Indie Prize Winners at Casual Connect Europe Announced!

Indie Prize Winners at Casual Connect Europe Announced!

With Casual Connect Europe in Amsterdam, Netherlands all wrapped up and the Indie Prize winners selected, it\'s time to officially announce who won. Out of the 200 Indie Prize applicants, only 120 were admitted to the conference and only a mere 11 walked away with an award. The competition was fierce and there was some debating amongst the judges, however, it all worked out fantastically. In total, the prizes for winners are worth over $500,000 and included the following: Unity licenses, 5K in Google Cloud Services, Photon Cloud services, headsets from Plantronics, various devices from Amazon, free advertisements from us, free highlights from BlogsRelease, and plenty more. Lastly, the two Best In Show winners also receive $1,000 stipends from Casual Connect which can be used towards the trip to Casual Connect Asia in Singapore in May. But without any further to do, here\'s the list of winners along with their respective category.

• Best Art - Lumino City by State of Play Games


• Best Audio - Amphora by Moondrop


• Best Narrative - Herald by Wispfire


• Best Game Design - LA Cops by Modern Dream


• Most Promising Game in Development - Guild of Dungeoneering by Gambrinous


• Best PC Game - Guns, Gore and Cannoli by Crazy Monkey Studios


• Best Multiplayer Game - Move or Die by Those Awesome Guys


• Best Mobile Game - First Strike HD by Blindflug Studios


• Director\'s Choice Award - Shadow Puppeteer by Sarepta Studio


• Best in Show: Critic\'s Choice Award - Party Hard by Pinokl Games


• Best in Show: Audience Choice Award - Replay: VHS is Not Dead by Neko Entertainment

The games were judged by critics -- Henry Oh from CNN, Zoya Street from Gamesbrief, Dan Oravasaari from PlayStation LifeStyle, Aaron Whitfield from PocketFullOfApps, Rai Sewgobind from Eye For Games, Jurjen Tiersma from Power Unlimited, André Bernhardt from Indie Advisor. On the other hand, the prize judges included Nick Berry from Facebook, Christopher Hamilton from Rovio, Oscar Clark from Unity, Candy Yang from Aarki, Aaron Walz from Walz Music, Jamison Selby from b Spot, and over a dozen more people or organizations.

Casual Connect Amsterdam: Day 3

Casual Connect Amsterdam: Day 3

After battling it out with jet lag and some minor air line hiccups, here is everything from day 3 of Casual Connect in Amsterdam. Additionally the most exciting part of the event, the Indie Prize Awards, has also taken place with an announcement following shortly from now. Overall the event was a lot of fun, entertaining, and both rewarding for many of the indie developers. It was also nice to see some friends and previous developers from Casual Connect Eastern Europe in Belgrade, Serbia representing their game at the Amsterdam conference. All in all there were over 2,000 attendees and more than 120 indie developers representing their game at the Beurs Van Berlage. As of now that\'s all we got, however, we\'ll have more announcements and Casual Connect-related articles coming soon.

Record Number of Indie Games Participating in Indie Prize Showcase At Casual Connect Amsterdam

Record Number of Indie Games Participating in Indie Prize Showcase At Casual Connect Amsterdam

With Causal Connect kicking off tomorrow, we\'ve recently gotten some really exciting news. According to our sources within the event, a record number of 120 indie games from over 40 countries will be participating in the Indie Prize Showcase at Casual Connect Europe in Amsterdam. This is pretty stellar -- the competition was fierce with over 200 game submissions. Out of the 120 developer teams, they will compete in 11 categories including Most Innovative Game, Most Family-Friendly Game, Most Promising Game In Development, Best Game Design, and more. Out of these categories, winners will be chosen by both judges, press and conference visitors. In addition as a quick side note, twice as many judges have been selected in comparison to previous events (hint: I will be one of those judges).

“This is the biggest showcase so far - in all regards - by the amount of submissions, participating countries and developers. Our hope is that all participants will be able to get the most out of the conference and showcase. After all, it\'s the developers who make Indie Prize great”, says Yulia Vakhrusheva, Director of Indie Prize.

