GDWC 2022 Championship Rules

Last updated January 10th 2023.

1. CONTEST

The Game Development World Championship 2022 (“Championship”) is organized by Ace Lagoon Oy (“Organizer”).

The Championship enrollment opens on March 7th 2022.

The Championship enrollment closes on 28.2.2023 23:59/11.59pm Finnish time (GMT+2)

The Championship is open to games that are in active development or have been published between the competition period of January 1st 2022 and February 28th 2023.

2. CHAMPIONSHIP CATEGORIES

2.1. The Championship is split into Main Categories and Open Categories.

2.2. A game can participate into one (1) Main Category and zero or more Open Categories.

2.3. Various categories have different requirements and/or limitations which the submitted game must fulfill in order to participate. The participant is solely responsible for making sure that their game matches the category requirements and limitations.

• 2.4. Main Categories
• A) Studio Category is open for Commercial games only and for Teams that have 200 000 EUR of revenue or funding in the last 12 months, and/or 8 or more full-time team members (2x half-time members = 1 full time member, etc.). Games for any platform may be submitted.
• B) Indie Category is open for Commercial games only and for Teams that have less than 200 000 EUR of revenue and funding combined in the last 12 months, and less than 8 full-time team members (2x half-time members = 1 full time member, etc.). Games for any platform may be submitted.
• C) Hobby Category is open for Non-Commercial games only. Team size or funding is not a factor. Games for any platform may be submitted.

• 2.5. Open Categories
• A) Mobile Category is open for all games on iOS and Android mobile devices. Commercial status or team size and funding do not apply.
• B) Game Jam category is open for all games developed in game jam events during the Championship period. The submitted version of the game should be the one submitted in the Jam event and not developed further. Additional information may be required during the submission process.

• 2.6. Commercial and Non-Commercial games.
• A) We consider as Commercial any games that,
• i) are sold for a price
• ii) have in-app purchases or mictrotransactions
• iii) have ads in-game
• iv) are episodic releases with some episodes, that are crucial for experiencing the whole game, are sold for a price
• v) are free prologues or demos for full commercial versions of games.
• B) We consider Non-Commercial any games that,
• i) don't match any of the descriptions in section 2.6.A)
• ii) are directly available to fully access for free
• iii) are available for free but offer optional donation or purchase options where user can determine the price (such as Itch.io's name your price option).
• iv) are available for free but offer paid DLC which is not required to fully experience the game
• v) are currently available for free but could be sold in the future, as long as they are free throughout the Championship period and Judging process
• C) The game's Commercial or Non-Commercial status has to apply throughout the Championship period and Judging process. So if your game is currently non-commercial, but you're planning to make it a commercial title later, it should be submitted as a commercial title.

2.7. The Organizer may, but is not obligated to, change submitted game's category from a rule breaking one into a non rule breaking one if no other issues are present.

2.8. All categories are subject to these Rules, unless otherwise specified.

2.9. The Organizer reserves the right to change, add, or remove categories during the Championship period without a prior notice.

3. ENROLLMENT

3.1. Participation in all Championship categories is Free.

3.2. The participant fills up all required submission forms with genuine information. The participant agrees that information on the enrolment form can be forwarded to partners and judges of the contest.

3.3. Organizer reserves the right to refuse an application or remove a game, team, or participant from the competition at any point for any reason, including but not limited to fraudulent participation information, inappropriate or unsuitable content, missing crucial game submission information or content, or any other breach of these Rules or the general Terms of Service by the participant.

3.4. Each individual or team can compete with any number of games on any of the accepted platforms if they wish. The game and the peripherals needed to play must either be portable with reasonable cost or be emulated with a PC or a handheld device such as a tablet.

3.5. Team members can be replaced, added or removed during the competition.

3.6. Any material, assets or work that has been outsourced by the team must be clearly documented and this information sent alongside the application.

3.7. By registering for the competition, the participant allows the Organizer to contact the participant via e-mail about matters related to the competition.

3.8. By registering for the competition, the participant represents that they are age 18 or older, or that they have a parental or legal guardian consent, and are capable of understanding and agreeing in these rules.

3.9. By registering for the competition, the participant represents that they've read and accepted these rules and regulations.

