INDIECADE NOW ACCEPTING GAME SUBMISSIONS FOR INDIECADE FESTIVAL 2014

“The Sundance of the Game Industry” Will Return to
Culver City, CA October 9-12, 2014

LOS ANGELES—March 6, 2014—IndieCade, the premier international festival of independent games, has opened game submissions for this year’s IndieCade Festival, which will return to downtown Culver City, CA October 9-12. Independent creators can now submit their interactive media projects for inclusion in the event as well as for consideration to become one of 35 nominees for recognition at the festival’s “Red Carpet” Awards.

Submissions for games can be made, whether the games are finished or still in development, by visiting the IndieCade site at http://www.indiecade.com/Submissions/. Submissions will close on May 15.

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.

IndieCade encourages submissions of all types of works, from video games to tabletop board and card games to experiential inventions. A diverse jury of more than 100 leaders from the video game industry, academia, fine arts, and the indie development scene will select the finalists and assign the top awards. Additionally, some of the best-of-the-best projects will be curated and showcased for the duration of IndieCade Festival for industry luminaries, publishers, investors, media, and the public in attendance.

In addition, every developer who submits a game will be granted access to the all-business “IndieXchange Summit” on October 9, where developers and game companies can network, talk business, and discuss innovations for the future.

“Our mission is focused on promoting indie projects while supporting and fostering the overall independent development community.” said Stephanie Barish, chief executive officer and founder, IndieCade. “The IndieXchange Summit is a great example of how we foster growth for independent game-makers. Through the summit, we invite creators and other industry leaders to challenge conventional and operational thinking, to educate and introduce new methodologies, and to encourage provocative and often controversial discussions through workshops, clinics and panels, technology boot camps and networking opportunities.”

IndieCade has recently added a series of development and technology boot camps to the annual IndieXchange Summit. Game designers are welcome to participate in the summit that includes a day of talks, panels, and networking opportunities. Publishers and institutions eager to find projects to fund, publish or collaborate on are also in attendance, and include companies like PlayStation, Nintendo, and Microsoft, or institutions like the National Endowment of the Arts. For more information about IndieXchange, please visit: http://www.indiecade.com/indiexchange/

IndieCade Festival 2014 passes will be on sale soon to the general public. To stay up-to-date on the latest information about IndieCade, IndieCade Festival and the newly formed non-profit organization, IndieCade Foundation:

Visit our Website: IndieCade.com
Follow us on Twitter: @IndieCade
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndieCade
Information on IndieCade Foundation: indiecade.org

About IndieCade
Applauded as the “Sundance of the videogame industry,” IndieCade supports independent game development globally through a series of international events highlighting the rich, diverse, artistic and culturally significant contributions of indie game developers. IndieCade’s programs are designed to bring visibility to and facilitate the production of new works within the emerging independent game community. Annual events include IndieCade East, IndieCade’s Showcase @ E3, and IndieCade Festival, the largest gathering of independent game creators in the nation. For more information, visit IndieCade.com.

Fourth Age Update Introduces Gunpowder to Stronghold Kingdoms

London, UK – 6^th March 2014 – Firefly Studios has just released a new ‘Fourth Age’ gameplay update for Stronghold Kingdoms, introducing gunpowder and a new defensive weapon in the form of the mighty Bombard. The update, which is now available to download, also adds new a building and several changes to the core gameplay rule set. Full details can be found in the developer’s Fourth Age news post at www.strongholdkingdoms.com:

“With the Age system it has always been our intent to provide each game world with a sense of progression. In previous Ages this meant changing the gameplay rule set to keep Kingdoms fresh for players and evolve the design according to their feedback. With the Fourth Age we have once again introduced new gameplay rules, but for the first time ever the game has also taken a step forward in time.

Today’s update adds the Fourth Age, introducing the MilitarySchool as well as several changes to the core gameplay rule set. Gunpowder has been introduced with Bombards, a new defensive castle structure unlocked through the MilitarySchool. This new weapon fires randomly and therefore lack a certain degree of accuracy, however it makes up for this with the ability to deal splash damage! We’re very excited about this new addition to players’ defensive armoury and are keen to hear feedback on how it can be best used to obliterate their foolish attackers.”

Other changes include an increase in the total number of castles that can be owned by players, faster army speeds, the disbanding of all in-game Factions and more. A full list of gameplay changes can be found in the developer’s Fourth Age post in the official Stronghold Kingdoms forum: http://bit.ly/age4rule

About Stronghold Kingdoms
Stronghold Kingdoms is the medieval online castle game. Join hundreds of thousands of players in a rich world of Lords, Ladies, Bumpkins and Barons as you build your village, research new technology and strive to be the greatest in the land. Construct mighty castles to defend your lands against insolent intruders, develop your economy and trade your way to victory, lead your fellow noblemen to war and control of the Kingdom. Build, besiege, pillage, farm, explore, research, vote, trade and banquet your way to the throne! For more information please visit www.strongholdkingdoms.com or follow @SHKingdoms on Twitter.

About Firefly Studios

Firefly Studios is an independent PC game developer specialising in real-time strategy and MMO titles. Formed in 1999 by Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette, the company has brought to market a number of high profile and commercially successful strategy games, including the Stronghold series with lifetime sales of over six million. Firefly has offices in the UK and US. For more information please visit their website at www.fireflyworlds.com or follow @fireflyworlds on Twitter.