Closure earns Grand Prize at 2012 Indie Game Challenge

Eyebrow Interactive's indie puzzle-platformer Closure took home the Grand Prize at this year's Indie Games Challenge at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, with other winners including Symphony, The Bridge, and Nitronic Rush. Alongside the Grand Prize, the three-man team behind Closure will take also home a cash prize of $100,000. Indie Game Challenge organizers said the game stood out thanks to its stylish presentation and unique light and shadow mechanics, which allow players to erase objects from existence by shrouding them in darkness. Symphony, a music-based shoot 'em up, won the competition's Technical Achievement award, earning the team $2,500. In addition, the game was also selected to receive promotional exposure on GameStop's PC download service -- an opportunity valued at $50,000. The 2D logic-based puzzle game The Bridge earned both the Achievement in Art Direction and Achievement in Gameplay awards, netting the team a total of $5,000. Finally, the DigiPen student project and over-the-top racing title Nitronic Rush won the Gamer's Choice Award, which was selected via an online public vote and also came with a $2,500 prize. In addition, each of the ten finalists in the Indie Game Challenge will receive the opportunity to pitch their game face-to-face with a number of leading publishers and developers at D.I.C.E., giving them a chance to secure a distribution deal for their selected title. Indie Game Challenge organizers also said that later this year they will award one of these teams with a $50,000 scholarship to The Guildhall at SMU. Other finalists at this year's competition included Atom Zombie Smasher, Paradox Shift, The Dream Machine, The Swapper, Demolition Inc., and The Fourth Wall.