INDIECADE REVEALS FIRST GROUP OF SPEAKERS FOR INDIECADE FESTIVAL 2014; CONFERENCE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC (PRESS RELEASE)

 
LOS ANGELES—AUG 20, 2014—IndieCade, the premier international festival of independent games, has revealed an initial, partial lineup of conference speakers for this year’s IndieCade Festival, which will return to downtown Culver City, CA October 9-12. Additional speakers and topics will be announced soon, as will the final selections of games to be showcased at the festival.
 
IndieCade also announces the first participants for the IndieCade Festival Keynote Discussion. They will be David O’Reilly, creator of the independent game, Mountain,and director of the video game sequences included the 2013 hit film by Spike Jonze,Her, and Pendleton Ward, creator of the hit animation series Adventure Time. More keynote participants will be revealed soon.
 
In addition, tickets for the festival are now available on the IndieCade website athttp://www.indiecade.com/2014/registration/. The All Access pass grants admission to the Awards, the GameSlam, the Beer Garden Party, the Keynote Discussion, and much more.
 
The IndieCade Festival has proven itself as the spotlight location for the best, the brightest, and the most inspired independent games in the world, and annually welcomes some of the most innovative and artistic developers in the industry.  Past festivals have included premiered games and award winners that have gone on to change the industry, including Braid, Flower, Alien Hominid, Johann Sebastian’s Joust,Skulls of the Shogun, and Towerfall among others.   
 
“We want IndieCade Festival 2014 to help progress conversations about things like celebrating the diversity of game makers and finding ways for more of us to make independent games a sustainable enterprise,” said Stephanie Barish, chief executive officer and founder, IndieCade. “By coming together at IndieCade Festival, we not only celebrate some of the most exciting and innovative independent titles, but we also share practices with one another, invite the public to see something different, and help the world understand the impact indie games have on the industry.”
  
The initial list of speakers and topics include:

• Jon Peterson, author of Playing with the World, and Sam Roberts, IndieCade Festival Director, discuss the 40th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons and its impact on indie games
• A panel conversation on sustainable business models for indie developers featuring Kellee Santiago (Ouya, Indie Fund), Greg Rice (Double Fine), and Robin Hunicke (Funomena)
• An exploration of emerging narrative strategies in games including Tracy Fullerton (Walden), and Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad (The Cat and the Coup)
• A panel about race and racism in games moderated by Shawn Allen (Treachery in Beatdown City)
• A talk on the fifth anniversary of Toronto’s Hand Eye Society.
• A session full of short talks on the secret history of indie games
• “Why __ Matters”, a series of short talks by developers and critics on important topics indie games are missing out on. Speakers include Ian Bogost, Beth LaPensee and Diana Santiago
• A community conversation moderated by Raph Koster and Greg Costikyan on the economic structures of the game industry