Talented Finalists Rise From Fierce Competition for 2006 Independent Games Festival

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Talented Finalists Rise From Fierce Competition for 2006 Independent Games Festival

  Five Innovative and Distinctive Titles Will Compete for the $20,000 Grand
                       Prize for Best Independent Game

    SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Finalists for the 2006 Independent
Games Festival (IGF) competition have been chosen among a record-breaking 118
entries and will be on display at the 20th annual Game Developers Conference,
slated for March 20 - 24, 2006 in San Jose, Calif.  Winners will be revealed
at the IGF and Game Developers Choice Awards gala ceremony on March 22 at the
San Jose Civic Auditorium.  A judging panel composed of 40 industry
professionals, comprised of mainstream and independent developers and
independent journalists, was formed to single out the exceptional indie titles
from the rest of the pack.
    Cash prizes totaling $35,000 will be awarded during the ceremony, but only
the following five finalists will have a chance to win the $20,000 Seumas
McNally Grand Prize for best independent game, the largest award to date.  The
selected games are:

    * Introversion's cult action-strategy title Darwinia
    * Ankama's French strategy-RPG MMO Dofus
    * Grubby Games' fiendish puzzle platform game Professor Fizzwizzle
    * Digital Eel's innovative 'short' space exploration title
       Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space
    * Pocketwatch Games' ecosystem-building Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa

    Best Innovation in Game Design category includes:

    * Darwinia
    * Rumble Box
    * Strange Attractors
    * Braid
    * The Witch's Yarn

    Best Web Browser Game category:

    * Dodge That Anvil
    * Moleculous
    * Dad 'N Me

    Technical Excellence:

    * Saints & Sinners Bowling
    * Tribal Trouble
    * Tube Twist
    * Darwinia
    * Crazy Ball

    Innovation In Visual Art:

    * Dofus
    * Darwinia
    * Putt Nutz
    * Glow Worm
    * Thomas And The Magical Words

    Innovation In Audio:

    * Professor Fizzwizzle
    * Saints & Sinners Bowling
    * Dodge That Anvil
    * Glow Worm
    * Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space

    In addition, an Audience Award will be voted by the public from all the
finalists.
    "Games are now a mainstream form of art," Simon Carless, IGF co-chairman,
said.  "As with any art, the independent scene flourishes.  We're proud to be
supporting innovative indie games and giving them the spotlight they deserve
with these awards."
    Finalists in the IGF Modding category and Student Showcase will be
announced in January 2006.
    The IGF was established in 1998 by the CMP Game Group to encourage
innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game
developers, in the way Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film
community.  Past winners include Wik & The Fable Of Souls, Alien Hominid,
Oasis, and Gish.
    For more information regarding the IGF and finalists, please visit
http://www.igf.com.
    To register for the Game Developers Conference and review conference
information, please visit http://www.gdconf.com.  Press registration is also
available at this time.

    About the CMP Game Group (http://www.cmpgame.com)
    A core provider of essential information to the professional game
industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives
community through the Game Developers Conference, GDC Europe, the Serious
Games Summit D.C., GDC Mobile, GDC Asia, Game Developer magazine,
Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice
Awards, and GDCTV.  For more information, please visit http://www.cmpgame.com.

    About CMP Media (http://www.cmp.com)
    Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands in the
technology, healthcare and lifestyle industries, CMP Media has earned the
confidence of more professionals and enthusiasts in these fields than any
other media company.  As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access,
insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in each
of these industries in ways that yield superior return on investment.

SOURCE CMP Game Group

http://www.cmpgame.com

http://www.cmp.com

http://www.igf.com

http://www.gdconf.com
CONTACT:
Sibel Sunar, ext. 271, sibel@bohle.com, or
Craig Sinel, ext. 211, craig@bohle.com, both of The Bohle
Company, +1-310-785-0515, for CMP Game Group; or Tara Gibb of CMP
Game Group, +1-415-947-6219, tgibb@cmp.com