Congratulations to the great developers over at Futuremark Game Studio for winning the DIYGamer.com First Annual Independent Game Award! While we may not be able to supply any sort of cash prize we certainly hope that our awesome rocket trophy finds a nice home on some bookshelf or mantel in the Futuremark offices.

As you can see by the results, Shattered Horizon took the prize by a healthy margin, with over 500 votes cast. While Dwarf Fortress is everybody’s favorite Roguelike, in the end, it just wasn’t a robust enough effort by the community to top the venerable independent shooter that’s made headlines around the world for it’s unique graphics/physics engine and gameplay.

But don’t worry Dwarf Fortress fans — or fans of every other indie game out there — there’s always next year. This year’s inaugural tournament was so much fun for us and was so popular amongst our core community that we are planning on bringing it back again and again for the foreseeable future.

Here are the results:

P.S. Sorry for the delay in announcing this. My internet went down the day prior to announcing the winner and then I went on vacation the day after the tournament and have not had internet until today. And I’m still on vacation, so I can’t actually mail out the trophy until next week.

This is it. After launching this tournament waaay back in April, we are finally drawing it to a close. Today marks the start of the Finals, after the semi-finals concluded yesterday. But before we get into that, let’s go over the results.

First, we have a had surprise outcome in the Shattered Horizon vs. Torchlight tournament match up. Honestly, I was expecting Torchlight to handily defeat Shattered Horizon and, in fact, for the first half of the week it was. However, slowly, but surely, the Shattered Horizon community just kept pushing forward, making strides, and eventually eking out a victory over Torchlight. The end result was 51.74% to 48.26%. Great effort by both communities involved.

Next, we had Dwarf Fortress vs. Spelunky. Arguably two of the indiest of indie games to get released. The match up started off well enough, with both games trading places quite frequently. However, it seems like the Spelunky community just didn’t have the gears to keep the momentum going and Dwarf Fortress pulled ahead by a healthy margin. The end result was 61.62% for Dwarf Fortress to 38.38% for Spelunky. Great effort by both games, truly.

And so here we are. We’ve got our trophy, we’ve got our two finalist competitors, and now we’ve got our final. There’s nothing more I can say about these games that you don’t already know at this point. Both are fantastic in their own right, and both truly sought to do something amazing with their game.

Two things before I get to the tournament:

1. You’ll notice this is a BLIND tournament. We’ve done this to generally ensure that everything is fun and fair. This is the final, after all, and we want to make sure there are no more controversies like in the past. Don’t worry, though, as soon as the tournament concludes, we’ll simply flip the switch and you can see the exact percentage and total votes cast in the Final.

2. The Final match-up is running from today until Wednesday the 14th. Unfortunately I have scheduling conflicts for the latter part of next week, so this contest will be a day shorter, but it should still be fun regardless.

Here is your Final Match Up:

UPDATE! Wow… I am so sorry for the delay in announcing the winner. It just so happened my internet crapped out on me the day before the announcement and then I had a vacation planned for the day after and, up until this point, I did not have any access to the internet at all. It’s been crazy, hectic, and above all else, infuriating. Especially since non of the other writers have access to the polling account. So, I’m terribly sorry for any inconveniences this caused. This is our first year running the tournament and mistakes were bound to happen. The winners should be available to see now.

Yesterday we launched our first semi-final between Shattered Horizon and Torchlight, two very popular games of which amassed several hundred votes already. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself. There’s also been a bit of controversy around the two games seeing as how neither are true “indie” games.

We’ve already explained, numerous times, why Torchlight is still in this tournament (in so many words, the company announced they were bought AFTER the tournament had already begun). If you’re curious about Shattered Horizon, however, please read our own take on the difference between indie and independent games and why we cover both. Also remember, we did not choose these games for the tournament, they were nominated by you.

Anyway, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s continue on with today’s semi-finalist match up between two very indie games: Spelunky and Dwarf Fortress.

Up first we have Spelunky, the adorable Indiana Jones-esque platforming cave romp. This is an incredibly difficult game that features randomly generated levels to ensure that each game is thoroughly unique from the last time you played. Spelunky happens to also be one of those games that is both uniquely addictive and incredibly charming at the same time. Not too many games can make that claim.

Dwarf Fortress, on the other hand, is a game that is almost impossible to describe. One part roguelike, one part city simulator, all parts fun, Dwarf Fortress manages to do all this under the overly simplistic ACSII graphics system, something that, while may look crude to most, has a certain sort of charm to old school gamers from the past.

Only one will make it to the finals. Cast your vote now!

Check out the Semi-Finals bracket!

The other semi-final:

Here it is, the first of two semi-final match ups, with the second one coming tomorrow. While some of you may be thinking this is an easy win for Torchlight, I’ll merely mention that prior to the N vs. Torchlight battle, Shattered Horizon consistently got the most votes out of any match up. So don’t take it lightly.