4. GAMES ELIGIBLE FOR PARTICIPATION

4.1. Submitting released games. Games that have had a full commercial or non-commercial launch during the Championship period between January 1st 2022 and February 28th 2023. Can be submitted to the competition.

If no clear launch date can be established, the release date of version 1.0 or closest equivalent is considered as the launch date.

4.2. Submitting games still in development. Games in active development and waiting to be fully published can be submitted.

This includes games published in Early Access, Soft Launch, Open Beta, Open Alpha, or in other similar manner where the game is publicly available but not yet finished.

4.3. Games released on multiple platform types. Games released on one platform type (such as Computers, Consoles, Mobile Devices, or VR/AR Devices) before the Championship period can participate with a version on another platform type if said release matches rules sections 4.2. or 4.3.

The submitted version of the game has to be clearly marked as the platform type version that is eligible for participation, and the playable version has to be provided for said platform.

For clarity: If your game was released on PC before Championship period and is released on Consoles during the Championship period, you can participate with the Console version, but this has to be clearly marked in the submission and the playable for judges version has to be for the Console version.

4.4. Remakes, Remasters, and Re-Releases are not eligible for participation.

4.5. DLC is not eligible to participate, the submitted games have to be playable by themself, without needing another game as a basis to work.

4.6. Mods are not eligible to participate.

4.7. Fan Games are not eligible to participate.

4.8. Mature content is accepted within reasonable limits and if such content is not the sole content and/or purpose of the submitted game. Games with mature content must be marked properly during submission. Failure to do so may result in submission being rejected. The Organizer reserves the right to remove or reject any submission deemed inappropriate.

5. GAME SUBMISSION

5.1. All entries are submitted before the closing date.

• 5.2. At least following are required from game submission:
• A) Access to the game for the Organizer and Championship Judges, either as a working downloadable build of the game, or as an activation code, key, coupon, or equivalent for acquiring the game on the platform which it is available on. At least five (5) keys must be provided, two (2) of which go to GDWC and three (3) of which are reserved for judges.
• B) If any special instructions are required to play the game, these must be provided.
• C) Trailer video or gameplay video showcasing the gameplay of the game
• D) At least four (4) screenshots and one (1) promotional picture of the game.
• E) Basic information of the game, such as name, short elevator pitch, description, etc.

5.3. The team owns full rights to their game. The team will accept full responsibility for any claims represented to the Organizer by Third Parties regarding the game or any other material submitted by the team.

5.4. The Organizer reserves the right to use images, video and text material of the game, team and entry submission for the purposes of marketing the competition and the games. The Organizer also reserves the right to make new content from the games included but not limited to, streaming gameplay and recording gameplay footage, without any compensation to the development team.

• 5.5. The Organizer will not share activation keys, closed beta builds or similar, except for
• A) The event Judges to perform the judging duties for the event
• B) For influencers and other media personnel for the purposes of creating content of the games in cases where the team has given permission for this.

5.6. The game must be able to run on a Windows or Mac computer, generally accessible game console, Android or iOS portable device, or internet browser either natively or via emulation.

If specialized emulation software is required, the developer must either provide said emulation software or give clear and easy instructions to access said emulation software.

5.7. Teams can submit a game using existing technologies such as engines, frameworks and models. Teams must own full rights or have required licenses to use those technologies.

5.8. Teams can submit a game using existing content and materials. Teams must own full rights or have required licenses to use those assets.

5.9. Teams must ensure that their games do not break the Finnish law.

5.10. Any breach of rules 5.7, 5.8, or 5.9 will disqualify the team.

6. CHAMPIONSHIP PROCESS

6.1. All submitted games will go through a multi-stage process of approval unless otherwise stated in the Category Rules.

6.2. All submissions are first validated by the Organizer to pick out clear rule violations and other fraudulent submissions. Depending on the severity of violation, the participant may have a chance to amend their submission.

6.3. All successfully validated submissions are evaluated by the Organizer for their submission presentation to highlight missing or inappropriate content, and other issues in the submission. Depending on the issues arising in the submission on this stage, the participant may amend their submission.

6.4. Only submissions approved in validation and presentation evaluation are considered successfully submitted to the Championship.

