EVENTS AT GDC

15TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAME FESTIVAL (IGF)

About the Independent Game Festival

The UBM Tech 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 27, at the Game Developers Conference, with thousands watching the awards presentation before the Game Developer's Choice Awards are presented. In its 15th 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

GDC Ballroom, West Hall, 1^st Floor

Wed., March 27, 2013

6:30-8:30 pm

IGF PAVILION

Expo Floor

March 27- March 29, 2013

IGF SUMMIT

TBD

March 25 - March 26, 2013

IGF Contest Overview

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

Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($30,000)
Excellence in Audio ($3,000)
Excellence in Design ($3,000)
Excellence in Narrative ($3,000)

Excellence in Visual Arts ($3,000)
Technical Excellence ($3,000)
Nuovo Award ($5,000)
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 2013, 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 winners ($1,000)
The IGF's Student Showcase will highlight a total of eight games this year.

IGF Best Student Game ($3,000)

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

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Key IGF Dates & Deadlines

Here are specific submission deadlines for the 2011 event:

Aug. 9, 2012
Oct. 17, 2012
Oct. 31, 2012
Jan. 7, 2013
Jan. 14, 2013
Mar. 25 -29, 2013
Mar. 25 - 26, 2013
Mar. 27 - 29, 2013
Mar. 27, 2013

Submissions are Open
Submission Deadline, Main Competition
Submission Deadline, Student Competition
Finalists Announced, Main Competition
Finalists Announced, Student Competition
Game Developers Conference 2013
Indie Games Summit @ GDC
IGF Pavilion @ GDC
IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

Award Categories

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

2013 Finalists:

Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games)
FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)

Excellence in Audio

2013 Finalists:

Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Bad Hotel (Lucky Frame)
140 (Jeppe Carlsen)
Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games)
Pixeljunk 4AM (Q-Games)

Excellence in Design

2013 Finalists:

Samurai Gunn (Beau Blyth)
FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
Starseed Pilgrim (Droqen & Ryan Roth)
Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Super Space ______ (David Scamehorn & Alexander Baard/DigiPen)

Excellence in Narrative

2013 Finalists:

Thirty Flights of Loving (Blendo Games)
Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Dys4ia (Auntie Pixelante)
Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)

Excellence in Visual Arts

2013 Finalists:

Incredipede (Northway Games and Thomas Shahan)
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Guacamelee! (Drinkbox Studios)
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Asteroid Base)
Year Walk (Simogo)

Best Student Game

2013 Finalists will be announced January 14, 2013

2012 Winner:
Way, by CoCo & Co.

Technical Excellence

2013 Finalists:

StarForge (CodeHatch)
Perspective (DigiPen Widdershins)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
Intrusion 2 (Aleksey Abramenko)
LiquidSketch (Tobias Neukom)

Nuovo Award

2013 Finalists:

Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Spaceteam (Henry Smith)
Dys4ia (Auntie Pixelante)
Bientot l'ete (Tale of Tales)
7 Grand Steps (Mousechief)
MirrorMoon (SantaRagione + BloodyMonkey)
VESPER.5 (Michael Brough)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)

Audience Award

2013 winner to be announced during the IGF ceremony.

2012 Winner:
Frozen Synapse, by Mode 7 Games

Microsoft Studios Prize

2013 winner to be announced during the IGF ceremony.

2012 Winner:
Super T.I.M.E. Force, by Capy Games

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 2012 contest winners, click here