The Independent Games Festival was established in 1998 by the Gama Network to recognize independent game developers and encourage more people to get into the business. Several winners of past IGF competitions have gone on to have their games published by some of the larger publishing houses.

These 10 finalists were announced in early December and culled from 73 entries. Awards will be presented at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, CA, on March 6. Categories include:

* Innovation in Visual Arts ($1,000 prize)
* Innovation in Audio ($1,000 prize)
* Innovation in Game Design ($1,000 prize)
* Technical Excellence ($1,000 prize)
* Audience Award ($1,000 prize)
* Seumas McNally Award for Independent Game of the Year ($15,000 grand prize)

Full coverage of the event by Tricia "Kazi Wren" Harris at GameSpy.com