This fall, USC, home to the nation's most highly regarded video game design program, will host Indie-Cade, one of the industry's most respected festivals. In its 10th year, the festival, which drew about 7,000 people in fall 2015, has long called Culver City home.
Increasing development in Culver City forced the move. USC, whose professors and students often showcase games at the event, will hold the fest in and around the School of Cinematic Arts Oct. 13-16.
The festival's growth mirrors that of the independent game movement; the 200-plus games at IndieCade often showcase the industry's more experimental and risk-taking side. Last year's games included "Cibele," which chronicles a woman's first love and heartbreak; "Line Wobbler," a game made entirely of LED lights; and the "Goonies"-inspired teen thriller "Oxenfree."
"IndieCade is vitally important to the vibrant Los Angeles game development scene for the community that it provides," said Richard Lemarchand, a game designer and associate professor at USC.
"(IndieCade)'s also important _ and almost unique _ in the way that it brings the world of artistic and experimental games to the general public," Lemarchand said. "It's always great to see families and people who might not normally play games discovering one of the brand-new creations being shown in the festival."
Stephanie Barish, one of the primary architects of IndieCade, said she didn't consider leaving L.A. when she realized the festival would have to move, citing L.A.'s robust game-design community as a reason to stay.
Indeed, L.A. helped fuel the underground game movement, thanks in part to the runaway success of thatgamecompany's "Journey," from veterans of USC's game design program.
Though IndieCade features industry-only panels, most of it is geared to the public and is home to a mix of games _ board, virtual reality, video and even playground _ many attempting to put players in previously unexplored territory.
Among the fest's past successes is "Johann Sebastian Joust," a game, ultimately released for Sony's PlayStation platforms, centered on motion controls. Players walk around one another, moving in time to music, and try to keep the controller as still as possible.
"I'm always most excited about seeing games at IndieCade that just go places we haven't gone before," Tim Schafer, an industry veteran who founded the Bay Area's Double Fine Productions, told The Times at last year's festival.
"Life is very broad," said Schafer, who previously worked for LucasArts. "Games look at a small part of it. So any time people try to look at a different part of it, it's exciting."
