Activision Independent Games Competition awards $175k to touchscreen flight game 'Iron Dragon'

Activision awards $175,000 to touchscreen indie game "Iron Dragon."

The Activision Independent Games Competition, sponsored by Activision and juried by IndieCade, announced its winners this morning, with touchscreen action flight game Iron Dragon developed by Christopher Hui earning the first place cash prize of $175,000.

Michael Stanton's Planet Smashers, a multiplayer action title involving jumping between moons in space and built on Stanton's original engine, netted the second place prize of $75,000.

Both Hui and Stanton retain full intellectual property rights to their games.

"We were excited with the quality, creativity and diversity we saw in the submissions we received for the Games Competition," said Activision's Vice President of External Development Dan Winters."While the games themselves varied, the unifying theme for everyone involved in the competition has been passion.

"The energy and enthusiasm of the indie community continues to inspire us and we're thrilled to help make their dreams become reality," he added.

The IndieCade program supports independent game development through events designed to bring visibility to that part of the industry. This is Activision's second year hosting the contest, with real-time strategy shooter Dstroyd by Peter Angstadt winning first place and mini mech-builder Rigonauts: Broadside by Engient taking second in last year's competition.