IndieCade 2010:
The International Festival of Independent Games

Called the Sundance of the game industry, more than 3,000 participants wandered throughout Culver City's pedestrian friendly downtown to enjoy game play, artist talks, screenings, a conference and more at IndieCade's annual festival 2009.

2010 plans include dynamic expanded events across the city! Save-the-date, it is not an event to be missed!

Join IndieCade at its Annual Festival

October 8, 9, & 10, 2010.

IndieCade is open to the public and draws a diverse audience of savvy professionals interested in cutting-edge digital media, game developers, publishers, artists, and enthusiasts of all ages.

More details for conference speakers, performances, and exhibitions will be available in the late Spring. In the meantime, ....

IndieCade Hands-On Gameplay Exhibition

The crowned jewel of the festival, 30 finalist games will be installed for hands-on gameplay at multiple gallery locations in downtown Culver City throughout the festival (October 8, 9, & 10) . Plan to spend many hours engaged in gameplay. It is an amazing and unique opportunity to experience these independent games, as well as meet and hear from the game creators first hand. Finalist games will be announced late August. A map of all gameplay locations will be posted on the website and available at the event.

IndieCade 2010 Awards

IndieCade holds two award events.

An intimate award ceremony and reception Friday, October 8 @ 7:00 PM. Following the show, award winners and finalists will be at their games and conducting artist presentations throughout the weekend.

The IndieCade Audience and Game Creator's Awards and 10-10-10 Closing Party, one of IndieCade's most spirited community events, Sunday, October 10 starting @ 4:00 PM. Games are selected by audience vote throughout the festival.

Big Games at IndieCade

This year the IndieCade festival will be showcasing some of the best outdoor big games from other festivals such as Come Out and Play (NYC) and Hide and Seek (London). This event is a showcase of social games that make use of public space and explore unique sites in Culver City. Big games will run daily and are open to the public. In addition to a set of big games there will be a reception and panel on big games at a local venue. A schedule will be posted in the coming months. Big Games at IndieCade is co-curated by Colleen Macklin (PETLab/Parsons) and Jeff Watson (Play LA/USC)

IndieCade 2010 Conference Summary

The 2010 IndieCade Festival conference will take place in venues throughout downtown Culver City starting the evening of Thursday, October 7th and continuing through the afternoon of Sunday, October 10th. Each day of the conference will be made up of three parts. Mornings will be comprised of talks, panels and salons, while afternoons will center on gallery visits and artist conversations. The evenings will be given over to special events. A schedule, keynotes, and special events will be posted in the coming months.

IndieCade will promote the innovative culture of independent games through a lively and accessible mix of talks, panel discussions, informal conversations and gallery conversations involving independent game creators, game industry professionals, journalists and critics. All conference sessions will fit one of three broad categories: (1) Practice: Sessions grounded in the practical what, how and when of indie game development. These sessions will cover topics from design to technologies to production processes to business considerations. (2) Reflection: Sessions focused on the interpretation and criticism of independent games. Game developers, critics and journalists will discuss their play experiences and provide insight into the nuance and power of indie games.(3) Culture: Sessions looking at the past, present and future of games. This is where the big ideas will start flying, helping to shape the future of independent gaming for years to come. IndieCade's 2010 Conference is co-Chaired by Richard Lemarchand (Naughtdog) & John Sharp (SCAD)

IndieCade's Youth Division

Programs include tours of family friendly, appropriate games, talks with gamemakers, workshops by university and college game students, and ongoing board game "modding." IndieCade's newly launched youth division will work with local audio-visual high school students as docents and special game creation workshop leaders to create this family friendly programming. The Youth Division will run on the Weekend (October 9 and 10) only. The Youth Division is co-chaired by Heather Logas & Kurosh ValaNejad.

2009 Festival Highlights included ...

Hands-On Exhibition: A hands-on exhibition of the top finalist work was showcased in multiple gallery locations across downtown Culver City.

Conference, Workshops, Panels, & More: A robust conference, salons, workshops, panels and keynote by industry leaders, thinkers, and featured gamemakers presentations was held throughout the festival with specific sessions catering to industry professionals, aspiring gamemakers, and fans. Speakers included, Will Wright (Spore, The Sims), Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy, Nobi Nobi Boy), Henry Jenkins, Brenda Brathwaite, Bill Viola, and more.

Previews of Anticipated New Work: Each year IndieCade holds theatrical previews of new innovative work.

Awards: A dynamic Award ceremony hosted by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Eight awards were determined from the finalist selections by a diverse celebrity jury. Congratulations to all nominees and awardees. Read more ...

Outdoor Gameplay: Through the course of the festival outdoor gameplay was held in the park and downtown plaza areas drawing the general public into the festival.

Daily Artist Talks: Each gamemakers presented daily artist talks and presentations.

The IndieCade Happening (opening gala), VIP, and Social Events: Special VIP and networking events included a fantastic IndieCade Happening at the Royal-T Café and Gallery with finalist game talks and performances, intimate lunch and evening programs, a closing party and audience awards show at Rush Street, and happy hours throughout the event.

