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GAMESTOP and SMU Announce Judging Panel for INDIE GAME CHALLENGE
More than 40 Industry Influencers to Judge Inaugural Game Development Contest; Winner to Receive More Than $350,000 in Prizes
DALLAS – (Jan. 14, in the year of our Lord
2010) – Judging is underway for the first Indie Game Challenge
SM sponsored by The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University,
the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and GameStop
Corp.. The 12 non-professional and professional finalists out of
more than 250 submissions in this inaugural video game design
competition are expected to be announced February 1, 2010.
The Indie Game Challenge offers more than $350,000 in prize
monies and scholarships, as well as the tremendous opportunity
for the finalists to present their game ideas in person to video
game executives from top publishers such as Sony, Nintendo,
Electronics Arts, Capcom, Microsoft, NAMCO/Bandai, THQ and
Ubisoft at the D.I.C.E.™ (Design, Innovate, Communicate,
Entertain) Summit, an annual conference dedicated to exploring
approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as
they uniquely apply to the development of interactive
entertainment, hosted by the AIAS. Five members from each of the
12 finalist teams will attend the awards reception Feb. 19,
2010, at the Red Rock Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. These
meetings will allow competitors to receive valuable input and
have the opportunity to explore commercial avenues for their
games.
The volunteer judging panel is made up of gaming icons, veterans
and up-and-coming professionals representing AIAS’s membership
base, including such noteworthy individuals as:
• Danny Bilson, executive vice president, Core Games, THQ, who
has strong roots in the creative community as both a
screenwriter and director for TV and film, and is responsible
for THQ’s slate of games
• Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, co-founders, thatgamecompany,
creators of the unique and ethereal games Flow and Flower ,who
along with their small team, are changing people’s perceptions
of what makes a great game
• Kyle Gabler, co-founder and creative director of 2D Boy, and
part of the team that co-created the wildly successful World of
Goo
• Rod Ferguson, executive producer, Epic Games, who is part of
the team of game-making heavyweights responsible for the Gear of
War franchise
• Alex Seropian, vice president creative development, Disney
Interactive, co-founder of Bungie Studios and one of the fathers
of Halo
• Roger Hector, senior vice president product development, Namco
Bandai, automotive design guru, responsible for launching
100-plus titles in his career within the interactive industry
• Tina Kowalewski, director of external development, Sony
Computer Entertainment America, responsible for finding new
talent and new games for Sony
• Representatives also include publishers and developers from
Microsoft, Capcom, Harmonix, Volition, Insomniac, id Software,
Zipper Interactive and Vigil Games
“We’re in our second round of evaluations, so we’re seeing the
cream of the crop,” said Matthew Lee Johnston, senior producer,
PopCap. “It’s amazing how polished some of the games are and the
fun experiences they offer. The hardest part has been finding
the time to play them all as much as I’d personally want, but
I’ll definitely rectify that on my own time after the
competition is completed.”
“We had no trouble finding highly qualified gaming professionals
willing to donate their time to this unique challenge,” said
Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. “Not only were we pleased with the
total number of entries we received, the overall quality of the
submissions far exceeded our expectations. Judges are currently
pouring over each and every entry, and I don’t envy the task
they face in culling the list down to 12 finalists by the end of
the month.”
“We committed to each entrant that their game would be
thoroughly evaluated and played by qualified judges from the
world of gaming, and that’s what’s happening now,” said Mike
Hogan, senior vice president of marketing, GameStop. “The 12
finalist games will be representative of some of the most
innovative and creative ideas in gaming today as judged by the
best in the business.”