The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences revealed the 12 finalists of its Indie Game Challenge, the competition it sponsors along with retailer GameStop and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University, announcing six nominees each in "professional" and "non-professional" categories.
Each category winner will receive a $100,000 prize. Other available prizes include a $50,000 scholarship to The Guildhall at SMU, an EEDAR DesignMetrics title assessment to each winner, and other prizes part of a total $350,000 available.
The winners will be revealed on February 11th at the D.I.C.E. Summit at Las Vegas' Red Rock Resort in a ceremony hosted by G4 Network game content editor-in-chief Adam Sessler.
He called the hosting assignment "nothing short of an honor," and said he found it "humbling" to celebrate the work of independent developers.
The six finalists in each category are as follows:
Non-Professional Category
Hazard: The Journey of Life (Hazard) Solace (One Man Down) Subsonic (Team Height Advantage) Inertia (Team Hermes) Q.U.B.E. (Toxic Games) Symon (ZZZ Games)
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)
The IGC has also created a Kongregate Award to be given to the best browser-based game as determined by a review of all of the platform's browser-based entries. Kongregate CEO Jim Greer will announce the winner at the awards ceremony.
