceremony at GDC 2011, and will have their games showcased at the IGF Pavilion. The IGF Audience Award will be voted from the finalists in all other categories.

IGF Student Showcase
The IGF's Student Showcase will highlight a total of ten games this year:

IGF Student Showcase Winner ($500)

In addition there will be a prize for best overall IGF Student Game awarded as part of the IGF Awards, with the finalists comprising all of the Student Showcase winners.

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Key IGF Dates & Deadlines

Here are specific submission deadlines for the 2011 event:

Jun 27, 2011
Oct 17, 2011
Oct 31, 2011
Jan 5, 2012
Jan 12, 2012
March 5 -9, 2012
March 5 - 6, 2012
March 7 - 9, 2012
March 7, 2012

Submissions are Open
Submission Deadline, Main Competition
Submission Deadline, Student Competition
Finalists Announced, Main Competition
Finalists Announced, Student Competition
Game Developers Conference 2012
Indie Games Summit @ GDC
IGF Pavilion @ GDC
IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

Questions?

If you have further questions, check the IGF FAQ or contact the IGF Chairman.

For information on IGF sponsorship opportunities, please click here.

For IGF's 2011 contest winners, click here

Sponsors

IGF Student Competition Platinum Sponsor

Microsoft Studios is Microsoft's entertainment publishing arm, and Microsoft Studios XBLA has published some of the best games for Xbox LIVE Arcade. We're eager to continue to support and empower independent developers to deliver fantastic, innovative and ground-breaking entertainment experiences on Microsoft platforms. See what we're up to at http://playxbla.com/

IGF Student Competition Gold Sponsor
OnLive is a revolutionary concept in video games, instantly delivering the latest games on demand through the Internet with the simplicity of streaming video. Take your game seamlessly across PCs, Macs, TVs, smartphones and tablets with no discs, no downloads and no upgrades necessary. Learn more at www.onlive.com/developer.

IGF Student Competition Platinum Sponsor
DigiPen Institute of Technology, located in Redmond, Washington, has been providing highly capable programmers and production artists to the electronic games industry for over 14 years. With a rigorous curriculum endorsed by industry leading companies and taught by world-renowned faculty, DigiPen graduates represent some of the industry's most sought after employees and respected game development leaders.

IGF Student Competition Gold Sponsor
ENJMIN Become a worldwide-recognized artist, designer, programmer or researcher. ENJMIN, The Graduate School of Games and Interactive Media is a one-stop shop for the games and new media profession. Get a Master, Engineering or PhD degree in France, or get them as an accreditation from your professional experience..

IGF Student Competition Gold Sponsor
ISART Digital is a leading institute specialised in Video Game and CG Animation. The School, based in Paris, has developed strong links with the best international studios. The School's reputation is also based on its students' projects (awards, commercialisations) and its international partnership with NCC, a Japanese video game school.

EVENTS AT GDC

About the Independent Game Festival

Wed., March 7, 2012

Wed., March 7, 2012

March 5 - March 6, 2012

IGF Contest Overview

Key IGF Dates & Deadlines

Questions?

Sponsors

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