IndieCade 2010 will begin on Friday, October 8, with a media-only preview, followed by an awards ceremony where the featured games will and developers will compete for accolades across 12 different categories. Indie Games Channel has been running preview coverage for each of the IndieCade finalists over the past few weeks, so if you're interested in more IndieCade game info, screens, and trailers, (and even links to fully-playable finalist games) it's well-worth checking out. The Indie Games Channel article sidebar on the Shacknews homepage makes that easy.

You'll probably recognize some of the finalists already, like Playdead's LIMBO, Terry Cavanagh's VVVVVV, and Gaijin Games' BIT.TRIP.RUNNER. That doesn't mean you should miss checking out other gems like the four-dimensional puzzle-platformer, Miegakure (by Marc ten Bosch), time-rewinding shooter, Retro/Grade (by 24 Caret Games), or Solace, the bullet-hell shooter (by One Man Down) that explores the five stages of grief. In addition to the extensive preview coverage already on-tap, Indie Games Channel will be serving up some post-show coverage as well, namely in the form of more hands-on previews, developer interviews, and general festival impressions.

As we mentioned before, Shacknews will be presenting an award for the most "Fun/Compelling" finalist game at the festival's award show on Friday evening. Based on what we've seen of the games so far, there's some pretty stiff competition between the 32 finalists (which were chosen from over 350 submissions by over 160 international jurors). Winners will be announced at the very same Levar Burton-hosted award ceremony during which developer Tim Schafer (Psychonauts, Grim Fandango) will receive a 2010 'Trailblazer' award.

Sound fun? Well, if you're within driving distance of Culver City, CA this weekend, general admission tickets are still available at a very reasonable price. The show's open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, and thanks to IndieCade 2010 patrons, festival tickets purchased in advance are half-off the $20 at-the-door price. Those looking to attend any number of IndieCade's conferences (running from Thursday evening through Sunday) will need to pony up $200 at the door for a conference pass, or $100 when ordering in advance.