Judging Panel Chair: Alistair Aitcheson - Indie Developer, The Incredible Playable Show  

Judges:

• Bruce Slater - Indie Developer, Radical Forge
• Phil Gaskell - Director, Ripstone
• Andrew Smith - Indie Developer,  Spilt Milk Studios  
• Katie Goode - Director, Triangular Pixels
• Shaz Yousaf - Director, Mind Feast Games
• Phoenix Perry - Course Leader, Creative Computing Institute

Finalist Selection Process

Submitted games will be evaluated by a panel of games industry professionals appointed by Develop:Brighton. The judging panel will review all entries and select 10 finalists.

The first round of judging will be a review of the trailers and descriptions. Games chosen from the first round will then be played by members of the judging panel. The 10 finalists will be selected from those chosen. Successful finalists will be notified the w/c 6 June 2022.

The judging panel will use the following criteria to rate each submitted game:

• Originality
• Gameplay
• Aesthetics
• Technical Achievement –  Extra consideration will be given to developers who have written their own game engine and/or tools (level editors/ rendering engines/ physics engines)

The 10 finalists will receive a three-day pass to Develop:Brighton, up to five Expo passes, pre-event publicity and a profile on the event website. Most importantly however, the finalists will be able to show off their game to all the developers, press and publishers at the event.

Winner Selection Process

The 10 finalist games will be further evaluated at Develop:Brighton by the judging panel. The judges will meet during the conference to discuss the entrants and choose the Indie Showcase Winner. Points will be awarded based on these votes, and the game with the most points is the Indie Showcase Winner.

Conference attendees will have the chance to select their favourite game from the Showcase by voting onsite. The game with the most votes will be announced as the People's Choice Winner.

When are the winners announced?

The Indie Showcase and People's Choice winners will all be announced to press and delegates at Develop:Brighton on Thursday 14 July 2022. 

Deadline for Game Submissions is 13 May 2022.

• Anyone can enter as long as you’re an independent game developer with no more than 15 people in the studio, the entered game is not publisher funded and is not published by a third party, the development budget for the game must be less than £1million and your game has been created in the “indie spirit”.
  Please note: An exception may be made in the case where the game is published by a separate indie development studio. In this case the game will be eligible if the developing studio and publishing studio would adhere to these guidelines when regarded as a single team.
• More than one game can be entered per developer.
• All games must be a Release Candidate, Beta or released since November 2021.
• If your game is complicated and you want to make sure that judges understand and play it correctly then you can attach a video link and any other background information to your submission form.
• Once you’ve submitted your game we cannot accept any updates.
• Your submitted game can run on any of these platforms: PC, console, web, mobile/tablet/handheld or VR platforms.
• Games for the following VR platforms can be submitted: SteamVR (HTC Vive / Valve Index or Equivalent), Oculus Quest 2, Oculus Rift S, PlayStation VR
• If your game is to be released on both iOS and Android, then all being equal Android submissions would be preferred.
• For iOS games, Testflight is the preferred method of submission. For distribution via Apple Testflight please include a public Testflight link in your submission. The submitted download link must be active for the duration of the judging period, until 1 June 2022.
• If submitting via a download link, the download link must be available throughout the judging period until 1 June 2022.
• The submissions deadline is final – nothing received after 23:59 PST, 13 May 2022 will be considered for the Indie Showcase.
• If your game is shortlisted you will be required to demo your game within the Showcase area during Expo hours on 13 and 14 of July. We will provide a table and chairs, monitors and supply Internet connections (if required), but you will need to bring your own PC/console and make sure your area is manned at all times.

The Indie Showcase is only open to businesses and individuals who are 18 years or older

• The submitted game must be created in the 'indie spirit' by an independent game developer, Develop:Brighton reserves the right to refuse any game at its sole discretion.
• All entered games must be in a "beta" state or better (i.e. games must be feature-complete). At least 1 level of each game must be complete and fully playable.
• The entered game must not be published by a third party at the time of submission.
• Before submitting a game, the entrant must have obtained the written permission of all persons or entities having any rights in the entered Game.
• If submitting via a download link, studios are responsible for the security of the link and password protection of files.
• Game updates are not permitted once a game has been submitted.
• All entrants must have acceptable licenses in place for all middleware, game engines, software and technology utilized in the games creation.
• By completing an entry form all entrants thereby agree that all information supplied can be used for promotional purposes.
• Each finalist will be responsible for their own travel costs, meals, accommodation, and any other associated costs.
• Any individual finalist who is unable to attend may officially nominate a proxy attendee.
• Develop:Brighton reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Indie Showcase Submissions at its sole discretion.
• The Judges decision is final and cannot be appealed against.
• Any information or materials submitted via the entry form may be used for promotional purposes if your game is shortlisted.

Please note: The indie Showcase is a face to face opportunity to show off your game to Develop:Brighton attendees. You should only enter if you know that you (or a colleague) will be able to attend and demo your game in person.