IGF 2009: Call For Submissions!

By: Derek Yu

On: July 2nd, 2008

And the clarion call goes out for next year’s Independent Games Festival! The IGF is one of the best parts of GDC, and it gets bigger and better every year. Definitely try to submit something, if possible, and, barring that, make an effort to attend the conference. You will never see things the same again. (And that’s just if you go drinking with Phil Fish, pictured at right.)

The two big changes to IGF this year are the new judges (including 2d Boy’s Kyle Gabler and Kloonigames’ Petri Purho), and the addition of an Innovation Award to the Main Competition.

Here are the important dates:

July 1st, 2008 – Submissions are Open
November 1st, 2008 – Submission Deadline, Main Competition
November 15th, 2008 – Submission Deadline, Student Competition
January 5th, 2009 – Finalists Announced, Main Competition
January 19th, 2009 – Finalists Announced, Student Competition
March 23rd-27th, 2009 – Game Developerâ€™s Conference 2009
March 25th-27th, 2009 – IGF Pavilion @ GDC
March 25th, 2009 – IGF 2009 Awards Ceremony

As usual, IGF submission is $95. See the website for more details!

Posted in Community, Developers, IGF / GDC

ultim8p00

Hopefully Katakijin is done by then! Does anybody know if IGF accepts GameMaker games now? I heard they were thinking about it or something.
Tommunism

I’m on this like stink on shit.
Derek

ultim8p00: they already accepted Clean Asia and Battleships Forever, which were made in GM. :)
http://doomlaser.com Golds

ultim8p00, Cactus’ Clean Asia was a finalist last year.

yay, IGF 2009!
god_oF_DOG

Too bad I can’t actually go there to comply with every rule posted (like being there and hosting your game and all). Oh well.
Campaignjunkie

I think you can delegate someone to go in your place if you’re a finalist.
haowan

A large part of the benefit of being a finalist in the IGF is exposure.

That said, I’d be more comfortable if it were made easier for people to attend. The travel expense allowance should be greater (and probably the entry fee increased to compensate) to reflect the fact that it is an international competition.
http://www.shotbeak.com Tr00jg

Woot! This time I’m entering in the student competition no matter what. :)
god_oF_DOG

@Campaignjunkie
If that is the case, then maybe there is some hope (for me :P). Can anyone confirm this though?

I mean, paying entry fee (with credit card ‘only’) is another thing but spending a lot more just to be there and NOT win (IF you are the finalist) is another. The tree with the moolah leaves outside will dry out faster than I can say ‘Independent’.
http://chaosforge.org Kornel

I definitively think that finalists should have their travel expenses paid for. Oh come on, even if I did have a game worth submitting, I couldn’t do it because the ticket to SF alone would ruin me. Not to mention entry pass and costs of living there for the event. There are not that many finalists, and I fully agree for the entry fee to be even doubled. Unfortunately in the current situation this is a very US-or-rich-guys-only event :/
haowan

Yes, you can use a proxy if you know someone who can attend in your place.

from http://www.igf.com/rules.html:

“Any individual Finalist who is unable to attend may officially nominate a proxy attendee (the name and contact details of which to be electronically mailed to the Contest Chairman at [email protected] within fourteen (14) days after notification of nomination has been sent to the Finalist). Proxy attendees must perform the same duties as the actual Finalists.”
haowan

It’s only fair.
simonc

Hey guys – we’d love to cover travel expenses, but even with IGF sponsors and the entry money, it’s just not possible, we’re afraid. (You get a free pass to the IGF if you’re a finalist, Kornel.)

Nonetheless, that’s why we have the proxy rule – and I do think nowadays that an indie finalist has a decent chance of getting a deal through either the event or the exposure from the event that will help offset costs in the longer term.

Anyhow, we’re trying. I’m pretty sure the IGF would have MUCH less impact if it was only an online competition, so I do believe that everyone meeting up in person is a key part of it.
FISH

regarding the cost of the trip.
ive been to san francisco for the last two GDCs and both times i totally roughed it. i stayed at this hostel downtown, about a 10 minute walk away from moscone center. A night in a 4 bed dorm costs something like 20$. if you manage to round up enough friends, like me and Petri did last year, its a lot less awkward, and you dont have to worry about some backpacking dude stealing all your shit. Hell, we had our own private bathroom, and breakfast in the morning.

and then if you’re careful about how you spend your money, you can spend a week in SF for fairly cheap. just dont use your cellphone (that’ll bite you on the ass later), try to eat as much free food as possible. Go to open bar parties if you can, you’ll save TONS there. and drink vitamined water. lots of it.

it’s the fucking party of the year, you make new friends every year. it’s soooo worth it.
Jeff Lindsay

Stop stop, I’m getting too excited and it’s still 8 months away.
Josh

Agreed, you’re getting me all tingley inside.
http://www.farbs.org Farbs

Hot damn! I’m gonna go start a new thread in the forums :P

Now, who wants to donate $5k for my flights?
http://chaosforge.org Kornel

Um FISH, you forgot that I live in europe. That is around 4000$ for the tickets and the visa :P
http://www.distractionware.com Terry

Really? I dunno about the visa, but I’m thinking of going from Dublin and it looks like it’s gonna be around 700 euro for the flights. That’s presuming I booked now, though :P
http://www.distractionware.com Terry

Awesome, just looked it up, turns out I don’t need a visa! Though apparently I need a hitech passport with a chip and I have to submit my fingerprints :o
http://www.farbs.org Farbs

Terry – if they say “Machine Readable” they don’t require chips or anything. It’s just a punchcard thing.

Either than or they chipped my passport while I wasn’t looking.
Petri Purho

The flights from Helsinki to San Francisco and back costed me about 700 euros. And I did that a month before the trip. 2007 I did week before the trip and price was about the same.

If the plane ticket and hotel / hostel is the only thing you have to pay, then it’s very much worth the trip.
Alec

I hope I can make it out again, so there can be more crazy TIGs game jamming. :D
haowan

I’ve changed my mind now, and I think the proxy system and low entry is more inclusive.
http://chaosforge.org Kornel

Seems as it would be cheaper to fly to Helsinki or Dublin, and make the flight to SF from there -_-
Josh

Kornel > that is usually the case with flights. I am in Cincinnati, and I know people that when they fly somewhere, they have to drive an hour to Indianapolis to get a flight that connects to Cincinnati (yes, back where you started), and then out from there to the destination. It’s sometimes $100s less than flying straight out of the city. Funny thing is that it turns out to be true in almost any city around here. Look up as many alternative routes, and drive out of the way if you must (although not too much with these prices, sheesh).
FISH

kornel: then you must live a billion miles under the earth’s crust.

josh is right.
my brother just scored a ticket from NYC to Reykjavik for 600$

to fucking REYKJAVIC.

nopw he just has to get from Montreal to NYC, which will cost him about a hundred bucks and take him about 8 hours, but it saved him a serious grand or so.

you either have to get them way in advance, or at the absolute last moment. but that’s a gamble.

also, fun thing to know is that most carriers will let you take another plane if you miss yours and call them ASAP. theyll only charge you about 75$ for the trouble. always good to know if there’s one last party you simply have to attend.

hot dog i cant wait for GDC 09.