IGC winners get extra $30,000 reward

The two winners of the Indie Game Challenge (IGC) have been awarded an additional research tool prize by analyst firm EEDAR, worth $30,000

The two winners, one professional and one amateur, were announced in February, with a non-professional team of five Digipen students creating a 2D puzzle platformer named Gear.

Existing studio Lazy 8 won for its title Cogs, which also picked up best Achievement in Art Direction and Achievement in Gameplay.

Each team was awarded a $100,000 grand prize, but the "exceptional quality and innovation" of all 12 finalist games has led EEDAR to offer the two grand prize winners its DesignMetrics title assessment tool.

The assessment will include a game feature analysis, retail sales projection, historical competitor analysis, market-sizing evaluation and risk assessment. EEDAR's technology claims to evaluate more than 15 million historical data to provide a neural network regression-based forecasting service.

"The entire experience at DICE was unbelievable," said Lazy 8 lead Rob Jagnow. "IGC offered all finalist teams with a once in a lifetime experience. To be immersed in the heart of the videogame industry amid icons and those who are on their way to becoming icons as well as one-on-one meetings with key decision makers for major publishers was more than we ever imagined."