IndieCade cordially invites folks who'll be in or around Bellevue, Washington in October to come celebrate independent gaming as they launch their first stand-alone international independent gaming event. Running October 10th through the 17th, IndieCade kicks off with a two-day preview event leading into a week-long exhibition open to the public. The launch event features talks from speakers such as Jenova Chen of flOw fame and Jeep Barnett from the Portal team, who'll be discussing the path from indie to mainstream, along with master classes, preview screenings of upcoming titles, and an awards ceremony where five top games will be selected from a field of 26 finalists. Once the show opens to the public it'll be hands-on all week long. Yum. The festival takes place at Open Satellite in Bellevue, Washington. Hit the jump for more details on this much-deserved showcase for independent game developers.IndieCade: the International Festival of Independent Games announces first stand-alone international independent gaming event in the US open to the public LOS ANGELES, September 29, 2008 – IndieCade today announced its flagship festival, the culmination and celebration of its annual competition, IndieCade: the International Festival of Independent Games will take place at the Open Satellite contemporary gallery in Bellevue, Washington, October 10-17, 2008. This marks an important moment for independent games as it will be the first stand-alone international independent gaming event in the United States entirely open to the public. IndieCade: the International Festival of Independent Games will open with an action-packed two-day preview event that will launch a weeklong interactive exhibition open to the general public. The opening events will include artist talks, salon discussions, master classes, celebration, entertainment, preview screenings, and an awards celebration where celebrity jurors will select the top five games from the more than two dozen top finalists on exhibition. Speakers and topics include strategic game design by Geoff Zatkin, who will use the industry research conducted by his company Electronic Entertainment Design and Research to guide independent gamemakers to critical success; Jenova Chen (flOw) and Jeep Barnett (Portal) will lead a discussion on the road from Indie to Mainstream and the creative implications of traveling it; and on behalf of thatgamecompany, he will hold a special open screening of Flower. Other program highlights include a round-table discussion on the need for innovation with alternate reality game pioneer Elan Lee, as well as celebrity jurors and artist’s talks by the featured finalists. A panel of internationally renowned jurors selected the 26 featured games named finalists for this year’s festival from among hundreds of submissions to IndieCade. These reflect the breadth and depth of the independent games field, including some that deliberately defy the conventions of mainstream gaming. IndieCade finalists will be announced on the website throughout the month leading up to the festival; previous announcements have included the U.S. premiere of Dark Room Sex Game, a two-player audio installation using the Wiimote to explore the metaphor and mechanic of sex; The Night Journey, by MacArthur-winning video and installation artist Bill Viola in collaboration with Tracy Fullerton, exploring themes of spiritual enlightenment; the rusty, metallic adventure game Machinarium, by the makers of Samarost; Jonathan Söderström’s multi-genre compilation Cactus Arcade; Julian Oliver’s wildly innovative reality spatial puzzler, levelHead, and Blast Theory’s Rider Spoke, where players head out into the streets armed with a handheld computer mounted on their bicycle handlebars. Divergent in form and subject, games will span the predictable, the unexpected, and more. IndieCade @ Open Satellite follows IndieCade’s first Asian showcase in Hangzhou, China held earlier this year from April 28th through May 3rd, for the CICAF animation festival’s audience of almost 500,000 people; IndieCade’s successful showcase in July 2008 at the E3 Business & Media Summit for industry insiders; IndieCade’s showcase of live alternate reality and big games at Penny Arcade Expo, and an extensive upcoming showcase being planned for the public-facing E for All Expo in October. Other upcoming events this year include the focus on European games and gamemakers at IndieCade @ GameCity in the UK. What: IndieCade International Festival of Independent Games Where: Open Satellite, 989 112 Ave NE, Suite 102 Bellevue, WA 98004 When: October 10-17, 2008 Attendees: Open to gamemakers, industry, media, and the general public About IndieCade IndieCade supports independent game development and organizes a series of international festivals and showcase exhibitions for the future of independent games. It encourages, publicizes, and cultivates innovation and artistry in interactive media, helping to create a public perception of games as rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant. IndieCade’s events and related production and publication programs are designed to bring visibility to and facilitate the production of new works within the emerging independent game movement. Like the independent developer community itself, IndieCade’s focus is global; it includes producers in Asia, Europe, Australia, and wherever independent games are made and played. IndieCade was formed by Creative Media Collaborative, an alliance of industry producers and leaders founded in 2005. Advisors to IndieCade include Dave Perry, Will Wright, Eric Zimmerman, Neil Young, Tracy Fullerton, and Keita Takahashi, among many other storied industry veterans and rebels. http://www.indiecade.com ###
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