IGF Mobile Competition Reveals Inaugural Entries

The organizers of the inaugural Independent Games Festival Mobile have revealed over 50 entries for the first-ever IGF Mobile Competition event, with innovative entered titles spanning mobile phones, DS, PSP, Windows Mobile, and even iPod and GP2X.

The event (organized by the CMP GameGroup, as is Gamasutra) has seen a host of notable independent Java, Nintendo DS and Windows Mobile games entering the contest - for which almost $20,000 prizes will be given out at GDC 2008 next February. Nvidia is Platinum and Founding Sponsor for the event.

A full list of IGF Mobile 2008 entries is now available on the official Independent Games Festival Mobile website, including screenshots and details on each of the entries. As always, many of the top IGF Mobile games will only come to the fore during the judging process - and there are many high-quality titles not listed below.

However, a diverse set of entries have come from many different mobile formats and multiple continents, with the diversity of mobile platforms being reflected in some of the following entries:

- Anna's Secret [Pocket PC] (Jan Ulrich Schmidt)
("Anna's Secret is a GPS driven, location-based learning adventure game for cultural content in the city of Weimar (Germany).")

- Critter Crunch [Java, BREW] (Capybara Games)
("In Critter Crunch, take control of Biggs, a hungry little guy with a special talent that keeps him on top of the food chain; Biggs uses his long, sticky tongue to grab critters that hang from the tree above and then feeds them to each other till they burst, dropping tasty jewels which Biggs loves to eat!")

- Drawn to Life [Nintendo DS] (5TH Cell Media LLC)
("Draw and customize heroes, weapons, tools, animals, plants, and almost anything in the game! Swap and share your drawings with friends. Play as your creations and watch them come to life!")

- Heli Strike Advanced Combat [Java] (Zeetoo, Inc. / FISHLABS Entertainment GmbH
("Fight as a reckless pilot in your combat helicopter behind the lines against a vast count of enemies at the sea, on land and in the air. With the innovative integration of the Zeemote Controller, a true analog joystick controller, the user has superior control of the battle experience.")

- Hexaxis XXI [Sony PSP] (Darksoft.net)
("Hexaxis XXI is an addictive dice based puzzle game. Line up the dice by the number of the sides, 2 two's, 3 three's, all the way to 6 sixes. Combos 'wipe out' when the wipe line crosses over them.")

- musika [iPod] (NanaOn-Sha Co., Ltd.)
("From Masaya Matsuura, the creator of PaRappa the Rapper and vib-ribbon, comes musika, a groundbreaking music visualizer game for your iPod! musika uses the songs on your iPod to create original game play. A character will appear on screen through a broad variety of visual effects. If you see a character that is in the song title, hit the center button! Faster reactions will earn you more points! Special icons can be hit for bonus effects. Hitting correctly without error increases your score, multiplier and level bar. Reaching new levels will reveal new effects!")

- Nom 3 [WIPI] (Gamevil)
("The revolutionary rotating game is back with its sequel, Nom 3! This time Nom travels through the realms of the mind as he runs, leaps, and fights his way through a wide range of obstacles and enemies. Rotate your phone as Nom reaches vertical boundaries at the edge of your screen!")

- PhoneTag Elite [Java] (KnowledgeWhere Inc.)
("PhoneTag Elite turns hide and seek into a radical group sport across North America by using the mobile phone as a console for chatting and location-tracking. Available exclusively to Sprint customers across America, taggers can shop in-game at their favourite brand stores for tools to help evade capture and pursue targets.")

- PlayDetective: Heartbreakers [Windows Mobile] (Kayo Games)
("PlayDetective: Heartbreakers puts you in the gumshoes of a private investigator as he investigates a series of infidelity cases. Conduct surveillance using a range of tools and gadgets, collect and analyze evidence, and solve mind-bending puzzles. Anything to make sure you get your man... or woman.")

- wifight [Palm OS] (Brennan Underwood)
("wifight is an online game designed for PalmOS cellphones. A single downloadable client plays a variety of multiplayer turn-based games, including Chess. Play unlimited simultaneous games against multiple opponents.")

- Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles [GP2X] (Yuan Works)
("W&W is an arcade-action puzzle battle game featuring three skill levels, more than 30 hours of Story Mode with hundreds of dialogs, anime-style intro sequence, cutscenes, extensive tutorials, studio-recorded soundtrack, minigames, and hundreds of extras including art galleries and making of.")

The complete list of entries, including many other notable games, is now available for viewing on the official website. Finalists in the inaugural IGF Mobile competition will be announced on December 10th.announced on December 10th.