Aspiring Gamemaker Events: A special series of events, programming, and gameplay over the weekend was designed specifically for youth and adults interested in exploring gamemaking.

Locations IndieCade 2009 Festival took place across the walking streets of Downtown Culver City. Culver City is perfectly located between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California and is full of independent and artistic spirit. IndieCade expresses great appreciation to its hosts, each venue was marvelous and we highly recommend them; Culver Hotel, Downtown Plaza,Gregg Fleishman Gallery,Ivy Substation/ Actor's Gang Theater, Media Park,Royal-T Cafe and Gallery,Rush Street, Sony Pictures Entertainment Plaza,Wonderful World Art Gallery,

IndieCade Festival 2008

Art by Jon Burgerman

IndieCade's 2008 Flagship Festival

Held in Bellevue, Washington the technologically progressive East Side of Seattle and headquartered at the Open Satellite, this landmark event was the first major exhibition of international, independent videogames and videogame art in the Seattle area and the first stand-alone independent videogame festival in the nation.

At this critically acclaimed event, an audience of professionals, independent gamemakers and artists, and the general public had hands-on access to more than two-dozen games, artist talks, featured premieres, performances, and awards. Juried awards were given in the following categories; Aesthetics, Design Innovation, Finalist Choice, Fun, Jury Award, Sublime Experience, Technical Innovation, World/Story.

Other 2008 IndieCade Appearances

IndieCade @ Game City

IndieCade's partnership with Game City expanded this year to include programming, salons, live gameplay, innovative artwork, and installations. IndieCade Europe took over the Malt Cross Gallery in Nottingham, UK October 30 - November 1.

IndieCade @ E for All Expo

IndieCade was once again invited to bring games, live gameplay, its trademark salons, innovative artwork, and the independent spirit to E for All. IndieCade featured more than two-dozen games at this large showcase and indie game lounge at the Los Angeles Convention Center October 3 - 5.

IndieCade @ Penny Arcade Expo

IndieCade joined PAX this year at the Seattle Convention Center August 29 - 31 with a fleet of indie ARGs and big game integrating street games and live gameplay into the event and community building at its booth.

IndieCade @ E3

July 13 - 15 IndieCade brought innovative independent games, artwork, installations and US premieres to E3. The exhibition was met with much acclaim and excitement.

IndieCade @ CICAF

IndieCade featured some of the best and brightest of the international independent game developer community at the China International cartoon & Animation Festival (CICAF) at Hangzhou, China, on April 28 - May 3rd. The event marked IndieCade's inaugural event in China. CICAF received more than 500,000 visitors and IndieCade added to the event by celebrating innovation in videogames and interactive entertainment.

2007 IndieCade Appearances

IndieCade @ GameCity

IndieCade hosted 20 shining international examples of independent gamemaking GameCity, a gathering for European and UK gamemakers, industry, and fans in Nottingham, England.at GameCity, UK, October 24-28, 2007.

IndieCade @ E for All

IndieCade featured 18 examples of independent gamemaking at the IndieCade Games Showcase at E for All a large public mainstream videogame expo in Los Angeles which attracted tens of thousands of game enthusiasts, October 19-21, 2007.

IndieCade @ E3

The pilot IndieCade Showcase graced the exclusive E3 Industry and Media Summit July 2007, targeted to the mainstream publishing and game press establishment. IndieCade brought 19 pioneering examples of independent gamemaking to the event and by the time the event opened, two of the games featured in the IndieCade Showcase had obtained publishing deals, one featured company had just released its first downloadable PS3 game, and another had just received an influx of $10 million in funding. IndieCade and the featured games received tremendous industry and media attention, garnering articles in dozens of publications including a feature on the front page of the Yahoo! website.

IndieCade Events 2007 Snapshot (PDF)

Background

IndieCade’s Independent Games Showcases and Festivals celebrate and elevate the innovators and pioneers of this creative industry. With an eye toward inspiring the creative center of tomorrow’s game business, the latest independent videogames are juried and curated by a panel of game experts and showcased to fellow developers, industry stakeholders, and fans. By bringing these audiences together, IndieCade serves the global independent videogame marketplace, similar to the origins of cinema’s Sundance Film Festival and American Film Market, and creates a public venue for fans to experience the latest creative innovations from indie developers.

Each event features continual screenings and hands-on play experiences. The risk-taking, inventive, and entertaining alternative games span genres, styles, screens, and formats. They include independently produced commercial games, art games, serious and activist games, big games and alternative reality games, mobile games, browser-based casual games, student games, learning games, and games whose genres and audiences are yet to be defined.

Like the independent videogame developer community itself, IndieCade’s focus is global and includes producers in Asia, Europe, Australia, and anywhere else games are made and played.

Each IndieCade Showcase is tailored to its venue. Events vary from a collection of handpicked games to more elaborate exhibits, workshops, and presentations by creative legends in the industry; game-design jam tournaments, large-scale social games, works-in-progress, and special events honoring the indie spirit in legacy games.