Anyway, let’s get on with the usual stuff.

Up first we have Shattered Horizon, the independent multiplayer FPS that features stuff you’ve never experienced in any FPS prior, zero-G space combat. This is a game that is literally about space marines. There’s no up, no down, and the maps are more open than any other online FPS. Shattered Horizon is, without a doubt, one of the best shooter experiences out there.

Not to be counted out, however, is the ever venerable Torchlight, created by Runic Games of which was started by the creators of the original Diablo games. To say that Torchlight is the best action RPG since Diablo 2 is doing it little justice. This is a game that is so pure to its roots that it’s almost like going back in time to when the original Diablo was released, albeit with better graphics.

Only one can make it to the final. Cast your vote now!

Check out the semi-finals bracket!

The other semi-final:

Whew, it’s finally come to this. We are, at long last, at the final four games in the tournament. Two weeks from Thursday, a winner will be announced and a game will be crowned the “Best Indie Game” for the remainder of the year.

But before we discuss the semi-finals, let’s go over the quarter final results.

Eight games went in and only four came out. Here’s the breakdown:

Shattered Horizon vs. Love: This was a pretty cut and dry match up. While the Love community attempted to rally, coming back from a dominating performance by Shattered Horizon, in the end it just wasn’t enough as Shattered Horizon won the most votes by a margin of 65.6% to 34.4%.

N vs. Torchlight: I knew while creating this match up last week that it was going to be a big one. There’s no doubt in my mind that this should have been at least a semi-final match up, but chance through them together in the quarters. Anyway, this was our most epic match up yet complete with drama, controversy, arguments, and… war cries. In the end, the N community misstepped just a tiny bit which allowed for Torchlight to pull ahead by a  slim 1.73% margin. Congratulations to both sides, there were over 3500 votes for this single match up. Both developers deserve a hearty applause for creating great games and fostering even greater communities.

Spelunky vs. Galcon Fusion: Not to be outdone by the previous match up, however, the Spelunky vs. Galcon Fusion tournament was even closer, with Spelunky pulling ahead by a .39% margin. That’s an incredible statistic. This match up was also the one that kept bouncing back and forth where it seemed at any second the winner could change hands. Spelunky, witha  bit of luck on it’s side, just so happened to have made the cut.

Noitu Love 2 vs. Dwarf Fortress: Despite putting up a valiant effort, Noitu Love 2 just couldn’t hold up against the might of the Dwarf Fortress community. Although, that said, it does deserve quite an applause at being able to hold back what is, arguably, one of the most talked about and revered indie games of all times. Dwarf Fortress came away with a victory margin of 8.57%.

It was a great week, filled with plenty of action and drama. But now we turn to the semi finals, where Shattered Horizon is taking on Torchlight, and Spelunky is going up against Dwarf Fortress.

The first semi-final will launch tomorrow featuring Shattered Horizon vs. Torchlight; the Spelunky vs. Dwarf Fortress match up will start on Wednesday. Usual rules apply, each match up has a single week to garner as many posts as possible. The one with the most at the end wins.

Good luck to all teams involved. I want a good clean fight!

Last match up in the quarter finals for our indie game tournament. This makes it just one of two extremely important tournament match ups happening today (The USA vs. Slovenia World Cup match was earlier today). Whoever wins this match up will head on to the semi-finals where they’ll be facing off against either Spelunky, who is currently leading the votes by a slim margin, or Galcon Fusion. Two very abled opponents.

Up first we have Noitu Love 2. I think if you asked anybody knowledgeable in the indie gaming scene they would definitely argue that Noitu Love 2 is the underdog. Part platforming, part shooter, part Mega Man brilliance, Noitu just might be able to take it all the way and win the trophy.

Not to make things easy, however, comes Dwarf Fortress, one of the larger games in the tournament with a ravenous fanbase. While it may seem like an easy win, dependent on said fanbase, never count out an underdog. Noitu Love 2 is going to be a tough opponent in this quarter final match up, even for the likes of a brilliant game such as Dwarf Fortress.

Only one can make it to the semi-finals. Cast your vote now!

Check out the quarter final bracket!

Shattered Horizon vs. Love
N vs. Torchlight
Spelunky vs. Galcon Fusion

Third day of the quarter finals and we’ve already got a hot match up in N vs. Torchlight. N is currently leading the match up by almost 11% with nearly 350 votes, compared to Torchlight’s 230 votes. However, at only a single day in, the tide could change at any moment.

But enough about yesterday’s post, today we’ve got another exciting match up in Spelunky vs. Galcon Fusion.

Up first we have Spelunky, a game which arguably the favorite of this match up. Created by Derek Yu, the founder of TIGSource, Spelunky has become a indie phenomenon, with an XBLA to be released sometime in the near future.

Competing against Spelunky, we have Galcon Fusion the galaxy conquering strategy game with a hint of puzzle-esque gameplay to it. In Galcon you are tasked with sending fleets upon fleets of triangles to invade your opponents worlds until you conquer the galaxy.

