The 2011 Indie Game Challenge finalists have been announced for the professional and non-professional categories. The collective dirty dozen are battling it out for gamers’ votes. The winner in each category will take home $100,000. For those solo indies, that could mean support for their present games and future titles. When gamers vote, they can enter for a chance to win a trip to L.A., $1,000 spending money, and more. The Indie Game Challenge winners to be will be announced February 11th at D.I.C.E.

Professional Category

• Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix And Her Nightmare (Bad Pilcrow)
• Fortix 2 (Nemesys Games)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Monaco (Pocketwatch Games)
• Spirits (Spaces of Play)
• Confetti Carnival (SpikySnail Games)

Non-Professional Category

• Hazard: The Journey of Life (Alexander Bruce)
• Solace (One Man Down)
• Subsonic (Team Height Advantage)
• Inertia (Team Hermes)
• Q.U.B.E. (Toxic Games)
• Symon (ZZZ Games)

There are several nominees who are also up for 2011 IGF awards. Hazard: The Journey of Life is a finalist for the Nuovo Award (and honorable mention for Technical Excellence). Confetti Carnival is a finalist for Technical Excellence. Solace is a Student Showcase finalist. Spirits earned an honorable mention for Best Mobile Game. Looking one year back, Limbo and Monaco were 2010 IGF winners. In sum, Indie Game Challenge represents the best of indie games: something old, something new, something borrowed (from IGF’s 2011 finalists), and with splashes of brilliant color from games like Solace and Hazard, something blue! Good luck! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!