Iron Dragon, Planet Smashers win Activision Independent Games Competition
The winners of Activision's latest Independent Games Competition have been announced. Taking home first prize and $175,000 is Iron Dragon by Christopher Hui. Second place and $75,000 goes to Planet Smashers by Michael Stanton. Unlike last year, this year's competition made no mention of offering an Activision publishing deal to the winners, though the game's creators do get to keep their intellectual property rights, and we're sure the hefty cash prize is more than welcome.
Beyond announcing the winners, Activision didn't reveal much actual information about either game, other than to say Iron Dragon is "an action flight adventure optimized for touch-screen devices" and that Planet Smashers is "a multiplayer action game built on an original engine." Iron Dragon remains somewhat elusive, but we found quite a bit of info on Planet Smashers.
You can find Stanton's original pitch video above, featuring early footage of Planet Smashers. You can also head over to Stanton's website, which has lots of design information, pictures, and even a playable demo of Planet Smasher's gravity-defying gameplay.
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ACTIVISION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE ACTIVISION INDEPENDENT GAMES COMPETITION
"Iron Dragon" by Christopher Hui takes First Place; "Planet Smashers" by Michael Stanton Wins Second Place
Santa Monica, CA - June 25, 2012 - Continuing to show its support for independent game developers, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activison Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced the winners of the Activision Independent Games Competition. The awards program, which was designed to foster innovation, was juried by IndieCade.
First place and a cash price of $175,000 were awarded to Christopher Hui's Iron Dragon, an action flight adventure optimized for touch-screen devices. Second place and a cash prize of $75,000 went to Michael Stanton's Planet Smashers, a multiplayer action game built on an original engine. The winners retain full intellectual property rights to their works.
"We were excited with the quality, creativity and diversity we saw in the submissions we received for the Games Competition," said Dan Winters, Activision's Vice President of External Development."While the games themselves varied, the unifying theme for everyone involved in the competition has been passion. We want to thank the talented developers who submitted their work and our partners at IndieCade. The energy and enthusiasm of the indie community continues to inspire us and we're thrilled to help make their dreams become reality."
About IndieCade:
IndieCade supports independent game development and organizes a series of international events showcasing 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 videogame developer community itself, IndieCade's focus is global and includes producers in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and anywhere else independent games are made and played. IndieCade was formed by Creative Media Collaborative, an alliance of industry producers and leaders founded in 2005.
About Activision:
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.
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