IndieCade Announces Valve, ThatGameCompany Speakers

Organizers for the inaugural IndieCade festival announced that Valve's Jeep Barnett and Thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen (flOw) will lead a discussion at the October event on "the road from Indie to Mainstream and the creative implications of traveling it." Chen will also hold an open screening for upcoming PlayStation Network game Flower. IndieCade: the International Festival of Independent Games will be open to the general public and will take place in Bellevue, Washington from October 10-17. IndieCade will feature artist talks, salon discussions, classes, and preview screenings. IndieCade has hosted a series of global showcases for independent games since April at events such as the E3 Media and Business Summit and the Penny Arcade Expo. Artists and designers were invited to submit work from a variety of interactive media forms -- including art, commercial, ARG, abstract, and serious games -- for the events. The October festival will include an awards celebration where jurors will select the top five games from the 26 finalists on exhibition, which were picked from hundreds of submissions to IndieCade. Other scheduled speakers include Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) co-founder Geoff Zatkin, who will share research data intended to "guide independent gamemakers to critical success," and Fourth Wall Studios founder and designer Elan Lee, who will host a round-table discussion on the need for innovation. Interested parties may find further information on the weeklong event at the official IndieCade site.