| 4 Macintosh titles have made the cut in the First Annual Independent Games Festival Final Round. The contest offers developers a US$10,000 Grand Prize and a chance to have their game considered by Gathering of Developers (G.o.D.) for publishing. G.o.D. is a cosponsor of the contest along with the Miller Freeman Game Group.
Developers were allowed to submit games for the following platforms (taken from the Festival web site):
- DOS/Windows 95/98: Pentium-266MHz, 32MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM.
- Macintosh: PowerPC 180MHz, 32MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM, MacOS 8.0
- Sony PlayStation
- Nintendo 64
Of the 15 finalists chosen, 2 were Mac only and 2 were Windows 95/98 and Mac cross platform efforts. the 4 Mac finalsts are (taken from the Festival web site):
"Food Chain
Project Lead:John Casasanta
Company: Cajun Games
Location:E. Boston, MA
Platform: Macintosh
Description: Food Chain is a strategy-board game based on the balance of nature, where cartoon creatures eat one another to survive. You control the creatures in this game of predator and prey by deciding who will eat and who will be eaten. It's easy to learn, but difficult to master!
Sleights
Project Lead:James Ferolo
Company: N/A
Location:Chicago, IL
Platform: Macintosh
Description: Sleights is the interactive story of Harry Houdini trying to find a way out of Heaven. Picking up just after his death, the user must decide whether to bring Houdini back from the dead by exploring a unique and familiar gateway between heaven and hell.
Flagship: Champion (no website yet)
Project Lead:Keith Nemitz
Company: N/A
Location:Kirkland, WA
Platform: Windows 95/98/NT, Macintosh
Description: Flagship: Champion is a real-time, starship combat game presented and set within an interactive comic book. Missions are woven very tightly with the storyline. The battle bridge contains helm and weapons officers, a command panel, and the senor sphere. This rotating sphere is the player's interface and displays the position and travel history of all units within range of your fleet's sensors.
Journey Into The Brain
Project Lead:Karen Littman
Company: Morphonix
Location:San Rafael, CA
Platform: Windows 95/98/NT, Macintosh
Description: Journey into the Brain is an innovative fusion of technology, education, and fun. Key concepts of brain structure and function are woven into the fabric of the game play. By the end of the game, kids gain a new understanding and awe for the power of their own growing brains."
Of the remaining 11 finalists, 2 were web based, 2 were Linux/Windows cross platform efforts, and the rest were Windows or DOS games. Not a bad showing at all for Mac developers and the Mac Observer gives a big salute to all of them!
The Mac Observer Spin: This is a great contest being put on by Game Developers Conference, one that benefits developers on all platforms. The stated goal of the conference is to become as relevant as the Cannes Film Festival. According to the GDC:
"We feel confident that this event will quickly grow to mirror the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals in credibility, size and recognition as games become a more established art form and a powerful force in world culture."
They have a ways to go before they hit that level of prominence, but they may just do it!
The fact that the Festival is multi-platform oriented is also a very cool thing and The Mac Observer will be keeping an eye on developments. Once again, congratulations to all the finalists!
Game Developers Conference Independent Games Festival
|