Each year IndieCade’s annual awards celebrate the best and most innovative in the industry. The focus of the IndieCade Awards is to honor the people, the games, and the work that move the industry forward.
Hundreds of jury members, alongside an international review committee play, review, discuss, and thoughtfully consider each of our game submissions. The process takes nearly three months and in the end a selection of 36 nominees are determined. Some additional selections are hand-picked by the curation committee to join the show, as Official Selections.
All submitted games are eligible to be nominated and all nominated games are eligible for all of the awards which are selected based on the jury process. All other games that are featured at the events are eligible for the choice awards which are voted on site by developers, media, and the audience. Additionally, IndieCade confers annual Trailblazer, Game Changer, and Bernie De Koven Big Fun awards.
IndieCade’s Award festivities will take place on a magical Saturday Evening, October 13th in Los Angeles, and Saturday Evening, October 20th in Paris.
The IndieCade Jury Prix / Special Recognition Award is not given every year. It is for a game the jury wishes to confer honor for separating itself from the pack through its craftsmanship, innovation, and /or design.
The Impact Award has multiple different potentials. One is to honor a game which tackles, or offers a method for discussing social issues in a whole new way, the other is to honor a game that reaches new areas or communities and yet another is to honor a game that has made a marked impact on the industry.
Innovation in Aesthetics Design honors a game which offers a unique, immense or sublime experience, be it visual, or by taste, touch, sound or some synesthetic combination.
The IndieCade Jury Special Recognition Award is not given every year. It is for a game the jury wishes to confer honor for separating itself from the pack through its craftsmanship, innovation, and /or design.
IndieCade confers three annual honorary awards. The awards are Trailblazer, Game Changer, and the Bernie De Koven Big Fun Award. These awards rotate between IndieCade and IndieCade Europe.
This sponsored cash prize of $2,500 will be awarded to the game that contains examples of kindness which goes beyond mere dialogue choices and resource management, but which approaches the idea of kindness thoughtfully and sincerely. You can learn more about iThrive HERE and check out their video “What Makes Games Meaningful?” HERE.
Are you an IndieCade Alumnus? We want to know! If you've been a speaker, organizer, juror, or presented your game at IndieCade or any IndieCade-related showcase (ex. IndieCade @ E3, IndieCade @ SIGGRAPH, etc. - doesn't need to have been a finalist) we'd like to be in touch.
