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Submit Your Game - How?
2012 IGF Main Competition
| Who Is Eligible: |
Open to all independent game developers worldwide (see specific rules). |
| Competing For: |
Over $55,000 in prizes, in various categories, including the $30,000 Seamus McNally Grand Prize. |
| Entry Fee: |
$95 |
| Submissions Due: |
Submissions are now closed! |
The main 2012 IGF Competition, for which the entry deadline is October 17th, 2011 at 11:59pm PDT, will give out eight major awards:
Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($30,000)
Excellence In Visual Art ($3,000)
Excellence In Audio ($3,000)
Excellence in Design ($3,000)
Technical Excellence ($3,000)
Nuovo Award ($5,000)
Best Mobile Game ($3,000)
Audience Award ($3,000)
There will be five specifically named finalists for each award, except 8 finalists for the Nuovo Award, with finalists named in January 2012.
All finalists will be given free show passes and invited to the IGF award ceremony at GDC 2012, showcasing their games on the IGF Pavilion at the show.
The IGF Audience Award will be voted via public Web-based poll from the finalists in all Main Competition categories.
The main IGF competition has a diverse set of judges which includes representatives from the mainstream game industry, notable previous IGF winners and finalists, other independent game developers, and indie-friendly game journalists.
The main 150-200 jury members recommend titles for individually named IGF juries for each prize, made up of context and discipline experts.
2012 IGF Student Showcase Competition
| Who Is Eligible: |
Open to all student game developers worldwide, including student mod makers (see student-specific rules). |
| Competing For: |
8 'Student Showcase' winners for top game ($500 cash prize), and for the second year, an overall 'Best Student Game' ($3,000 cash prize). |
| Entry Fee: |
None. |
| Submissions Due: |
Submissions are now closed! |
The IGF's Student Showcase, for which the entry deadline is October 31st, 2011 at 11.59pm PDT, will highlight a total of eight games this year, each of which will receive:
IGF Student Showcase Winner ($500)
In addition, there will be a prize for best overall IGF Student Game awarded as part of the IGF Awards, with the finalists comprising all of the Student Showcase winners:
Best Student Game ($3,000)
[Please note that both games using middleware engines and mods of existing games are eligible for the Student Showcase, but the judges will take whether the engine was coded from scratch into account when judging.]
Key IGF Dates
Here are specific submission deadlines for the 2012 event:
| June 27th, 2011 |
Submissions are Open |
| October 17th, 2011 |
Submission Deadline, Main Competition |
| October 31st, 2011 |
Submission Deadline, Student Competition |
| January 5th, 2012 |
Finalists Announced, Main Competition |
| January 12th, 2012 |
Finalists Announced, Student Competition |
| March 5th - March 9th, 2012 |
Game Developers Conference 2011 |
| March 5th - March 6th, 2012 |
Indie Games Summit @ GDC |
| March 7th - March 9th, 2012 |
IGF Pavilion @ GDC |
| March 7th, 2012 |
IGF Awards Ceremony (Winners Announced!) |
Q: I live outside the United States. May I enter the IGF Main Competition and/or Student Showcase?
A: Yes.
Q: We are working on more than one game. Can more than one game be entered in the IGF Main Competition and/or Student Showcase, and even if we just have one game, can we enter that game in both IGF Main Competition and Student Showcase?
A: Yes and yes.
Q: If I'm invited to appear at the IGF Competition in March, do I have to bring my own computer or console/handheld too?
A: Yes. The Festival management will provide monitors (or TVs as needed), keyboards, and speakers and supply Internet connections (if required) for all finalists at the Independent Games Festival in San Francisco, but you will need to bring your own PC/console.
Q: My game is complicated. How can I make sure that judges understand and play it correctly?
A: One excellent way to do this is via video. We allow you to attach a video link (public on YouTube) to your submission. But you are also welcome to link private tutorial videos in your submission or even upload them alongside your submission. Also feel free to link to other background information.
Q: Can I update my game after entering the competition?
A: If you submitted via FTP, you can upload new builds of your game at any time. Please make sure you include the upload date in the filename so judges can easily see which is the latest. Please note that after the competition deadline, judges may look at your game at any time. You can continue giving us new versions, but we only absolutely guarantee that judges will see the version of your game uploaded at deadline time.
Q: What systems must a game run on?
A: The IGF Competition officially supports any platform - PC, console, web, mobile, etc. Many of our judges also have access to console development kits - please specify what is needed in your submission. We may need your help arranging some hardware if it's an older console or something hard for us to lay our hands on, but we will bend over backwards to support whatever platform you run on.
Q: It's been X days since the deadline for submissions has passed. Is it too late to enter our game into the festival?
A: If you don't make the cutoff date, we can't accept your game. Sorry -- it's in the interest of fairness to all the other entries, who had to cut their development cycle short to get their games in on time. You can always enter the Competition next year!
If you have further questions, please contact the IGF Content Directors.
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