6.5. Only submissions approved in validation and presentation evaluation will be visible on the Championship site.

6.6. All successful submissions automatically participate in public ranking on the Championship. Ranking is formed from two factors: Engagement on the game page (such as game likes, game page views, game page shares, etc.), and votes on the Game Discovery page.

6.7. Monthly 10 highest ranked games are highlighted and the highest ranked game will be guaranteed a spot in the Fan Choice voting and on the Jury Choice shortlist of any category it’s participating in.

6.8. Monthly rankings are reset each month.

6.9. Monthly rankings occur from April 2022 to February 2023, skipping December 2022.

6.10. At the end of the Championship period, all games in each category will be ranked based on the combined monthly rankings throughout the year. The rankings are weighted by time to allow later submissions equal chance to position.

6.11. Fan Choice voting for each Main Category and applicable Open Categories will be organized the end of the Championship period. The voting will take place between 10 highest ranked games of the category, with any Monthly Ranking winners taking precedent of the lowest ranked games in the Top 10.

6.12. Jury Choice in each category will be determined by a Jury of industry veterans, professionals, and stakeholders in a judging process which starts after the Championship period ends. Jury will make their choice from a toplist of games selected by the Organizer in an internal evaluation process which may use any and all material provided in the game submission. Any Monthly Ranking winners will automatically receive a spot in the toplist.

6.13 The Organizer does not guarantee that any submitted game, game download, activation key, or other entry, regardless of its progress in the submission and/or competition process, or any other part of the Championship, is played or otherwise accessed by the Organizer, the Organizer staff or affiliates, or the Championship Judges.

• 6.14. Jury Choice judging will be based on the official GDWC JUDGEMENT CRITERIA:
• FUN: Is the game fun to play and able to keep a player interested? Are the objectives of the game easy to understand?
• FEEL: Is the artstyle of the game consistent with the gameplay? Do the controls for the game feel right? Does the game run well?
• NOVELTY: Is the game an entirely new concept, or does it combine old ideas in new, interesting ways? Does it stand out from other games of its genre?

7. GENERAL

7.1. The Organizer reserves the right to make changes to these rules at any point without prior notice. As a participant it is your responsibility to stay up to date with these rules and any possible changes.

7.2. Rewards can't be changed to money or other rewards or passed to another recipient by reward receiver's request.

7.3. If the Organizer can't reach a winning participant within a reasonable time, determined by the Organizer, or a winning participant is disqualified for any other reason, the Organizer can either promote the next runner-up participant to receive the reward, or leave the reward unallocated.

7.4. Organizer reserves the right to change the rewards in any category.

7.5. Helpshift Showcase reward is only available to developers who have implemented the Helpshift SDK on the game that reached Top 5 in related category by the end of GDWC 2022 enrollment period. Carrying out the Helpshift Showcase for a game requires a separate and mutual agreement and approval between Helpshift and the reward recipient.

7.6. Rewards may be subject to international trade sanctions, embargos, or other legal limitations which prevent reward from being provided to the recipient. In such cases the reward shall not be replaced.

7.7. Free IGDA Membership rewards are provided to teams according to the reported team membership count at the moment of selecting winners, with maximum of five (5) free memberships per team. GDWC and IGDA reserve the right to change the amount of provided free memberships.

7.8. IGDA membership discounts will be provided to Winner and Finalist team members after GDWC 2022 Awards show. Discount codes will be active for limited time after winner announcements. Expired codes will not be replaced.

8. VOTING

8.1. Voting for games in the Game Discovery voting page or any other voting event in the GDWC site is open to all participants and page visitors, and does not require registering an account unless otherwise specified.

8.2. All voters can cast a single vote in any individual vote or voting event, unless otherwise specified.

8.3. Using any methods, automated or otherwise, to circumvent the voting rules will result in any votes given via such fraudulent methods, to be disqualified.

8.4. The Organizer may disqualify the whole game and remove all of its votes if there is a reason to believe that the participant or participants who submitted the game have knowingly engaged in voting fraud.

9. CATEGORY SPECIFIC RULES

9.1. All categories mentioned here adhere to all GDWC rules, unless otherwise stated in this section.

9.2. STUDENT GAME AWARD

9.2.1. Student Game Award participants must either be students of an educational institution when submitting their game, have recently graduated, or are self-studying to make their first game. Participants must also be 18 years of age or older.

