Just a handful of days after we received word of the IGF 2012 Main Competition finalists, we now know who will be representing the cream of the crop in the Student Showcase. Eight titles this time around have picked up $500 each for their selection, with both some new and familiar names vying for the $3,000 grand prize.

After what seems like forever, we finally get a look at the finalists for the 14th annual Independent Games Festival. The juries have announced their picks for all the categories and they include some games that have already received several awards so far as well as some newcomers.

The Pirate Kart was one of the more interesting ideas/games we saw crop up in the IGF’s official entries last year. The idea was simple: create a bunch of games in a 48 hour timeline and then release them to the world in one big package. It caught our attention almost immediately and many of the developers chimed in on our comments to talk about their individual games.

God news for those of you who are fans of both the IGF and Microsoft’s XBLA downloadable channel as the pair seem to have partnered up on the upcoming IGF awards for the next few years. Apparently, a winner will be picked from the 2012 IGF entrants from either the Main Competition or Student Showcase and announced on stage at GDC 2012.

Thanks to the popularity of the IGF Pavilion at the Game Developers Conference, its organizers are adding a game-centric Pavilion to its future GDCs. The “pilot” run will take place during GDC Online 2011 at the Austin Convention Center October 10-13.

States Gamasutra: “When signing up for GDC Play, which is open to a range of emerging developers showcasing playable games, game creators will be given a standalone kiosk with a monitor, keyboard, speakers and internet connection, as applicable. This makes the new area into a simple, lower-cost opportunity to exhibit titles to prospective business partners, investors and the press.”

GDC Play Pavilion at the Online conference will be entirely devoted to online and connected games from worldwide markets. More excitedly, GDC 2012 next March will have Play Pavilions with social and online, smartphone and  tablet, and independent games.

GDC Online presently offers around 10-15 spaces, each available for $2850 ($150 more for Internet). The GDC Play price is also $3000 for GDC 2012. I didn’t see any space limitations for GDC 2012, yet. For more information on demoing at GDC Play, check out JoinTheGameNetwork.

Source: Gamasutra

IGF organizers have announced they’re accepting submissions for the 14th annual competition which last year saw Minecraft take the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. This year a record amount of cash prizes will be up for grabs at just under $60,000. With the aforementioned McNally winner taking home a whopping $30,000–a 50% increase from last year.

Other notables include the abstract-applauding Nuovo Award which will net a dev $5,000, and $3,000 each for the rest of the categories: Excellence in Visual Art, Audio, and Design, Technical Excellence, Best Mobile Game, the Best Student Game, and Audience Award.

All games selected as finalists will be playable at the IGF Pavilion on the GDC show floor from March 7-9, 2012. If you’re an indie developer interested in submitting an entry, you can get more info here. Main competition submissions have until October 17, while students get an extra couple of weeks and have through October 31.

The key dates from today through the festival itself:

- June 30, 2011 – Submissions Open

- October 17, 2011 – Submission Deadline, Main Competition

- October 31, 2011 – Submission Deadline, Student Competition

- January 5, 2012 – Finalists Announced, Main Competition

- January 12, 2012 – Finalists Announced, Student Competition

- March 5 – March 9, 2012 – Game Developers Conference 2012

- March 5 – March 6, 2012 – Indie Games Summit @ GDC 2012

- March 7 – March 9, 2012 – IGF Pavilion @ GDC 2012

- March 7, 2012 – IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!)

Of course we can’t wait for the finalist list to hit so we can try out all of those great games that perhaps are still in their infant stages at this very moment. Oh the unknown potential!

[Gamasutra]

These days, with GDC comes a portion of the IGF dedicated to student made games. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed student-made games tremendously do to their not having to worry about making a profit or even ensuring their game is accessible to a wide audience. Essentially, they can make whatever they want so long as it’s playable and they get a decent grade on the project.

This year’s GDC was no different and while this year’s Student Showcase winner was a marvelous game called FRACT, I actually came away more impressed with a simplistic 3D title called PaperPlane, from ENJMIN.

PaperPlane pertains to exactly what the title says it is, a game about a paper plane. Essentially, you are the paper plane and you’re goal is to simply explore the world around upon being flung out from a child’s tree house. The more you explore, the more you can see.

Of course, the very act of exploring isn’t an easy proposition. Paper planes don’t fly, after all, the glyde. As such you’ll be required to use a unique control method using the right and left triggers to control your descent to the ground. Pull on the right trigger will move to you right, left trigger will move you left, and pulling on both at the same time will allow you to pull up a tiny bit.

There are also wind streams that will give you additional speed should you require it, the very same which allow you to propel yourself to new areas upon exploring the previous.

Should you land on the ground, or crash into something the game immediately restarts you from the tree house where you can depart once again.

