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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.
Activision teams with Indiecade for second Independent Games Competition
Activison's indie games competition was such a rousing success last time -- from its announcement to the year-and-a-half of silence that followed to the reveal of winners -- that the publisher's doing it again, offering up another $250,000 to two indie developers. Activision's doing it differently this time. For one thing, right there in the press release, it notes that "Ownership of submission remains with the creator." Last time, the competition had a caveat that if Activision decided to publish the winning entry, it would own the IP. The announcement of this contest mentions nothing about an Activision publishing deal being on the table. Additionally, Activision is working with Indiecade to run this contest. Submissions are open now through December 31. Winners will be announced sometime in the next couple of years or whatever.
'Dstroyd' and 'Rigonauts: Broadside' win Activision indie competition
Remember the Activision Independent Games Competition? First announced in February of last year, the contest offered cash prizes and potential Activision publishing deals to indie devs in the US. After almost a year of deliberation (submissions ended on August 31, 2010!), Activision has announced the winners of the first phase. Dstroyd by Peter Angstadt, a side-scrolling ballistics game (like Worms) with real-time strategy elements, is the first-place winner, receiving $175,000. Engient's Rigonauts: Broadside, a game about assembling rickety battleships out of assortments of parts in real time, and then fighting with said ships, took the second-place spot, earning $75,000. Activision didn't say whether it was pursuing publishing contracts for either game, but a note in an interview with Angstadt mentions that he retains the IP, with Activision claiming the first opportunity to publish the game. Activision will hand out another $250,000 in the second phase of its indie contest, but no details have been announced. It might take a while.
Activision indie games competition detailed
[Elisabeth Caren] Activision has laid out the rules for its "Independent Games Competition." Announced during DICE by CEO Bobby Kotick, the competition will be open to US-based indie developers and conducted in two phases. The first round has already begun and is set with an August 31, 2010 cutoff for submissions. The first and second place winners will receive $175K and $75K, respectively. The second round of competition will be announced at a later date. Here comes the part that some may consider the "Ursula clause": Speaking with IndustryGamers, Laird Malamed, SVP of development at Activision, noted that if the company does decide to publish the winning entry -- which is not guaranteed -- that it will own the intellectual property. For anyone interested in participating, please make sure to read IndustryGamers' entire interview with Malamed and take note of any other little provisos in the rules.
