June 6, 2010 12:00 PM | Simon Carless

[In his first message as Independent Games Festival Chairman following his appointment, GSW buddy Brandon Boyer talks about his background in games and the indie scene, introducing himself to the community and talking about his plans for the Festival along the way.]

Hey all, Brandon here to say hello for the first time since the announcement of myself as the new chairman. First off, thanks for all the congratulations and digital high-fives you've sent over the past few weeks -- I am, as you can imagine, quite pleased to be part of the organization here.

For those of you that had or have no idea who I am, let me start off with a quick introduction. My involvement with the games industry came after several years in entirely-unrelated Flash and multimedia development before being given an opportunity to contribute to Edge Magazine, where I quickly staked my claim as their resident indie games archeologist.

This was, happily enough, at a time when the indies were truly coming into their own as a scene and a movement, and it was a constant thrill to be among the first to bring word of Cave Story, Cloud and flOw, Narbacular Drop before its re-imagining as Portal, Facade, Alien Hominid, and the dual Kyle's early Experimental Gameplay projects (before they'd go on to create World of Goo and Henry Hatsworth) to a wider audience.

Obviously, the Independent Games Festival itself had much to do with the successes many of them would become, and I've often said that Introversion's unforgettable Darwinia acceptance speech (and the uproarious applause that followed) at the 2006 ceremony marked an epochal, line-in-the-sand moment that clearly stated, "It's our time now".

In the years that followed, I'd go on to cover games for a number of other trade/business outlets like Gamasutra, but it wasn't until Boing Boing gave me the opportunity to start Offworld that I was able to offer an indie-centric look at what's happening in games -- to document the independent games movement's rise and rise -- on the cultural and personal level I wanted to.

The reaction to the site and the people (developers and otherwise) I've met through it has been by any measure a life-changing experience: the indie games scene is unparalleled in any creative community for their passion, their refreshing openness, and for the love that permeates every level of their day to day operations.

And the Independent Games Festival itself continues to be -- as it approaches its 13th year -- the best showcase of that passion, ingenuity and spirit, helping the indies find an ever-wider audience at a time where the community has more opportunities on more platforms than ever before to create something that changes the way we look at games.

If you attended this year's GDC in San Francisco, where the IGF is set, then you no doubt saw first-hand that the IGF showcase had more per-square-foot traffic than nearly anywhere else on the expo floor, and that the accompanying Indie Games Summit talks frequently played to an at-capacity house of 1000 people.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be laying out some of the ways that we'll be modifying and improving the way the Festival operates for its lucky-thirteenth year, as we continue to expand its reach, its influence, and its service to the indie community. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to get in touch at [email protected] with any questions and concerns -- I look forward to hearing from all of you as we move forward!