1st Independent Games Festival China

After being held successfully for 11 years at GDC San Francisco, the Independent Games Festival now debuts in Shanghai, China at the 2nd official Game Developers Conference China. IGF China encourages innovation in game development and recognizes the best independent game developers in the Asian-Pacific area.

2009 IGF Winners announced! View them here.

Overview

There are three main elements to the 1st Independent Games Festival China event: the Independent Game Summit, the IGF Pavilion, and the IGF Awards Ceremony . The festival also features the main IGF competition itself and the IGF Student Showcase.

The Independent Games Summit

The Independent Games Summit will be held October 11th (Sunday), the first day of GDC China 2009. The summit will highlight the best and brightest in indie game development and will host discussions ranging from indie game distribution methods through game design topics, guerrilla marketing concepts, student indie game discussions, and indie success stories.

The Independent Games Festival Pavilion

Located on the show floor at GDC China and open to all pass holders, the IGF Pavilion showcases all finalists with playable demos and games. Members of the development team for each IGF finalist are on hand to discuss and demonstrate the game and talk to top game publishers and distributors attending the show.

The Independent Games Festival Awards Ceremony

The IGF Awards Ceremony will take place during GDC China. Premiere invitees to the event include: Authorities and technologists from global game companies, GDC China advisory board members and speakers, the IGF China judging panel, and members of the press.

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IGF 2009 Important Dates

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IGF Competition

The main IGF Competition contains four main categories with prizes denoted below:

• Best Game (RMB 20,000/$2,900 US)
• Excellence In Art Direction (RMB 5,000/$730 US)
• Excellence In Audio (RMB 5,000/$730 US)
• Technical Excellence (RMB 5,000/$730 US)

The competition will name EIGHT finalists in total. All finalists will be invited to the IGF awards ceremony at GDC China 2009 and be presented with THREE free VIP Passes.

In addition to cash prizes and certificate awards, all IGF China winners will be awarded two All Access Passes to GDC San Francisco 2010!

The 1st China Independent Games Festival judging panel will consist of representatives of different backgrounds from the mainstream games industry, members of the press, educators and university members, and members from significant independent gaming websites.

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IGF Student Competition

The IGF's Student Competition, the premiere competition highlighting the top student-created indie games and the face of Asian students and youths practicing the game disciplines today, will give out the awards as follows:

• IGF Best Student Game (RMB 5,000/$730 US; 1 Winner)
• IGF Excellent Student Winner (RMB 2,000/$290 US; 3 Winners)

The competition will name EIGHT finalists in total. All finalists will be invited to the IGF Awards Ceremony at GDC China 2009 and be presented with THREE free Attendee Passes. In addition to the cash prizes and certificate awards, all winners will be presented with opportunities of priority recommendation to leading overseas and domestic game companies.

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IGF Competition Requirements

1. The entrant must be at least 18 years of age.
2. The entered game must consist entirely of the entrant’s own original work or work to which entrant has all necessary rights.
3. There is no limitation on the game development platform of the entered game.
4. To the main IGF competition, the entered game must be in a "beta" state or better (i.e., the entered game must be feature-complete). At least one (1) level of each entered game must be complete and fully playable. For the IGF student competition, the entrant may submit the works from different angles such as art, game design and programming (i.e., the works can be character/prop design, level design proposals, game ideas, function development documents, etc.). Extra points will be earned for the complete submissions and fully playable games.
5. Entrants may submit their game via e-mail to mscavio@gdconf.com using the submission form, please be sure to include the downloadable link and any appropriate log in or password.
   
6. The jury of IGF China 2009 holds the rights to determine whether the entered game is qualified to participate in the independent game competition.
7. Individual income tax of the award money will be withheld and remitted by the "IGF China 2009 Committee."

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IGF Success Stories

Since the Independent Games Festival & Summit started, there have been multiple major IGF prizewinners that have gone on to much larger exposure, garnering increased distribution, a bigger profile, and getting lots more gamers playing their art. Here are some of the highlights from past years:

2008

• The team behind IGF Student Showcase finalist Narbacular Drop is hired by Valve. The game is reworked into Portal and goes on to win the coveted Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" award for 2008, as well as numerous games of the year accolades.
• Design Innovation winner Braid is slated for an early 2008 release on Microsoft's XBLA service.
• Excellence in Audio winner Audiosurf launches on Valve's Steam distribution service and goes on to become the highest selling game of February, outselling even Valve's own Orange box (including Team Fortress 2 and Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" winner Portal.)

2007

• Design Innovation winner Everyday Shooter is signed by Sony for distribution on the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, after Sony's John Hight plays the game at the IGF Pavilion during GDC 2007 - Everyday Shooter's Jon Mak also appears at the inaugural Independent Games Summit.

2006

• Grand prize winner Darwinia gets both digital distribution via Valve's Steam system and U.S. retail distribution from new indie label Cinemaware Marquee.

2005

• Multi award-winner Alien Hominid receives publishing deals in the U.S. (via O3 Publishing) and Europe(via Zoo Digital), much critical acclaim, and even spawns a mobile version.
• Fan favorite N wins the audience award. N+ is currently announced as in development for Xbox 360 Live Arcade, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP.

2004

• Innovative casual strategy game Oasis wins the web/downloadable grand prize, going on to launch on major online portals the following year.

2003

• Super X Studios' Wild Earth, a photographic game based around a worldwide safari, takes multiple prizes and subsequently becomes a motion simulator ride.

2000

• Tread Marks, created by the late Seumas McNally, which the IGF's grand prize is now named after, wins 3 major awards.

1999

• Vicarious Visions, now a major handheld / console developer, honored for Terminus.

To learn more about the Independent Games Festival visit www.igf.com

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