For the winners, the prizes include: a Unity License, 5K in Google Cloud Services, Photon Cloud Services, headsets from Plantronics, various devices from Amazon, a free ad on PocketFullOfApps (hey, that\'s us!) and live game streaming from the Indie Prize Awards to Twitch. Finally, the "Best In Show" winners will receive $1,000 stipends from Casual Connect that will go towards their trip to Casual Connect Asia in Singapore in May.

Don’t Forget This Week’s Coverage of Casual Connect Amsterdam! [Sticky]

Don’t Forget This Week’s Coverage of Casual Connect Amsterdam! [Sticky]

The time has finally came folks -- in just a couple days Casual Connect Amsterdam will kick off after plenty of waiting and anticipation. We first announced out coverage back in December of last year and have been posting small updates every now and then, just like the lecture schedule. In addition to any awesome conference, we\'ll also be at all the after parties and networking events. Unlike previous conferences we covered where we did roundups, we\'re going to try something new this time. Instead of doing one roundup per day then an entire recap of the conference, we\'ll do one consistent live blog full of updates all throughout the day. That we you folks can better stay updated and in tune with what is going on. We\'ll also be including plenty of pictures in the live updates as well, so be on the look out for that. So without further to do, stay tuned for the updates and let the fun begin!

Join Us at GamePoint’s NEON Casual Connect Europe Party!

Join Us at GamePoint’s NEON Casual Connect Europe Party!

With Causal Connect Europe less than three weeks away, it\'s time to get all the necessarily preparations under way and let the excitement begin. Out of the seven networking events happening, GamePoint\'s NEON party will be the main event at this conference. Taking place on February 5th from 8:00pm to 1:00am (UTC+01), the party will be held at Club AIR and feature various DJs as well as an awesome neon theme. Those already attending the conference can see the full details here. On the other hand if you don\'t have a ticket to the conference but would like to go, you can register here. As we announced our coverage of the event last month, I\'ll be at both the event and all the additional networking events. So if you\'re a developer and want to get in contact, be sure to check out this link. Until then, we\'ll see you all in Amsterdam!

Announcing Our Coverage of Casual Connect Europe!

Announcing Our Coverage of Casual Connect Europe!

With Casual Connect Belgrade in the books, it\'s time to turn our focus on the next big event. Taking place at the Beurs Van Berlage in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Casual Connect Europe will take place from February 4th through the 6th. Almost three times the size of Casual Connect Belgrade, this event will be home to 2,000 professional attendees, 170 speakers, and 120 Indie Prize teams. Out of the 120 Indie Prize teams, only a select handful will walk home with one of the much coveted awards. That said, there\'s a lot more at stake and the competition will be fierce this time around. That only means one thing though -- we get to play a lot of fantastic games from numerous indie developers that deserve a chance at making it big. Those interested can check out the official Indie Prize website for the Amsterdam event here. Just like our coverage of Casual Connect Belgrade and San Francisco, we\'ll be doing regular reporting of the event with pictures, interviews, updates, round ups, and much more. I\'ll also be down on the Indie Prize floor judging some of the games, so be on the lookout for me and be sure to say hello as well. With Causal Connect Europe being roughly one and a half months away there are plenty of updates that we\'ll share with you as the event approaches, so be sure to stay on the look out.

Indie Prize Showcase at Casual Connect Belgrade 2014 [Video]

Indie Prize Showcase at Casual Connect Belgrade 2014 [Video]

Casual Connect Belgrade 2014: The Movie [Video]

Casual Connect Belgrade 2014: The Movie [Video]

Casual Connect Eastern Europe 2014 in Belgrade Comes to a Close

Casual Connect Eastern Europe 2014 in Belgrade Comes to a Close

The Casual Games Association, a world-wide organization for the video games industry that hosts the Casual Connect conferences, has finally ended after a fun and eventful successful show at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belgrade. Those that missed our coverage last week can check out the full archive here along with photos here and here. Earlier in the year we attended Casual Connect USA which took place in San Francisco. The full archive of our coverage for that event can be seen here. Here\'s some highlights from the Causal Connect Belgrade event:

• This conference marks the first time Casual Connect Eastern Europe has been held in Serbia.


