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MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies partner to present debut Boston Festival of Indie Games

Public invited to play games for free and vote on game showcase winners

Thursday, June 21, 2012---Cambridge, MA---Scheduled for Saturday, September 22 at MIT, the Boston Festival of Indie Games is a celebration of independent game development in a variety of media and genres.  The event is free and open to the public, and to be held on the MIT campus.  Attendees are invited to vote on game showcase entries.

The Boston Festival of Indie Games offers the opportunity for festival attendees to play video games, live action games, tabletop games and interactive fiction in a casual environment.  Fest features include a 12-hour game jam, digital art exhibit, film screenings and special guest speakers from the national indie games space.  A special showcase will highlight games developed by the MIT Game Lab, which has created nearly fifty games over the last five years, a number of which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success.

Caroline Murphy, community manger for Boston Indies and co-producer of the Boston Festival of Indie Games, says, “We’ve been seeking a chance to demonstrate the deep wealth of independent game development, by both individuals and teams, in the Boston area for some time.  Boston Festival of Indie Games is providing us with a high-visibility forum to showcase innovative games and provide recognition to the game developers who have worked so hard on their craft.”

Rik Eberhardt, studio manager for the MIT Game Lab, adds, “The MIT Game Lab explores the potential of creative play as a means of connecting people in the community with one another.  By participating in the Boston Festival of Indie Games, we have the opportunity to demonstrate the power of play with games representing many themes, from entertainment to education, art to activism, science to socialization and more.”

Independent game developers are encouraged to submit their games for showcase consideration.  The Boston Festival of Indie Games showcase is an opportunity for independent game developers to show off their games, get feedback from the public and win great prizes.  Voting will open to the public in a variety of categories. Non-digital games can be submitted to the street games, interactive fiction or tabletop games portion of the festival.

For complete details on submitting independent games to the festival showcase, please visit the Boston Festival of Indie Games web site at www.bostonfig.com.  The digital game submission entry fee is $15, with a student entry fee of $10.

The day-long festival follows the MIT Game Lab Symposium on Friday, 9/21, a gathering of game industry professionals and academia centered around the latest developments in games at the MIT Game Lab.

About the Boston Festival of Indie Games:

www.bostonfig.com.

The Boston Festival of Indie Games is a celebration of independent game development with emphasis on the New England region.  The Boston Festival of Indie Games seeks to support and showcase the efforts of independent game developers by providing a free public event that encourages attendees to share and interact with games in various media, including video games, location-based games, tabletop games and interactive fiction.  Produced under the non-profit auspices of BeEpic, a Boston location-based games production group, the Boston Festival of Indie Games is focused on creating an intersection between community, academic and independent interests in game play.

About MIT Game Lab:

http://gambit.mit.edu/

The MIT Game Lab brings together scholars, creators and technologies to teach, conduct research and develop new approaches to applied game design and construction. Ranked by the Princeton review as the #2 Game Design Program in North America, the MIT Game Lab maintains MIT’s roles as leader in the study, design and development of games. The MIT Game Lab’s goal is to explore, educate and engage the public by creating groundbreaking games, interactive online courses and new applications to real world challenges.

About Boston Indies:

www.bostonindies.com

Boston Indies is a community of dedicated independent game developers in Massachusetts and the surrounding area.  Boston Indies works to foster a sense of community among Boston’s independent game developers, facilitate monthly meet-ups and other related community events, encourage developers to create games independent of large budgets and large company ties, provide a safe environment to obtain critical feedback on game development works in progress and serve as a brain trust for important information sharing among local independent developers.

To schedule an interview or for more festival info, please contact Caleb Garner, Boston Festival of Indie Games publicist, at caleb@bostonfig.com; or contact Andrew Whitacre, Communications Director at the MIT Game Lab, at awhit@mit.edu or (617) 324-0490.  More info is also available at www.bostonfig.com.

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