IGF organizers have announced that submissions are now open for the 2011 Independent Games Festival, set to be held once again at GDC 2011 in San Francisco next March.

The 13th annual festival (the longest running indie competition around) have revealed deadlines in the Main and Student Showcase categories to be October 18th and November 1st respectively, with finalists announced in January of next year.

All finalists will be available in playable form at the IGF Pavilion on the GDC show floor, gunning for around $50,000 in prizes, including the Nuovo Award, Excellence in Design, Art, Best Student Game, the Audience Award and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize which will earn the developer $20,000. Winners will be announced at the Independent Games Festival Awards on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the Moscone Center.

Additionally, in response to developer feedback, games made for Apple’s iPhone, Android, Nintendo DS/DSi, PlayStation Portable, and all handheld devices will compete in the same traditional IGF categories. Those titles will also be eligible for a new Best Mobile Game award, “honoring innovation, achievement and artistry in handheld gaming.”

The number of finalists for the IGF Nuovo Award, which honors “abstract, shortform, and otherwise esoteric art games”, will increase to eight games in total instead of five.

For a complete list of information on the 2011 Independent Games Festival, including submission specifics, FAQ’s and more check out IGF’s website.

Important IGF 2011 Dates:

June 28th, 2010 – Submissions are Open

October 18th, 2010 – Submission Deadline, Main Competition

November 1st, 2010 – Submission Deadline, Student Competition

January 3rd, 2011 – Finalists Announced, Main Competition

January 10, 2011 – Finalists Announced, Student Competition

February 28 – March 4, 2011 – Game Developers Conference 2011

February 28 – March 1, 2011 – Indie Games Summit @ GDC 2011

March 2 – March 4, 2011 – IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2011

March 2, 2011 – IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)