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Mega64 punches people, makes out at IGF Awards
If you thoroughly enjoyed Mega64's video shenanigans at last year's Independent Games Festival Awards show, brace yourselves for round two. This year's IGF Awards featured a pair of clips from the comedic quartet, both of which you can find posted after the jump.The first video is aptly titled IF YOU'RE NOT INDIE, F**K YOU, and features a bunch of people getting punched in the face, except The Behemoth co-founder Dan Paladin, who is, as legend tells us, unpunchable. The second video, Topher Great Payens: "The GDC" (an homage to the equally unsettling Shine on Me by renowned musician Chris Dane Owens) is, well, extremely bizarre. Or extremely arousing. We haven't decided yet.
Rumor: Fez dev site hints at possible XBLA release
It's been quite some time since we've had any sort of substantial news on the Fez front, but if a screen and (somewhat vague) hint on developer Polytron's website is to be trusted, it looks like we should hear "something wonderful" in the near future.Posting just the image you see above and the headline, "SOMETHING AWESOME THIS WAY COMES," the 2008 Independent Games Festival winner (in "Excellence in Visual Art") clearly intends (at the very least) rampant speculation over the inclusion of a tiny green "A" -- like a certain console's controller button you may know -- in the lower right of the massive, hilariously mistranslated, text box. We've put in word to both Polytron and Microsoft for word on this and will let you know if and when we hear something back.[Via Geekadelphia]
Independent Games Festival audience award polls now open
Were you completely enraptured by a number of 2008's independent gaming offerings? Perhaps you were infatuated with Q-Games' PixelJunk Eden, or bowled over by the bizarre meiosis exhibited in Coil, or, much like us, you were strangely obsessed with the brilliantly minimalistic You Have to Burn the Rope. If you want to show that appreciation in a worthwhile manner, you might want to cast your vote in the recently opened polls of the Audience Award category for the 2009 Independent Games Festival, which will be held in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference later this month.Even if your favorite independent titles didn't make the list (or if your gaming habits stuck explicitly to big-budget blockbusters), most of the 15 finalists in the category are accompanied by their download links. Come for the exercise in democracy, stay for the free games!
iPhone dominates list of IGF Mobile 2009 finalists
Whereas last year's entries seemed more diverse (with a heavy Java slant), the 2009 Independent Games Festival Mobile finalists are almost entirely composed of iPhone / iPod touch games -- 11 of the 14 contestants, to be exact. The remaining three entries are represented by a Nintendo DS, Java and Flash game. A trio of games lead the pack with three nominations apiece: Wardive, Edge and Fieldrunners (pictured). We're not anywhere close to calling it "the future of gameplay," but the iPhone's App Store -- not to mention massive install base -- has proven to be a viable and tempting business model for aspiring developers.
PixelJunk Eden nominated for three Independent Game Awards
Nominations for the Independent Games Festival Awards 2009 have been announced today and one of our favorite PSN titles, PixelJunk Eden, has been nominated for three categories. The categories are: Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio and Technical Excellence. Eden is one of few console games to be nominated in this year's awards, and the only PlayStation Network title to get recognition.The winners will be revealed at the Independent Games Festival which takes place in San Francisco between March 23rd and 27th. If you want to learn more about all the games on the list be sure to check out Joystiq's IGF nominee run-down. Good luck to PixelJunk Eden, there's some strong competition there.
Independent Games Festival finalists announced
The finalists for the 2008 Independent Games Festival have been officially announced, with twenty independent titles spanning six categories.Noteworthy are the four music-based games (Audiosurf, Synaesthete, Fret Nice, and Cinnamon Beats), indicating a stronger emphasis on the rhythm genre than in previous years. Other notable finalists include Kokoromi's Fez, and Petri Purho's Crayon Physics Deluxe. All finalists will be playable at the Game Developers Conference in February 2008, and the winners will be announced at the IGF Awards Ceremony during GDC.[Via GameSetWatch]
'GameTap Indies' launches lil' guys into cyberspace
GameTap has launched its 'Indies' program, an initiative to market and distribute independent games through its subscription-based service. While GameTap Indies will supposedly "take effect immediately," there's no sign of it today. A representative confirmed with us that launch titles won't be announced until GDC, when, during the Independent Games Festival, GameTap will present its first ever 'GameTap Indie Award' to three "hand-picked" recipients.The trio will have their games showcased on GameTap, assumingly headlining a selection of less-heralded indie titles. One recipient will receive a $10,000 advance for signing a 5-year distribution deal with the GameTap Indies label; two others will receive $5,000 for signing away similar distribution rights.It's a strong play from GameTap -- still seeking a firm identity -- and will hopefully encourage similar services to support independent development more aggressively. Will 'Indies' help to negate the stigma that GameTap is a bloated client with little original content to offer? Mr. Turner and company certainly hope so -- Sam & Max and Myst Online can't do it alone much longer.
