IGF Officially Reveals 2007 Competition Details

Following an early notice to Gamasutra readers regarding the site's launch, the organizers of the Independent Games Festival (part of the CMP Game Group, as is Gamasutra) have officially released the rules and submission guidelines for the ninth annual IGF event. This year’s festival will award over $50,000 in cash prizes at a ceremony during the Game Developers Conference 2007 in San Francisco next March, including the first ever Best Student Game award. The deadline for the main competition is September 8th, with a deadline of October 13th for the IGF Mod competition and November 10th for the Student Showcase. The main IGF competition will award five major prizes for Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, Technical Excellence, Best Web Browser Game, and the standout Innovation Award, chosen from a pool of finalists. Additional honors will be presented for the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Independent Game of the Year and the Audience Award, which is voted online. In its second year the IGF Mod competition will be expanded to allow modifications for any game, past or present, to be eligible as long as the mod has been created or updated in the last twelve months. Categories include Best Single Player FPS Mod, Best Multiplayer FPS Mod, Best RPG Mod, and Best 'Other' Mod finalists, for which $500 cash prizes will be awarded. These winners will compete at the 2007 GDC for an overall $5,000 Best Mod prize. "We're delighted to announce this year's competition, and are really looking forward to seeing the innovative titles submitted this year," said Simon Carless, chairman of the Independent Games Festival. "With the vastly expanded modding competition, the Innovation Award in the main IGF competition, and the new Best Student Game prize, we're looking forward to another set of great indie titles." All Independent Games Festival finalists will be playable in the IGF Pavilion at GDC from March 7th to 9th, 2007, alongside an IGF/indie gaming-themed day of lectures and roundtables on March 6th. Developers interested in submitting a game can visit www.igf.com for official rules and entry forms. [Also new since the original IGF 2007 announcement: the IGF finalists and winners page has been updated with winner lists and pictures from all 8 previous IGF competitions, as well as streaming video of the 2005 and 2006 Independent Games Festival Awards.]