SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 11, 2010 – Direct2Drive, a leader in digital distribution of video games, tonight announced the winner of the second annual Direct2Drive Vision Award during the Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards. The developers of 2010 Vision Award winner Max and the Magic Marker are leaving the Game Developers Conference (GDC) with recognition of their project’s quality and entertainment as well as a $10,000 prize courtesy of Direct2Drive.

“Direct2Drive has been the central location for digital distribution of independent games for more than four years, exposing millions of gamers to high-quality games that they might not otherwise have come across,” said Sutton Trout, vice president, Direct2Drive Digital Content. “By recognizing Max and the Magic Marker, as well as our four other nominees, we hope to further expand the audience for independent games.”

Max and the Magic Marker is being developed by Copenhagen-based Press Play. The game is a puzzle platform game with a unique drawing mechanic. Players control Max, the youthful hero of the game, as he attempts to capture a monster he accidentally doodled to life. Everything the player draws becomes a physical object, used to help Max reach the end of each level by overcoming various obstacles throughout fifteen levels on three unique worlds.

Other finalists for the 2010 Direct2Drive Vision Award included You Yun Tech’s Hurricane X2, Hello Games’ Joe Danger, Over the Top Games’ Nyxquest: Kindred Spirits, and Team Meat’s Super Meat Boy. More information about all the finalists can be found on D2D’s IGF Vision website, located at http://www.direct2drive.com/promos/igf-2010/

“Winning the Direct2Drive Vision Award in 2009 for Osmos was a huge boost for us,” said Eddy Boxerman, Hemisphere Games. “The prize money helped us to get our company off the ground, while the exposure from the award and presence on Direct2Drive created a buzz that helped drive sales.”

The five finalists were presented live on stage by IGN’s on-air personality Jessica Chobot at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival Awards, which took place on the evening of Thursday, March 11 during GDC. The Vision Award announcement was proceeded by a short video produced by IGN which makes light of independent games by showcasing several titles that didn’t quite make the Vision Award cut. The video can now be viewed on video.ign.com.

The Vision Award is just one of several ways that IGN and its subsidiaries, Direct2Drive and GameSpy Technology, are supporting and recognizing the independent development community. The “GameSpy Indie” program delivers GameSpy’s in-game technology and services to indie developers at no cost when their games are distributed through Direct2Drive. Since 2006, Direct2Drive’s Indie channel has launched more than 150 independent games. All of Direct2Drive’s Indie channel offerings can be found at http://www.direct2drive.com/buy-indie-games-download.

PR