It's time again for the International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA)! Like last year, there will be cash prizes and other amazing opportunities for game developers.

 

The winner will have software licenses from Adobe, Nokia phones and a guaranteed contract for an operator and publisher to market the title. A total of US$ 40,000 will be awarded to winners in the following categories:

• Excellence in Connectivity (multi-platform, social networking)
• Excellence in 3D
• Excellence in Game Play
• Best-licensed IP-based game
• Best Casual Game (Flash, Java, etc.)

The contest is global, and participants can submit their games online at IMGA's official website. The basic platforms developers can use to create their games are, but not limited to, Flash, Java, Brew and I-Mode. The submissions deadline is on September 24. There will be 25 finalists chosen who will then have until January 28 to produce a demo version of their concept for the final judging and winners will be announced in Barcelona.

Head on over to their site for further details, provided at the Read link below. Good luck, developers.

The International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA) honored six mobile game developers for their amazing creativity and grasp of innovating the mobile game industry. The six were chosen by a jury of 13 industry experts upon their meeting last February 12.

They selected the winners for Grand Prix, Most Innovative Game, Best Use of Flash, Best Interactive Experience, Excellence in 3D, Best Use of Connectivity, and Most Innovative Game awards.

The results are as follows:

• TNO's (Netherlands) Triangler: Grand Prix Award, Most Innovative Game Award
• IKS Mobile's (Poland) Crazy Matches: Best Use of Flash Award
• Firemint's (Australia) Mega Monster: Excellence in 3D Award
• SuperHappyFunFun's (U.S.) 3DTiltAWorld: Interactive Experience Award
• Anino Mobile's (Philippines) Anima Wars: Best Use of Connectivity Award

Winners will also be supported by IMGA sponsors, which include Adobe, Movida, Nokia, Nvidia, Orange, Texas Instruments, Auchan Telecom, Belle-de-Mai Media Park Marseille and Vivendi Games Mobile, when they bring their games to the global market.

The awards ceremony noted that of the 25 finalists, 15 had shown the amazing use of creativity and innovation, and Kamar Shah, Global Head of Industry Marketing for Nokia, believes it identifies the growing trend for "social connected gaming experiences."

The International Mobile Gaming Awards announced yesterday the 25 games that topped out in their annual awardings - 5 more than they previously predicted.

These 25 are the best among the 400 entries during this years' festivities, with a total of 42 countries participating in the IMGA; 46% from Europe, 30% from  Asia, 15% from North America, and 9% coming from the rest of the world.

The IMGA, sponsored this year by major companies like Nokia, NVIDIA, and Orange, aims to provide recognition for the most innovative and creative games around the world, and is divided up into five separate categories, with the top 25 divided within each:

1. Best Interactive Experience Award
2. Best Use of Connectivity
3. Excellence in 3D Award
4. Most Innovative Game Award
5. Best Use of Flash Award

Some of the more interesting concepts shown by the entries included educationally-themed ideas, like ways of teaching foreign languages to the players, or teaching them how to dance. One notable was the use of localization technology (layman's terms: cell sites), with over 100 participants playing an interactive outdoors game (outdoors, video games...that doesn't add up) titled Triangler, developed by the Holland-based TNO research lab.

The top 25 list awaits after this jump!

Amidst the growth of the videogaming world, the mobile gaming industry has remained a contender in people's choice of entertainment. The international support received by the upcoming International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA) proves that mobile games are still an important sector of the entertainment and graphics industry.

Bringing us the third annual awards event for mobile gaming are Adobe, MOVIDA Group, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Texas Instruments. Sponsoring the event are Orange, the Khronos Group, Auchan and Belle de Mai Media Park, Marseille.

Formulated to encourage and reward the creativity of all leading studios and amateur mobile game developers prizes will be awarded for the the following categories:

• Grand Prix
• Most Innovative Game
• Best Interactive Experience
• Excellence in 3D
• Best Use of Connectivity

Students will aslo be able to partake in IMGA 2006 because the awards will also feature a separate competition for them. Aside from cash prizes, leading-edge gaming handsets, opportunities to attend top-level training camps, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the 3GSM World Conference 2007 in Barcelona are up for grabs.

Entrants who would like to compete in this year's IMGA are invited to submit initial proposals by 6pm CET 11 September 2006. The 20 best proposals will then be announced on September 20. Shortlisted entries will be given until 26 January 2007 to produce a demo version of their concept for judging. The winners will be announced at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona on February 14, 2007.

If you're interested in submitting your entries, full details are available in IMGA's official site.