Second annual Boston FIG now accepting entrants

The Boston Festival of Indie Games submission process is now open for the September 14 event. The early registration fee is $20 until May 1 – after that, and until the deadline on June 20, fees are $25 for standard showcase entries, and $20 for student entries.

This is the second year the event is being held at various locations on the MIT campus. The showcase isn't just limited to digital games, as tabletop games form a new showcase category this year and include board and card games. Submissions for analog games will open on March 20.

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Boston Festival of Indie Games Announces Open Submissions for 2nd Annual Showcase

New Line-up of Showcase Curators Now Confirmed, Board Game Category Added

March 6, 2013 --Cambridge, MA- The Boston Festival of Indie Games, presented by MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies, announced today that registration for their digital game showcase submissions is open and available online.

The deadline for submitting games for the Boston Festival of Indie Games showcase is Thursday, June 20. Early registration fees are $20 for standard showcase entries, and $15 for student entries, if received by Wednesday, May 1. After May 1, fees are $25 for standard showcase entries, and $20 for student entries.

The Boston Festival of Indie Games showcase is an opportunity for independent game developers to show off their games, get feedback from the public and win great prizes. This year heralds a new showcase category, the inclusion of tabletop games. In addition to digital games, creators of independent board and card games will be able to submit their games for showcase consideration, beginning Wednesday, March 20.

Games will be reviewed by an all-star panel of guest curators from Northeast-based game companies and organizations. Boston FIG guest curators includes Sande Chen, games journalist and book author; Eitan Glinert, creative director at Fire Hose Games; Ichiro Lambe, president at Dejobaan Games; Francois Roughol, senior designer at Irrational Games; Tim Stellmach, senior designer at Harmonix; Philip Tan, Creative Director for the MIT Game Lab and Michelle Yaiser, community manager for Adobe. For a complete listing of festival curators, visit our web site at www.bostonfig.com.

Indie game shop Owlchemy Labs was one of the five 2012 showcase finalists, with their indie game "Jack Lumber, winning for Best Audio Design. Alex Schwartz, founder of Owlchemy Labs, offers, "Boston FIG fills a much needed niche in the Boston area. We have an amazing game development scene and a significant number of indie studios. Boston FIG helps more people become aware of the impressive indie game scene going on in Boston."

Clara Fernández-Vara, Boston FIG curation chair and festival co-producer, adds, "Our first year was highly successful in terms of the genre range and production quality of game submissions we received for the festival showcase. We're looking forward to welcoming a new round of game submissions for 2013, including in our new tabletop category."

The 2nd annual Boston Festival of Indie Games will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2013 at various locations on the MIT campus. A celebration of independent game development in a variety of media and genres, Boston Festival of Indie Games is free and open to the public. Festival attendees play video games, tabletop games and live action roleplaying (LARP) games in a casual, inclusive environment, plus attend film screenings and keynote talks.

Attendees can also become game developers themselves by participating in digital game jams, creating their own board and card games, and attending workshops and lectures about the process of making games. To stay informed on fest progress, sign up for updates on www.BostonFIG.com.

About the Boston Festival of Indie Games (www.bostonfig.com)
The Boston Festival of Indie Games is a celebration of independent game development with emphasis on the New England and neighboring regions. The Boston Festival of Indie Games seeks to support and showcase the efforts of independent game developers by providing a free public event that encourages attendees to share and interact with games in various media, including video games, location-based games and tabletop games. Produced under the non-profit auspices of BeEpic, a Boston location-based games production group, the Boston Festival of Indie Games is focused on creating an intersection between community, academic and independent interests in game play.

About MIT Game Lab (www.gambit.mit.edu)
The MIT Game Lab brings together scholars, creators and technologies to teach, conduct research and develop new approaches to applied game design and construction. Ranked by the Princeton review as the #2 Game Design Program in North America, the MIT Game Lab maintains MIT's roles as leader in the study, design and development of games. The MIT Game Lab's goal is to explore, educate and engage the public by creating groundbreaking games, interactive online courses and new applications to real world challenges.

About Boston Indies (www.bostonindies.com)
Boston Indies is a community of dedicated independent game developers in Massachusetts and the surrounding area. Boston Indies works to foster a sense of community among Boston's independent game developers, facilitate monthly meet-ups and other related community events, encourage developers to create games independent of large budgets and large company ties, provide a safe environment to obtain critical feedback on game development works in progress and serve as a brain trust for important information sharing among local independent developers.

To schedule an interview or for more festival info, please contact Elicia Basoli, Boston Festival of Indie Games publicist, at press@bostonfig.com; or contact Andrew Whitacre, Communications Director at the MIT Game Lab, at awhit@mit.edu or (617) 324-0490. More info is also available at www.bostonfig.com.
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