• Over 1,000 professionals from 51 countries in attendance.


• Over 400 developers in attendance, with 24 countries represented in the Indie Prize Showcase.


• More than 60 lectures from companies including Nordeus, Eipix, Mad Head Games, Creative Mobile, Facebook, Seriously, Wooga, HeroCraft, Fun 2 Robots Ltd., as well as Unity who provided a full Developer Day.

Lectures at Casual Connect Belgrade included a wide range of topics like industry insights, the indie experience, and game development across platforms from mobile, PC, console, as well as web. Select Speakers

1. Mirko Topalski, Eipix


2. Vladimir Funtikov, Creative Mobile


3. Bob Slinn, Facebook


4. Leonid Eletskikh, App Annie


5. Nick Berry, Facebook


6. Connor O’Sullivan, Nordeus


7. Katya Nemova, Wargaming


8. Vladimir Zivkovic, Eipix


9. Alina Brazdeikene, Signus Labs


10. Jaroslav Stacevic, Nordcurrent

For the full list of speakers, be sure to check out the official Casual Connect Eastern Europe website here. Additionally, some of the videos from the conference can be seen at Gamesauce.org. Looking towards the future, Casual Connect turns their focus their next conference -- Casual Connect Europe in Amsterdam on February 4th -- 6th, 2015. Similar companies like Unity, Gamepoint, Glu Mobile, Playtika, and others will attend which we\'ve seen previously at the San Francisco and Belgrade event. A full list of speakers can be seen here. Last but certainly not least, PocketFullOfApps also hopes to attend the event and be apart of a panel for a change of pace. While we\'ll still do our typical coverage with photos and recaps, taking part in a panel discussion would be a lot of fun. The Indie Prize winners will also get a nice prize from us as well just like previous conferences.

Casual Connect Belgrade Indie Prize Winners Announced!

Casual Connect Belgrade Indie Prize Winners Announced!

Casual Connect Belgrade has been an absolute blast this year and there were numerous good games from all over the world showcased at the Indie Prize floor. Being apart of the judging process, there was much debate and discussion on which games should win the awards. Out of the 40+ games showcased at the event, only of the seven walked away with a highly elusive prize. Below you can find a list of the categories along with the name of the game, developer, and location.

• Best Game Art – STEAMPUNKER by Telehorse, Poland


• Most Innovate Game – Gauge by Etienne Perrin, France


• Most Promising Game In Development – Skyhill by The Mandragora Team, Russia


• Best Game Design - Out There by Mi-Clos Studio, France


• Best Family Friendly Game – Train Valley by Flazm & Oroboro, Russia


• Best Game In Show: Aufience Choice – Mayan Death Robots by Sileni Studios, Belgium


• Best Game I Show:: Critics\' Choice – Awakening of Heroes by COFA Games, Serbia

“The Indie Prize Showcase in Belgrade turned out great,” says Yulia Vakhrusheva, Director of Indie Prize. “An impressive variety of games was demoed in this showcase: from match-3 to endless runners to FPS and role playing games. Many potential partnerships have started here.”

The judges included Nick Berry, Facebook; Oscar Clark, Unity; Candy Yang, Aarki; Djordje Radulovic, Power Up Digital, myself, as well as a number of other journalists. The showcase and its prizes were sponsored by Amazon, Intel, Plantronics Gaming, Unity, PocketFullOfApps, Photon Realtime and Splitforce. What\'s also neat about Indie Prize is that they provide an "Indie Prize Scholarship" which allows for qualified indie development teams to showcase their games at Casual Connect and get some assistance or discount. The next Casual Connect will take place in Amsterdam from February 4th - 6th.

Casual Connect Belgrade Day Two Photos

Casual Connect Belgrade Day Two Photos

Casual Connect Belgrade Party Time @ Bitef with Nordeus

Casual Connect Belgrade Party Time @ Bitef with Nordeus

In addition to the Big Fish Rock Star Party, Nordeus is hosting the Indie Prize Awards Ceremony starting tonight at 9:00 PM at New Bitef . There will be a party immediately afterwards with plenty of drinks, music, networking and fun. To our knowledge, this is the last post-conference party for Causal Connect Belgrade, so if you have a chance we highly recommend you come out and celebrate.