Only one can make it to the semi-finals. Cast your vote now!

Check out the quarter final bracket!

Shattered Horizon vs. Love
N vs. Torchlight

So as you may know, we’ve been running a tournament to figure out what the best indie game is. While we don’t have enough money to offer any sort of monetary prize or anything of significant substance, we have ponied up to get a kick ass trophy made to honor the developers who eventually win out in the tournament.

While we still don’t know who will win the tournament, we have finally gotten the trophy in, something that is very exciting for us because it sort of validates the whole tournament that’s going on. I mean, at the very least, a developer will have something physical to show off that their game has won something. Something that’s not possible by simply winning most online awards.

Anyway, I won’t drag this on for too long. Enjoy the unboxing video below! Sorry it’s a bit shaky. I was using my phone without any sort of tripod or anything like that.

Without a doubt, this is the largest match up to date. While games like Shattered Horizon, Dwarf Fortress, and Spelunky all have large communities, no two communities have been more active in this tournament than the Torchlight and N communities. In fact, it’s almost a shame that we have to watch this play out now instead of in the semi finals or the final. It’s equivalent — in the indie game world — to watching Spain take on Brazil in the World Cup quarter finals…

Well regardless, only one is going to make it through to the semi finals. Here are your competitors for today:

Up first we have N, the hugely popular flash game that has expanded onto consoles and handhelds over the years. N has a relatively simple concept, but one that provides enough challenge and addictive fun to easily make it a contestant for being one of the best flash games ever released.

Next up we have Torchlight. Once again, this has been one of the few action RPGs to be considered as good, if not better, than the original Diablo and almost on par with Diablo 2. Hailed by critics and gamers a like, Torchlight has become an independent phenomenon.

The choice may be hard to make, but only one game can continue. Cast your vote now!

Check out the quarter final bracket!

Shattered Horizon vs. Love

UPDATE: There’s a lot of “serious” conversation going on in the comments, of which a few have asked or wondered similar things about why Torchlight is going up against N, or why this tournament is even occurring. Here’s the answers to those two popular questions:

1. Torchlight developers may not be independent anymore (they were bought by Perfect World), but when we first launched this tournament they were still independent. It wasn’t until after they had already won their first competition that news had come out that they’d been bought. Because of this, and the fact that they were an independent effort prior to being bought, we decided not to muck up the tournament and keep things going uninterrupted. In next year’s tournament, Torchlight/Runic Games will not be allowed to participate.

2. For those asking why we bothered with this tournament in the first place, we can only answer with two single words: for fun. This entire tournament is just for fun guys, relax. Gamers nominated every single game, they were randomly matched up, and now you guys are voting on the outcome so that a single developer can get this awesome rocket trophy. There’s nothing more to it than that. This isn’t the be all, end all of indie game tournaments. All you gotta do is pick your favorite. Easy-peasy.

Hope this clears some stuff up.

UPDATE 2… CONTROVERSY!

You guys are so sneaky. It has come to my attention that some people have found a loophole in our polls that allow for multiple votes per person for each browser. I don’t know who all is involved, and I don’t really care. It was my fault for not checking to make sure such things could happen. I apologize.

But in the end, this is a for fun tournament. There are no cash prizes, just a cool little trophy. Which means we don’t have to worry about disqualification, or other such means. Instead I’ve simply patched the loophole, and extended the match up by a day. There are still 4 days left in the tournament, which should be more than enough time to find a legit winner.

P.S. Vote on the other tournaments as well:

Whew! We’ve got lots going on today. Aside from the fact that E3 will officially kick off this afternoon, of which we have four reporters on the ground scouring for the latest indie news — not an easy feat at E3, mind you –, we’ve also been drooling over the latest Nintendo press conference (because we’re geeks too!) and will continue said drooling at Sony’s latest today. Finally, as a footie fan, I’ve also been trying my very bestest to work in some World Cup games this morning (super bummed Ivory Coast tied this morning). So I do apologize if news is a bit more sporadic today than usual, I’m doing the best I can in a very busy time.

Anyway, come hell or high water this tournament will not stop. As I mentioned yesterday we’ve reached the quarter finals for which today is the first match up between Shattered Horizon and Love.

First up is Shattered Horizon. If I’ve mentioned this game once I’ve mentioned it a hundred times on this site. Shattered Horizon simply set the benchmarks for not only indie FPS games, but also the genre as a whole. There’s a reason why this game has reached the quarter finals.

Not to be pushed aside, however, is Love the wonderous indie MMO. I’m not sure how many of you have any background knowledge of creating MMOs, but it’s absolutely one of the hardest game development projects to undertake. The fact that Love is an indie game is extremely impressive in its own right.

Only one can make it to the semi-finals. Which will it be? Shattered Horizon vs. Love!

Check out the quarter final bracket!