Both competitions invite unpublished indie developers to bring any kind of game they'd care to develop to the table — shooters, casual, puzzle or whatever. PAX requires that the game at least be in beta and not require any third party software installation to run the game (with some exceptions). IndieCade is a little more chill, allowing mods or software installs — and their only "level of completeness" requirement is one playable level.

The payoff, though, is where it is for many indie game developers. PAX 10 arguably has more prestige (and you get four free passes to the expo), but IndieCade has the more "serious business" ring to it. Still — neither rule set says you can't submit your game to both, so what are you waiting for?

The submission deadline for PAX 10 is May 9 and IndieCade is midnight on April 30.

The PAX 10 Is Open For Submissions [PennyArcade]
IndieCade: The International Festival of Independent Games 09 [IndieCade]

"The intense sense of purpose and camaraderie amongst The PAX 10 was astonishing," commented Michael Wilford of Twisted Pixel. "We feel extremely lucky to have been chosen from such an august group and grateful to have been a part of the PAX experience."

Judging from what I've seen of the game along with Crecente's hands-on impressions from the show, I'd say the PAX audience made a very good choice. Look for the award-winning title to hit Xbox Live Arcade early next year.

THE PAX 10 AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED

"The Maw" Selected from PAX 2008's Inaugural Indie Games Showcase

Seattle, Wash., September 22, 2008 - The votes are in! The organizers of The PAX 10 today announced Twisted Pixel's The Maw as winner of the 2008 Audience Choice award. The PAX 10, a showcase of ten independently developed games, were selected by a panel of 50 industry experts out of over 80 submissions as the best in terms of gameplay and "fun factor." The PAX 10 winners displayed their games at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), allowing attendees the opportunity to view each of the titles and cast their secret ballots, earning The Maw top honors for the inaugural year of the showcase event.

"The PAX 10 winners were great to work with and were as busy as any other booth on the Expo Hall floor," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "We're happy that we could support these amazingly talented developers and want to thank everyone who voted for their participation."

"The intense sense of purpose and camaraderie amongst The PAX 10 was astonishing," commented Michael Wilford of Twisted Pixel. "We feel extremely lucky to have been chosen from such an august group and grateful to have been a part of the PAX experience."

The Maw is a 3D action-adventure game in which players take control of Frank, a simple alien that must partner up with The Maw, a cute little blob with an insatiable hunger. Players will need to harness The Maw's unstoppable growth and incredible powers in order to help Frank find his way home. The game is expected to debut on Xbox LIVE® Arcade in early Q1 2009 and has been rated "E10+" for Everyone 10 and older by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for this platform.

The complete list of 2008's The PAX 10 (in alphabetical order):

- The Amazing Brain Train by Grubby Games (puzzle/strategy)

- Audio Surf by Dylan Fitterer (rhythm/action)

- Chronotron by Scarybug Games (puzzle/platformer)

- Impulse by a team of Rochester Institute of Technology students (puzzle)

- The Maw by Twisted Pixel Games (action/adventure)

- Polarity by a team of Carnegie Mellon University students (platformer/puzzle)

- Project Aftermath by Games Faction (tactical/action)

- Schizoid by Torpex Games (action/strategy)

- Strange Attractors 2 by Ominous Development (puzzle/strategy)

- Sushi Bar Samurai by Molly Rocket (exploratory puzzle)

In the game you play as Frank, a hapless alien armed with only a Plasma Leash. Fortunately he has the frighteningly large and easily frightened blob-like pet Maw. Frank can use his leash to guide Maw around to eat thing and clear paths, but despite being nearly all teeth, Maw is an easily frightened creature. So Frank has to spend a lot of time bulking up Maw and dealing with obstacles that the creature won't face.

The game has a lot going for it. First there's the amazing personality built into the game. The Maw and its lead creature are sure to win over the hearts of gamers as they play through it. The game itself is a nice combination of unique mechanic and fun puzzles. To take on many challenged gamers have to move Frank around which, in turn thanks to the leash, gets Maw to move around. But the fact that you don't have total control over Maw and can merely suggest where it should go, adds a whole other level of challenge to the game.

While seems big enough to take on everything in the game if it wanted to, the fact that everything even slightly close to his size, makes the game much more challenging. Often Frank will have to find ways around scary creatures to move Maw along through the game. Frank can use his leash on other creatures, he can also use it to occasionally grab some items for puzzle solving.

Maw grows as you feed it, it also takes on the powers of the things it eats. So when he sups on a fire creature he temporarily gains the ability to shoot out flames.

The Maw seems to have that pleasing mix of fun graphics, engaging character art and interesting game mechanic that virtually insures success. The game is due to hit the Xbox Live Arcade next year.

The Maw

They are looking for ten independent developers that are interested in seeing their games viewed by attendees, media and publishers at the Expo. A panel of 50 industry experts, including Penny Arcade's own Gabe and Tycho, will be selecting the ten submissions that they consider to be the best based on gameplay and "fun factor." Of the ten, one will be chosen "Audience Choice Award" by attendees.

Check out the details at the link below.

Brown Paper Tickets