• Location: New Bitef, Mitropolita Petra 8, Belgrade


• Time: 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM (2100 - 0100)


• Other: round trip shuttles between Crowne Plaza and New Bitef from 8:30 PM - 1:00 AM (20:30 - 1:00)

Interested? Be sure to check out these two Facebook event pages here and here.

Casual Connect Big Fish Rock Star Party

Casual Connect Big Fish Rock Star Party

Beginning today at 8PM CET and concluding at midnight, Big Fish Games is hosting the first post-conference party which is rock star themed. For those interested in attending, there will be live bands, games, networking, drinks and much more. Attendees are supposed to dress as their favorite rock star or wear their favorite rock band t-shirt, however, it\'s not absolutely required to get in. That said, there will be prizes for the best costumes so you may want to dress up if you have the chance. If you\'re looking for any more of a reason to attend the party, you can come out and celebrate my birthday as well.

• Location: Mikser House, Karadjordjev a 46, Belgrade


• Time: 8:00 PM CET to Midnight (1800 -- 0000)


• Other: round trip shuttles between Crowne Plaza and Mikser House from 9:30 PM CET -- midnight (1930 -- 0000)

Last but certainly not least, be sure to check out the official Facebook event page for any updates or additional information.

Casual Connect Belgrade Day One Updates

Casual Connect Belgrade Day One Updates

So far day one of Casual Connect Belgrade has been jam packed with lots of good Indie Prize games, interesting speeches and panels, as well as a good lunch provided by Big Fish Games. This article will serve as the place holder for all of our updates, news, and anything else that fits our needs. For those at Casual Connect, be sure to send us an e-mail or shoot us a Tweet so we can meet up for lunch, dinner, or a drink.

Pictures

Updates

All times in CET/local time (Belgrade, Serbia).

• 11:00 AM -- Looked at an early alpha version of Das Tal. Not too bad for being an early edition of the game, looking forward to seeing how development progresses.


• 11:30 AM -- Played Avion Checkpoint for a little bit and got a quick demo. Fun game, but the controls are a little tricky.


• 11:45 AM -- Checked out Terminal 2. Neat game and a lot of detail has been put into it.


• Noon -- So far our favorite game is Valley Train, however, there are some close competitors.


• 12:30 PM -- Grabbed a quick bite to eat at the lunch provided by Causal Connect and Big Fish Games.


• 1:30 PM -- Got a demo of McDROID, beautiful graphics and fun game play.


• 2:30 PM -- Snail Bob 2 is by far our favorite family-oriented game here at Indie Prize.

Schedule

Stay tuned.

Casual Connect Belgrade Day One Photos

Casual Connect Belgrade Day One Photos

To be updated throughout the day.

Announcing our Coverage of Casual Connect Eastern Europe and Indie Prize Next Week

Announcing our Coverage of Casual Connect Eastern Europe and Indie Prize Next Week

Well folks, after months of preparation the time has finally come. In just a couple hours from now, Casual Connect Eastern Europe is going to be kicked off with a lot in store for us to talk about. Just like the conference in San Francisco earlier this year, Indie Prize has joined in which allows us to check out many awesome indie developer games. We\'ll also be judging some of the Indie Prize games, so be sure to watch out for us on the show room floor. As for coverage of the event, we\'ll be talking about which games we played, some of the speeches and panels, taking pictures, as well as doing daily recaps. If you check out the Indie Prize website, PocketFullOfApps is co-sponsoring the event along side Intel, Amazon, Photon, and a couple other companies. For those who want just short and quick updates should follow us on Twitter where we\'ll keep you updated on a lot of the little things. Last but certainly not least, we highly recommend checking out our coverage of Causal Connect USA which can be seen here.

