GarageGames has announced plans to introduce the B.I.G. (Break Into Games) Competition, a sort of American Idol for independent video game developers. The contest will kick off on June 5 with an exhaustive, nationwide search for America’s best developers, who will vie for prizes including professional gaming hardware and publishing deals with GarageGames and its partners.
Contestants will build their game prototypes from scratch using a free trial version of GarageGames’ the new Torque Game Builder (TGB). Additional support will come in the form of a step-by-step tutorial, Podcasts and white papers for reference and a fully developed online community that keeps designers in contact with technical experts from GarageGames and the gaming community at large.
Prototype games are due on Aug. 25, and the Top-10 finalists will be simultaneously announced at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Bellevue, Wash., and at ShowDown in San Jose, Calif. on Aug. 26. From there, contestants will have just over a month to polish their final games before being flown out to compete at IndieGamesCon (IGC), GarageGames’ annual version of Sundance for indie game developers. That event will be held Oct. 6-8 in GarageGames’ hometown of Eugene, Oregon. Only five contestants will be chosen to compete in the final Player’s Choice Awards and be part of the B.I.G. ‘Indie Idol,’ a showcase judged by a panel of industry experts.
“This is the best opportunity for up-and-coming videogame developers to break into the business and for established developers to show their skills,’ says Jay Moore, GarageGames’ director of business development. ‘We’ve made it totally free so that it’s possible for literally anyone to pursue the American dream. Furthermore, the support is there to make anyone a winner who has the passion for it.”
More information onGarageGames, the B.I.G. Competition, the IndieGamesCon and the Torque Game Builder can be found on the web at www.garagegames.com.
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