There’s no real goal, objectives, or points to PaperPlane, it’s simply a matter of experiencing life as a tranquil paper plane as it descends to the ground. If you’ve got a few minutes today, I strongly encourage you to experience this game.

PaperPlane is available right now for the low, low price of nothing. Download it via the link below.

[PaperPlane]

PVP. Versus. Competitive. All of these are words that I don’t particularly look for when looking to pick up a new game. As somebody who was raised on NES RPGs and games like Contra, I’ve always been more inclined to pick up a cooperative game as opposed to a competitive multiplayer title like Call of Duty, just as an example. SpyParty, by indie developer Chris Hecker, may have just changed my entire perspective on competitive gaming.

At this stage in development you’ve probably at least heard of SpyParty. It was a huge hit at last year’s PAX Prime and was nominated for the Seumas McNally grand prize at last night’s IGF award ceremony. Still, if you’re not clear on what the game is allow me to explain it a little bit:

SpyParty is a two player, competitive game where one player plays as a spy and another as a sniper. The objectives vary depending on the level, but essentially the spy must complete a series of tasks without being too obvious and the sniper must stop the spy from completing said objectives.

To create a better sense of “cloak and dagger” type gameplay, the game doesn’t tell the sniper when a certain task is completed. Instead the game will send out hints that the object was recently completed. For example, one of the objectives in the game I played was to converse with a double agent. The keyword for the conversation was “Banana Bread.” So at some point during the game, should the spy attempt to complete this part of the mission, you’ll hear out loud a voice say “Banana Bread.” From there the sniper knows that one of the people in the conversation is attempting to complete that mission. Of course, there’s usually a couple of conversations going on with multiple people in each so it’s not a direct giveaway, but it helps cull the prospective targets.

It’s an interesting system that really speaks to me. Most multiplayer games these days are so focused on the simple mechanic of: shoot him, get points, die, respawn, repeat. Nothing about it really requires you to use your brain, to think about what you’re doing, or to assess the consequences of making an incorrect kill (you lose in SpyParty if you shoot the wrong person). SpyParty requires all these things and is a better, more methodical pvp experience because of it.

The game is still heavy in development so we probably won’t be seeing the game get a release anytime in the near future. Still, with a game this unique and of this quality I’m willing to wait for Chris Hecker to perfect this masterpiece and give me a competitive game that I can really enjoy.

By the way, don’t get too attached to the current art work. If Chris Hecker is to be believed, it’s all temporary. He’s working on the core mechanics and plans to create better art in the future prior to release.

[SpyParty]

The puzzle platformer Snapshot from Retro Affect has brand new gameplay footage. The boys have carefully created some great lighting mechanics this time around. WiL Whitlark also cranked out another great track. The music befitted the scenery, transporting gamers to what looks and feels like a youthful mid summer night’s dream set in the future or an alternate robot-inhabited universe.

Two distinct gameplay reveals were included. One helps gamers navigate through the darkness; the other involved a rather cooperative elephant. Pix (the robot) does something no human could do with light. Good thing he had metallic (or something similar) boots to remain unscathed. No enemies were in the video, but the deadly red spikes were poised in a few spots, should Pix have not seen them or  have not been controlled by his creators.

If Retro Affect gives this much effort until the game goes “gold,” gamers will want to see Snapshot on as my platforms as possible. 2011′s Braid? The puzzles (make ‘em thought-provoking), pastels, and musical pieces seem to be falling into place. Take a look for yourself:

Retro Affect submitted Snapshot for PAX East. Hopefully there will also be a controller at the Snapshot booth to lure gamers that otherwise squawk at PC games and their WASD controls. The mouse seems a great fit for guiding Pix’s camera. However, with the difficulty of the platforming elements unknown, I can’t tell how I would prefer to control Pix him/herself.

Want to know more about Retro Affect? Want to see the team’s own Peter Jones passed out from GDC fatigue? Check out this in-depth interview.

Honeyslug‘s Gamma 4 presentation piece, Poto & Cabenga, has now gone public. If you’ve got trouble multitasking, maybe this is a good life tool. It’s a single-switch game, where you control two characters at once.

For Cabenga, hold the space bar to run and release it to jump. For Poto, hold the space bar to slow down and tap it to jump. You can imagine the complications that play out, as you collect objects, avoid stray hedgehogs, and collaborate between the two characters to solve problems. All with a single button. Now there’s overloading the functions for you.

Even before you get to the mechanics, the aesthetics are a big draw. The designs and layout, by pop artist Richard Hogg, are lush and clean. In place of traditional sound effects, the player’s actions are accompanied by Tetsuya Mizuguchi-esque flourishes that build on the music, resulting in an interactive soundtrack. It’s a very holistic bit of design, all around.

It’s free, it’s neat, it opens right in your browser. It only takes a few minutes to play. Go pick it over. Only downside is sitting through the tutorial again whenever you replay. Oh well! Such is modern game design.