9.2.2. The submitted project must have been developed when the development team members were students or are actively self-studying game development.

9.2.3. Only non-commercial projects are accepted.

9.2.4. At least 50% of the members of the participating team have to be students or actively self-studying game development.

• 9.2.5. Participants currently studying in educational institution or recently graduated are required to provide information pertaining to their students status:
  • i. Name of the educational institution currently studying in
  • ii. Link to the educational institution's website
  • iii. Year class
  • iv. Major or industry studying in
  • Additional information may be required and requested later in the judging process.

9.2.6. Failure to provide the required information, or providing false information, about the participants' student status or self-studying participants project status will result in immediate disqualification.

9.2.7. Teachers can submit their students' projects on their students' behalf.

9.2.8. By submitting their students' project, a teacher guarantees that they have the required rights and permissions from all related parties to do so.

9.2.9. Student Game Award winners are decided solely by judges appointed or approved by Autodesk.

9.2.10. Student Game Award has no winners, runner-ups, or other reward recipients decided by public vote.

9.2.11. Autodesk can at any point and for any reason disqualify any participant from the Student Game Award.

9.2.12. GDWC will provide Autodesk with the competing games and competitor information in such capacity as is needed to proceed with the judging of the games in the Student Game Award and to provide winners their rewards. Additional information may be requested from participants to fulfill the delivery of the rewards.

9.2.13. By failing to provide all required information for delivery and fulfillment of the rewards within a given time, the participant forfeits their claim for said reward.

9.2.14. Autodesk provided rewards may be subject to additional requirements, terms, and limitations not set in these rules.

9.2.15. Student Game Award submissions close when the general GDWC 2022 submissions close.

9.3. XSOLLA GAME OF THE YEAR AWARD

9.3.1. Xsolla Game of the Year Award participating games must be commercially available titles.

9.3.2. By submitting a game to the Xsolla Game of the Year Award the participating team and all its members agree to be contacted directly by Xsolla.

9.3.3. GDWC will provide Xsolla with the competing games and competitor information in such capacity as is needed to proceed with the judging of the games in the Xsolla Game of the Year Award and to provide winner their reward.

9.3.4. Xsolla Game of the Year Award will have only one winner and no runner-ups. The winner is decided solely by Xsolla or Xsolla appointed representatives. Xsolla Game of the Year Award has no winners, runner-ups, or other reward recipients decided by public vote.

9.3.5. Xsolla Game of the Year Award winner will receive 5000 USD reward awarded directly by Xsolla. The reward recipient is responsible for any taxes or other costs applied to the reward by their legal jurisdiction. Any transfer, transaction, legal, or other costs accrued from the payment of the reward may be deducted from the reward amount. Xsolla reserves the right to redefine and modify the reward at their discretion.

9.3.6. Participants agree, in the case of winning the Xsolla Game of the Year Award, to provide Xsolla with all required information to fulfill the reward payment. By failing to do so in a given time, the participant forfeits their claim for the reward.

9.3.7. Xsolla can at any point and for any reason disqualify any participant from the Xsolla Game of the Year Award.

9.3.8. Xsolla Game of the Year Award submissions closse when the general GDWC 2022 submissions close.

9.4. BRAINWAVE AWARD

9.4.1. All games qualified to participate in the GDWC 2022 are automatically in the running to be nominated for the Brainwave Award.

9.4.2. GDWC will nominate five (5) games to the Brainwave Award.

9.4.3. Brainamics conduct playtesting and brainscan analysis with nominated games.

9.4.4. Brainwave Award will have only one winner and no runner-ups. The winner is decided solely by Brainamics or Brainamics appointed representatives. Brainwave Award has no winners, runner-ups, or other reward recipients decided by public vote.

9.4.5. Brainwave Award winner will receive Brainamics playtesting services valued at 2000 EUR. The reward recipient is responsible for any taxes or other costs applied to the reward by their legal jurisdiction.

9.4.6. Brainwave Award winner must provide Brainamics with all required information and game access to fulfill reward. By failing to do so in a given time, the Brainwave Award winner forfeits their claim for the reward.

9.4.7. Brainamics can at any point and for any reason disqualify any participant from the Brainwave Award.

9.4.8. Brainwave Award submissions closse when the general GDWC 2022 submissions close.