BRING YOUR ‘A’ GAME!
THE MUSIC CENTER PARTNERS WITH INDIECADE FOR THE
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED IN-PERSON RETURN OF NIGHT GAMES
IndieCade Joins Forces with The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative in a Flash Call for Game Submissions to be Showcased on November 10–11, 2023, at Ultimate After-Dark Games Carnival on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center
LOS ANGELES (August 16, 2023) – The Music Center today announced it has partnered with IndieCade—the premier annual celebration of independent games and developers—to bring IndieCade’s signature event Night Games back for an in-person experience for the first time in three years since the pandemic. A highly popular extravaganza among gaming enthusiasts that showcases the creativity and innovation of the indie game community, Night Games will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 10–11, 2023, on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles. This year’s Night Games will spotlight emerging and immersive new games, which will be experienced outdoors under the stars for free by Angelenos. Night Games is part of IndieCade’s two-week virtual Anywhere & Everywhere Festival 2023 scheduled for November 3–17, 2023.
While submissions for this year’s virtual festival have closed, The Music Center and IndieCade are opening up a flash call for submissions beginning today, offering indie game developers and creators around the world an additional opportunity to submit their most innovative and immersive games for consideration for IndieCade Festival and for Night Games. Submissions will be judged by a panel of esteemed gaming industry professionals as well as The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative Senior Director Kamal Sinclair. Winning games, to be announced in October 2023, will be selected from both festival and flash weekend submissions. The deadline for flash submissions is Thursday, August 24, at noon PT.
“We are running on adrenaline ever since The Music Center and IndieCade decided to collaborate for this year’s in-person return of Night Games. Offering this legendary live arcade and gaming playground aligns with the mission of The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative to engage Angelenos, artists and creators on a spectrum of physical to digital experiences with the goal of building and enriching communities,” said Sinclair. “Angelenos of all ages will have a chance to explore the visual beauty of games as art objects, feel the energy of games on par with spectator sports and harness the power of games as they transform our shared experiences. Game on!”
Games and interactive projects from across all genres and mediums may be submitted for consideration: digital, tabletop, big and/or physical, performative, installations, alt control, competitive, cooperative, experimental, experiential, hybrids and more. Submissions developed by individuals, small teams, large teams, artists, students, universities and schools, non-profit organizations and beyond are welcomed. The Music Center and IndieCade welcome innovation of all forms, including works-in-progress to fully completed and/or released works on traditional platforms or on new platforms. Previous submissions to, or inclusion in, other gaming festivals does not prevent eligibility in any way. Works previously submitted to IndieCade may be resubmitted. For complete eligibility rules and/or to enter a flash submission, visit indiecade.com/submissions.
“Night Games is one of the most eagerly anticipated events for our gaming community, and we are proud to be teaming up with The Music Center for its in-person return,” said Stephanie Barish, founder and CEO of IndieCade. “Night Games offers players, creators, and industry professionals the opportunity to come together for a real-world arcade experience, and taking on some of the world’s best new games outdoors head-to-head among fellow gaming enthusiasts in Downtown L.A. will be an experience like no other in IndieCade’s history!”
Night Games is the latest collaboration presented by The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative (DII), an exciting 10-year pilot program launched in 2022 by The Music Center’s programming arm, TMC Arts, and designed to explore and create free digital and virtual reality experiences throughout Los Angeles. DII’s first public art exhibit, We ARe Here: A Celebration of Legacy, offered Angelenos the opportunity to learn—through augmented reality (AR) and with hands-on artistic experiences in Gloria Molina Grand Park—about the legacies of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and individuals who have contributed to Los Angeles County’s rich diversity. Recently, in May and June 2023, DII presented Cosmogony, a fantastical digital dance performance that was broadcast live on the Jerry Moss Plaza’s LED screens from a studio located 6,000 miles away in Geneva, Switzerland.
For more information about The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative, visit musiccenter.org/DII.
For more information about Night Games, visit musiccenter.org/nightgames.
FLASH CALL FOR GAME SUBMISSIONS
WHAT:
IndieCade Festival
The Music Center, in association with IndieCade, invites all independent game developers and creators to submit games and interactive projects from across all genres and mediums, including digital, tabletop, big and/or physical, performative, installations, alt control, competitive, cooperative, experimental, experiential, hybrids and more, to be considered for the IndieCade Festival 2023, which includes the in-person Night Games event and the online Anywhere & Everywhere Festival.
A panel of esteemed gaming industry professionals along with Kamal Sinclair, senior director of The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative, will choose finalists to be showcased at Night Games, the ultimate live arcade and gaming playground under the stars to be held on Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center on November 10–11, 2023.
WHO:
Individuals, small teams, large teams, artists, students, universities and schools, non-profit organizations and beyond are welcomed to submit their independent games for consideration. Diversity is encouraged; innovation is celebrated!
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:
- Games and interactive projects from across all genres and mediums may be submitted, including digital, tabletop, big and/or physical, performative, installations, alt control, competitive, cooperative, experimental, experiential, hybrids and more.
- Works-in-progress and fully completed and/or released works on traditional platforms or on new platforms will be accepted.
- Previous submissions to, or inclusion in, other festivals will be accepted.
- Works which were previously submitted to IndieCade may be resubmitted.
SUBMISSIONS LINK:
indiecade.com/submissions
DEADLINE:
Thursday, August 24, at noon PT
MORE INFO:
musiccenter.org/nightgames
ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
ABOUT INDIECADE
Applauded as the “Sundance of the video game industry,” IndieCade supports independent game development globally through a series of international events showcasing the future of independent games. IndieCade’s programs are designed to highlight the rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant contributions of indie game creators and all forms of interactive media, to bring visibility to emerging work, and to facilitate the production of new work. Annual events include our flagship IndieCade Festival and Awards, Playable Theatre Symposium, IndieXchange, Horizons conference and student showcase, and more. For more details visit IndieCade.com
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