Welcome to this year’s series of IGF finalists interviews. In previous years, I have talked to dozens of developers from across the globe who have all shared a common achievement, being selected as a finalist for the Independent Games Festival. Getting this far in the IGF is quite a boon to these developers, many scrapping along as best they can to complete the game they’ve always dreamed of making. The support they receive as a result of being a finalist is far and beyond what any of them ever expect. These days, mere entry into the event is enough to spike page views. Two of the more notable things about this year’s IGF awards are the inclusion of well-known indie developers on the judging panel, and the release of the judge’s feedback to the entrants, which is something long requested by developers.

Unlike in previous years where I’ve posted up interviews individually, this year I’ll be compiling them into 4 parts of 5 interviews each. All the interviews share a core set of questions, several have additional follow-up questions to bring out more information on interesting topics.

If you’re attending GDC make sure you stop off at the IGF Pavilion to meet the developers and try out their games. Even if you’re not attending GDC, you can still vote for your favorite game in the Audience Choice Award category.

Audiosurf