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Indie of the Year is the largest celebration of hobbyist, amateur and professional Indie developers. With record attendance and a massive number of updates, releases and new projects 2010 was a year like no other, packed to bursting with goodies to make anyone who is tired of the boring triple A games excited again!

Up until Jan 1st 2011 join us and help celebrate your community, culture and give thanks to the developers by voting for your favorite projects. For the first time in IndieDB history we have a press panel which sees personalities from other websites like Joystiq and Rock Paper Shotgun have their say were it counts. Welcome to the 1st Annual Indie of the Year Awards.

UDK Design3 Desura
Competition

Welcome to the 1st Annual Indie of the Year awards, where developers, fans and press rub virtual shoulders and celebrate the best of the indie scene. 2010 has seen the release of a pixel giant to a boy made from meat and many other games which from humble beginnings now rival the success of many triple A titles.

What is Indie of the Year?

Indie of the Year is IndieDB's award show that rewards excellence in independent game development and all related fields. This is the first year that the IOTY's have run separately from the already established MOTY's but we have been celebrating indie games since 2006 when Tremulous took out the first ever award. The way the big title gets handed out has changed over the years however one thing remains constant and that is the winners truly deserve the title, going on to do great things later on.


Tell me about the Players Choice? How can I get involved?

The Players Choice is exactly what it sounds like, you the players vote on what games should win the coveted Players Choice award. The voting process is in two parts. Phase One will have players navigating to indie game profiles to cast your vote, you can vote as many times as you want and any game can be voted on Released or Unreleased. Votes are then calculated and tallied by our lovely staff here on IndieDB and a list of the top 100 games of the year is generated. At this point Phase Two begins and players can then cast another vote on the games from the top 100 list they think deserves the prize and the bragging rights!

Game profile voting booth

Remember if you want your favorite game to win the award make sure you tell everyone (including grandma) about how to vote! The more votes your favorite game gets the better chance they have to win! Make sure you sign into your IndieDB profile before casting your vote, member votes are worth a whole lot more!

What have I missed in 2010? A Year in Review!

Been away for a whole year? Or maybe just lazy? Not to worry IndieDB has you covered check out our Year in Review articles that will come in two parts covering the entire time IndieDB has been open for business this year (7 months in total)! Click the images below to head to the months you want to know more about!

A Year in Review - Quarter Three

The Panel's Choice Award, the who's who of the press elites

For the first time in well forever ModDB and IndieDB will have a star studded cast of Indie and Mod press members in for a brand new award presentation called the Panel's Choice. The Panel's Choice gives a voice to a select few who help the Indie and Modding community with their gifts of the written word, personalities and presence. It gives us a chance to work with the sites and people who help all of you mod and indie developers get noticed, and that is something we are always looking to do. The Staff of IndieDB and the guest Judges will be voting on the following categories:

Judges
  • Best Original Art for a Indie Game
  • Most Innovative Gameplay for a Indie Game
  • Best Upcoming Indie Game
  • Best Multiplayer Indie Game
  • Best Singleplayer Indie Game

To find out more about the people who will be passing judgment on your favorite projects be sure to check out the judges page.

The Rules

The following are basic rules which apply to all participating teams. Read on for the full legal terms.

"start voting and may the best game win!"

  • All active games will show a "voting area" in their profile.
  • The top 100 is determined by "quality" of vote. For example a vote from a long time member is worth more than a new members vote which is again worth more than a guests vote.
  • In phase 1, all visitors of Indie DB can nominate as many games as they want to appear in the top 100.
  • In phase 2, all visitors get to pick their top 3 games from the top 100 list.
  • Any game can make the top 100 except for games released in previous years which have not released a significant update in 2010.
  • No indie game can win in the same category twice. Eg. a game cannot win "best unreleased" two years in a row, only a honorable mention will be given in this situation.
  • Exceptions to the above rule maybe granted on request by the Indie DB. Eg. if your game moves from v1 to v2 and it is a total overhaul, we reserve the right to make it eligible again.
  • Any attempt to game the system and falsely inflate your vote count will result in an immediate disqualification. We will be analyzing all votes and will contact game teams if we detect suspicious activity.
  • Prize distribution will be controlled by Indie DB. All decisions in this regard are final.
  • All games must have an active contact as the profile leader who updates their profile on a regular basis to be eligible.
  • Read on for the full legal terms.