October 3 is the deadline for entering the Indie Game Challenge

The October 3 deadline is fast approaching for game developers to enter the 2012 Indie Game Challenge.

Indie Game Challenge LogoDALLAS (SMU) – The October 3 deadline is fast approaching for game developers to enter the 2012 Indie Game Challenge, co-founded by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, GameStop Corp. and The Guildhall at SMU.

The IGC offers a $100,000 grand prize, a $50,000 scholarship, one-on-one meetings with AAA publishers and multiple avenues for game developers across the globe to break into the industry.

Significant accomplishments from the 2011 IGC finalists:

  • IGC non—professional category winner, team : Two members from Team Hermes are working with Red Fly Studio to publish their game.
  • Finalist Subsonic just had their game SONAR published on Google Chrome.
  • IGC finalist Toxic Games plans to release their debut title, Q.U.B.E.  in late 2011 to early 2012.
  • IGC Finalist Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix & Her Nightmare from Pilcrow Games is now available on PC from Big Fish Games.
  • IGC professional category winner Playdead’s LIMBO was released on PS3 and Steam.

Submissions for this year's competition must be postmarked by Oct. 3, 2011. Judging will be conducted by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.  Ten finalist teams will be announced in mid-January 2012 and two members of each finalist team will be flown to an awards reception Feb. 10, 2012, at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas during AIAS’s D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit.

Members of each team will be rewarded with the opportunity to pitch their games face-to-face with publishers like Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Microsoft, NAMCO/Bandai, THQ and Ubisoft following the AIAS's D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit in February 2011.

Additional cash awards include: three $2,500 Skill Award winners in the categories of art, technical and gameplay, the Kongregate Award and a $2,500 "Gamer's Choice" prize. Also, a $50,000 scholarship to attend The Guildhall at SMU, one of the premier graduate level video game development education programs in the U.S., will be awarded to an eligible participant of the 2011 competition.

For more information on the competition and to learn more about each of the winners, visit: www.IndieGameChallenge.com

About the Indie Game Challenge

The Indie Game Challenge (IGC) is an annual competition for video game developers offering more than $250,000 in prizes for professional and non-professional categories.  Founded by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, GameStop Corp. and The Guildhall at SMU, the IGC was created to foster game development innovation by independent developers. 

Prizes include cash awards, scholarships, national consumer exposure for the top games and an opportunity for the finalists to obtain professional feedback and seek commercial avenues for their games through face-to-face meetings with representatives from the leading video game publishers. 

For more information on the IGC visit www.indiegamechallenge.com, www.interactive.org, www.gamestop.com or http://guildhall.smu.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Ron Jenkins
The Guildhall at SMU
972.473.3546
www.guildhall.smu.edu

Debby Chen
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
debby@interactive.org
818-876-0826
ext. 206

Wendy Dominguez
GameStop Corp.
(817) 722-7747
WendyDominguez@gamestop.com