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[TeeGee]

In before Phubans drops in and says it should be him on the cross.

[Manuel Magalhães]

Phil Fish: He did it for our sins. He might not walk on water, but he jumps into the pool.

[PTibz]

[Jabberwocky]

Everyone reacts to the disappointment of losing a little differently --
   "I guess I just suck."
   "Conspiracy!"
   "Fuck that guy who won, I'm going to tear out his jugular."
   "No worries.  Move on."

The wizard guy is Zen.  
Be like him and you'll be happier and more productive.

Besides, I think the IGF is great for indie games.  Even those of us who don't win benefit.  Each successful indie game helps loosen the stranglehold big publishers have on the industry.

I figure the judging process seems mostly honest.  A lot of popular choices (Pirate Kart, Prison Architect) probably would have been selected if cronyism was rampant.

Looking at the winners, I do think there may be a bias towards a certain type of game.  I'm kind of a weird fringe indie - a starving ex-industry lone wolf kinda guy making a fairly traditional game.  I suspect some of the coolness and innovation of my game might have been passed over by the IGF judges because its a big complex 3D space epic.  My installer ftp logs suggest some of the judges didn't even play my game, which is kind of a drag.

But anything as big as the IGF, involving so many people and judges ain't gonna be perfect.  I'm ok with the IGF being what it is, and recognizing what it does.  Just because it didn't recognize me personally (EVEN THO I MADE THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD!!!   ) doesn't mean it's a bad thing.  If you get hung up on that kinda shit, life as a game dev ain't gonna be pretty for you.  Cuz you gotta plow through a lot of rejection and criticism to get your game out there.

[ofmana]

Phil Fish: He did it for our sins. He might not walk on water, but he jumps into the pool.

None of the onlookers are engaged in a big ol'circlejerk. This picture is clearly an inaccurate portrayal of IGF.

[Zack Bell]

*refers back to OP* 

[leonelc29]

@dislekcia
well, it's a different story for going there because nominated, and going there just to know more people. the 1st one is totally worth it, as you must be there or kick out. the later one is kinda 50/50. so, all in all, going there just to meet-up is kinda worth it, but it just somekind of optional choice to know more people face to face.

[Soulliard]

I don't get all the IGF hate. Of course, connections matter, but that's true of any business. For what it is, I think the competition is run well, and gives the majority of the games a fair shake.

But comments like this are incredibly ignorant:

If you can't pull off GDC you simply don't care enough to make it happen.

Plane tickets alone can represent several months' income for some folks. Not everyone can cut $1000 and change from their budget. What do you expect them to go without so they can pay for GDC? Heat? Proper nutrition? A vehicle? A decent work computer? Health insurance?

[Dragonmaw]

Edit: Also, why isn't allen banned? His posts have no actual content, just insults and trolling.

Allen's posts are colorful and offensive but also realistic and serve to ground the discussion, imho.

Sure, on a rare occasion. But mostly it's just swearing and trolling.

Allen is not going to be banned simply because you don't actually read his posts beyond the few times that he gets mad. I would actually say that he has a far better post history than most people on these forums, myself included. You can clamor for his banning (you have for a while now, IIRC) but he's not likely to get smacked with one. Allen is as much a valued member of this community as you or I.

Regarding all this talk about the IGF: it is what it is. Honestly, it would be nice if we could start an annual auteur game competition. Something to celebrate the more weird, less polished, more interesting games. I know the Nuovo sorta covers that but I think a full-blown festival/competition just for those sorts of games would be slick. The IGF fits within a very specific niche, and one that is needed (polished indie games). But it does have its limitations and controversies.

[Ooops]

I know I'd be very upset if that was my head photoshopped on a cross.  Nothing to do with blasphemy (I don't care about that part), but Jesus (no pun intended), this is a torture instrument!

[Paul Eres]

It's true though, there's no need to be a dick about being successful. But even if you aren't a dick, a lot of people will de facto brand you as one.

this isn't true; derek is successful but no one brands him as a jerk, because he doesn't talk down to people after achieving his success

[Paul Eres]

Plane tickets alone can represent several months' income for some folks. Not everyone can cut $1000 and change from their budget. What do you expect them to go without so they can pay for GDC? Heat? Proper nutrition? A vehicle? A decent work computer? Health insurance?

i actually don't even have health insurance or a vehicle. those would be even more expensive than the gdc

[jonbro]

I think that babycastles attempts to fill that niche to a certain extent, however, their specific locality makes it kinda hard to get so fucking pumped about it.

Also I can't help but guess there would be a thousand shouts of "UNFAIR" in response to the art world curatorial approach that they take towards choosing the games that they show there. Even so, I would like to see more baby castles in the world.

There is a wide spectrum of gaming represented, and even with this threads obsession with demonizing characters they know, I think there are plenty of unknowns on the list as well. I think there were a ton of games that got honorable mentions that ARE FUCKING GREAT, and should probably be finalists. I went through all of the entries when they were posted, and there were a ton in there that didn't get mentions that were great as well. There was some shit too. Even so, I bet the judging was incredibly hard. I can't imagine the struggle it was to do it.

I think maybe the issue is that there is only one IGF, where with film festivals there is one in nearly every city, and you can have a ton of small victories rather than being SUNDANCE OR BUST. Indiecade et al serve to lighten this load, and I really like the games they picked out over there too.

@Jabberwocky - your game looks fucking amazing! Would really like to play it.

[dislekcia]

@dislekcia
well, it's a different story for going there because nominated, and going there just to know more people. the 1st one is totally worth it, as you must be there or kick out. the later one is kinda 50/50. so, all in all, going there just to meet-up is kinda worth it, but it just somekind of optional choice to know more people face to face.

Except that people don't seem to believe anyone who says that the connections and friends they've made at events they "just went to" were worth it for them. TBH, if you go to something like GDC, go for a reason and work towards that the whole time - the difference being that it's way more fun than conferences in any other industry.

Also, to all the people wanting more competitions: What about IndieCade, SOWN, IndieCity, etc?

[Matthew]

But comments like this are incredibly ignorant:

If you can't pull off GDC you simply don't care enough to make it happen.

I'm getting some shit for this comment, but I still stand by it.  I was a volunteer for 7 years at the GDC (the folks in brightly-colored shirts checking your passes).  There are ~500 volunteers these days, from all countries and financial situations and walks of life.  Some of them are employed in the AAA industry, but their employers won't buy passes, and some are students or indies or even people just eyeballing the seriousness of following their dream by working in games.

I'm not ignorant of the challenges of getting to GDC, especially if you're outside of the US.  I just think the attitude that GDC attendance is overwhelmingly impossible for some people is bullshit.  I didn't say it was easy, just that it's possible if you want it enough.

Watch the "Enforcers" episode of Penny Arcade TV.  They interview a volunteer who says he's quit or been fired from multiple jobs because of taking time off for PAX: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/enforcers

P.S.  Actually, there is one demographic that might butt up against impossible.  If you're a young, single male from a politically tumultuous country, you might have a hard time even getting in to the damn country (even with a visa invite letter).  Yay immigration policy.