Game Development

Last year's Game Development compo winners

The world needs new, fun games to play. Do you have the next great idea, and the skills and enthusiasm it takes to bring it to life?

Norwegian Game Awards (NGA) is a national game development competitions for students, which is held every year. The Game Development Competition at The Gathering is a part of NGA. The Game Development competition at The Gathering is however open for everyone, not just students.

Games handed in in this competition will also compete for a spot in the glorious NGA finale later this year. This gives you the chance of winning more prizes and attract more attention to your game.

Rules

  1. How to compete

    Hand in a playable version of the game at TG through the web-based compo-system. The game should be handed in as a ZIP- or RAR-archive which contains the game itself, all neccessary data files and all required libraries (e.g. DLL-files) needed to run the game. Remember to test that your game works on other computers than those it was developed on. Supply a README-file which describes in detail how we can run the game on any computer. Don't assume that we have any unstandard libraries or software installed.

    During TG, a four hour timeslot will be reserved when you are encouraged to bring a computer (or other platform) to a designated area in the Creative Lounge and put up a booth where people can come and try your game. If you do not wish to spread your game freely, this is how the public voters will be able to play and evaluate your game.

    The Jury will select two to four games that are offered to come to the stage during the competition show to give a 2-10 minutes presentation of your game for extra exposure, including playing the game on the big screen for the audience. If desired, you may also supply a powerpoint (.ppt or .pptx) or PDF-file in the ZIP/RAR-archive which you can use during your presentation in addition to the gameplay demo.

    Remember to supply your phone number so we can reach you during the event to get you to set up your booth, or if we need to make any preparations for your presentation.

  2. Deciding a winner

    The NGA Hype Award goes the game that creates the biggest "hype" by getting most votes from the public and from the Jury. Second and third place also receive prizes (see Prizes).

    The winner will be chosen by combining the results from the popular vote with a jury vote. The popular vote will account for 67% of the total score, and the jury vote will account for 33%.

  3. Spreading your game

    TG encourages you to spread your game freely when entering the competition, as this will make the game more available to TG's participants and increase your chances of getting votes.

    However, in this particular competition we will allow exceptions from the requirement that you must spread your entry. If you for some reason don't want your game to be distributed from TG's FTP after the party like in other competitions, please specify this in the comment field in the web-based compo system when submitting your game.

  4. Further competition in NGA

    You are allowed to deliver a new, updated version of your game to NGA before the NGA finale. If you don't deliver a new version, the version you delivered at TG will automatically compete in NGA.

    Note: Your game may be disqualified from competing in the NGA finale if your team or game does not comply with NGA's rules. For example, the NGA finale requires the team to consist of 50% students, while the NGA Hype-competition at The Gathering doesn't.

  5. Allowed platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Java (SE 6, Update 23)
    • .NET 4.0/XNA 4.0
    • Flash, Silverlight
    • All portable devices (please bring a working device with your game to the party for demonstration).

  6. Preselection

    A jury will perform a preselection of what entries will get a chance to host a live presentation on stage (maximum 4 entries).

    To make sure that the jury can fully appreciate your game you should also make a small users manual. This should explain the game concept and objectives, as well as how to control the game.

  7. Size limit

    There is no size limit - but a 500 MB clone of Tetris is unlikely to impress the jury.

  8. General rules

    The general rules for the creative competitions at The Gathering 2011 applies to this compo, unless where overriden by these rules.

    Note: In this competition there will be an exception from the rule about previously released material: The entry may have been published earlier as long as this happened after September 1st 2010. Thus, the entry may not have competed in NGA or at TG previously.

  9. Deadline

    The deadline is Friday 22nd at 23:59.

  10. Booths and compo show

    Game booths will be held in the Creative Lounge in the Vikingship Tursday 21st and Friday 22nd of April.

    The competition show is held in the Creative Lounge in the Vikingship Saturday 23rd of April.

    For exact times, see TG's online schedule.

  11. Prizes

    • 1st place: 15 000 NOK (NGA Hype Award)
    • 2nd place: 7 500 NOK
    • 3rd place: 3 500 NOK

    See the complete prizelist for info about the prizes in all creative competitions.

  12. Help and support

    If you have questions or need help regarding this competition, you can:

 
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