Indie Prize Showcase Games Announced for Casual Connect Eastern Europe

Indie Prize Showcase Games Announced for Casual Connect Eastern Europe

Indie Prize, a scholarship program for indie developers created by the Casual Games Association, has recently announced the games accepted for the Indie Prize Showcase at Casual Connect Eastern Europe which takes place from November 10th – 12th, 2014. A total of 42 games from 24 countries will be competing for the Indie Prize Award […]

Casual Games Association Hosts Casual Connect Conference in Serbia This November [Follow Up]

Casual Games Association Hosts Casual Connect Conference in Serbia This November [Follow Up]

Just like we covered back in mid-September, Casual Connect is heading out to Serbia next month and we\'ll be joining them on the trip to report on this fantastic event. That being said, we wanted to do a quick follow up article along with more information which we have received. As we said earlier, Casual Connect Eastern Europe will be held in Belgrade, Serbia on from November 10th to the 12th by the Casual Games Association. In an effort to support needs of various developers, the Casual Games Association is also providing a special discount and travel assistance program for developers interested in attending the conference. To qualify, the developer must be from one of the specified countries, have 20 or less team members and have a game project in development or a portfolio of previously released games. For those interested, applications for this program are due October 15 and can be submitted online by clicking here. For those that may now know, Casual Connect is a professional conference created to support the mass market game community by gathering the top developers, publishers, distributors and others involved in related industries for networking opportunities as well as insightful lectures from numerous industry members. As of right now, over 75 speakers will cover a variety of topics, including emerging trends and game development. Conference attendees can also attend Unity Day on November 12th which includes five sessions about the upcoming engine technology, cloud-based services, and gameplay sharing. In addition to lectures, attendees can also look forward to the games displayed in the Indie Prize Showcase and the IDEA Showcase. Over 40 developers from many different countries will be presenting their games at the conference for people to play and look at. Participating developers will be judged for a number of various awards to be announced during the conference. With that being said, PocketFullOfApps\' very own Aaron Whitfield will also be a judge at Casual Connect. Apart from that, developers can also demo their newest work at the International Design, Entertain, and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase which will be taking place at Casual Connect Belgrade. This showcase was created to provide the opportunity for established developers to find international partners for publishing, user acquisition, game performance monitoring, as well as logistical support. Want to attend in November? The event will take place at the Crowne Plaza Belgrade and online registration can be completed here.

PocketFullOfApps and Casual Connect Belgrade!

PocketFullOfApps and Casual Connect Belgrade!

As most of our readers know, earlier this year we went to Casual Connect in San Francisco to cover and report on the event. While there, we were able to meet amazing developers and play some awesome indie games. Well fast forward to later this year, PocketFullOfApps will attend the Casual Connect conference in New Belgrade, Serbia from November 10th to the 12th. Much like our coverage of the San Francisco event, you can safely look forward to plenty of news, pictures as well as roundups of the event. For those who are considering to attend, Casual Connect Belgrade will take place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which has some interested history and re-open in December of 2013. Apart from that, we\'ve been in contact with a few of the conference organizers who gave us a heads up for developers that want to attend the event or enter in the Indie Prize competition. From what we were told, qualifying developers can get discounted travel and lodging by signing up through this form. There are some restrictions though -- developers must be from certain country listed, have twenty or less team members, and currently have a game project in development or have a portfolio of previously released games. Last but certainly not least, applications are due by October 1st, 2014.

Casual Connect: Indie Prize Awards Ceremony and City Hall Party [Photos]

Casual Connect: Indie Prize Awards Ceremony and City Hall Party [Photos]

Unlike MacWorld earlier this year where we were able to take our own photos, unfortunately with Casual Connect we didn\'t have time to take photos. Fear not though, thankfully the folks at Causal Connect had a dedicated photographer for the event this year and we have permission to republish the photos. With the conference taking place over a span of three days and there being a couple different after parties, you can safely expect to see more photos as this week progresses. To kick things off, we\'ve selected a small handful of our favorite photos from the Indie Prize Awards Ceremony and City Hall Party which you can see above. For those that haven\'t seen the entire list of winners for the Indie Prize can check out our article here. Anyhow, those interested can see the full photo album on Casual Connect\'s Facebook page.