Unity Game Development Contest - Are you the Top DOG?

 

Without a doubt, it's an exciting time to be involved in the Unity Community, Unity 2.0 is on its way, the Unite 2007 conference is in October and the community is growing in both size and depth of talent. These are all great reasons to celebrate and we're celebrating the OTEE way... with a game development contest! We're looking for the Top DOG, that is the best Developer of Online Games. If you think you're the Top DOG then prove it by entering our contest, you could walk away with a free copy of Unity 2.0 and $2,000 in cash.

Contest Theme

The theme of Top DOG contest is the creation of top-quality online casual games, which in our case translates to Unity Web Player games. Why is this the theme? The Unity Web Player is the most advanced 3D engine available in a web browser and therefore Unity developers are well equipped to kick-start a profitable career in casual game development. That's especially true given the smaller size and scope of casual games as well as the available distribution channels, those combine to put casual game success well within reach of dedicated individuals or small teams of developers. Best of all, the new features and general improvements coming in Unity 2.0 will make it the quickest, most robust and easiest to use tool on the market today, all of which only further enables Unity to be the premiere casual game development tool.

Rules

There are only a few simple rules for the Top DOG contest:

  • Rule #1:
    All entries must be submitted as Web Players. The Top DOG contest is all about developing online games and therefore you must create a Web Player game in order to be eligible for contest entry. Any games submitted as stand-alone executables or as OS X Dashboard Widgets will not be accepted.
     
  • Rule #2
    All entries must be registered prior to submission. We want to encourage individuals or small groups to work and collaborate in a professional manner for this contest and that means planning ahead as much as possible, as such all entries must register for the contest by the registration deadline date. Any entries that are submitted without registering by the deadline will not be accepted.
     
  • Rule #3
    All media and assets must be properly licensed for use. OTEE reserves the right to use all submitted entries for marketing and promotional efforts, including use on our website or in printed materials, therefore all assets used must be properly licensed for use. Any entries that use copyright or protected material without proof of proper licensing will not be accepted.
     

Apart from the above you are free to do as you like! Work alone, work as part of team, submit one game or submit multiple games, make a racing game, a first-person shooter or that puzzle game you've always envisioned. No matter what, just get involved and participate!

Contest Schedule

Here are the important dates and deadlines for the Top DOG contest:

  • Registration Deadline
    All entries must be registered by 11:59pm GMT on September 1, 2007
     
  • First Submission Deadline
    All entries must be submitted for judging consideration by 11:59pm GMT on September 17, 2007
     
  • 5 Finalists Announced
    The top-5 finalists will be announced on September 24, 2007
     
  • Finalist Re-Submission Deadline
    The top-5 finalists are allowed to update their entries prior to final judging, all finalist entries must be submitted for final judging by 11:59pm GMT on October 8, 2007
     
  • Contest Winner Announced
    The Top DOG contest winner will be announced on October 12, 2007 at Unite 2007
     

Note: Any entries found to have been modified after either of the submission deadlines will immediately be disqualified. In the case of finalist entries, any disqualified submissions will be replaced by the next highest scoring entry.

Registering Your Entry

Developers can choose to either work by themselves or as part of a team, and each individual developer can contribute to one or more submitted entries. In all cases, each individual or team must declare their intent to participate by registering each game entry no later than September 1st at 11:59pm GMT. In order to register please send an email to contest@unity3d.com with the following information:

  • Team Members
    Please provide a listing of each developer and/or artist that is contributing to the game being submitted.
     
  • Team or Company Name (optional)
    Please provide the name of the team or company submitting the game if desired.
     
  • Content Description
    Please provide the name and a detailed description of the game being submitted.
     
  • Screenshots and/or Design Artwork
    Please provide screenshot images and/or game design artwork.
     

A confirmation email will be sent to each individual or team registering an entry for the contest. Additionally each registered entry will be listed here on our website following the registration deadline.

Submitting Your Entry

After registering, each individual or team will receive an email with detailed instructions for submitting their game. All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm GMT on September 17th and be complete and playable inside a browser in order to be considered for judging. Of all the entries, five (5) finalists will be selected and announced on September 24th, those finalists will then have the option of continuing to improve upon their games and re-submit them for final judging by 11:59pm GMT on October 8th.

All Finalists will be showcased at Unite 2007 in San Francisco and the Top DOG (Grand Prize Winner) will be announced at the conference on October 12th. You do not need to attend the Unite Conference in order to be awarded the title of Top DOG.

Judging Criteria

OTEE will use the following criteria when evaluating contest entries:

  • Game Play
    Is the game fun to play, engage the user and offer repeated playability?
     
  • Visual Quality
    Does the game have an appealing artistic style?
     
  • Audio Quality
    Does the game sound good and does the audio fit the game well?
     
  • Web Browser/Network Integration
    Does the game creatively interact with its containing page, remote data or other users?
     
  • Polish
    How professional does the game behave, does it crash and is it a smooth user experience?
     

Each submission will receive a score between 1 and 10 for each criteria, the final score for each game will be the average number of points assigned to the various criteria. The five highest scoring games will become the contest finalists, and developers will then be able to update or modify those games before re-submitting for final judging. During the final judging round the same criteria and scoring will be used again with the highest scoring finalist winning the contest and earning the title of Top DOG.

Prizes

Five finalist entries will be selected and then the final winning entry will be selected from among those finalists.

  • Finalists (5)
    All finalists will receive one free admission to the Unite 2007 conference in October and have a chance to meet with web portal and publisher representatives during the Unite conference. Additionally, all Top DOG finalists will be entered into the "Best Web Game" category of the Independant Game Festival (IGF) free of charge.
     
  • Top DOG (1)
    The contest winner will receive one Unity 2.0 Pro license and $2,000 in cold hard cash!
     

Please note that you do not need to be present at Unite 2007 in order to win the title of Top DOG.

Now get to it!

You know the rules now, so don't delay. Show us your skills and prove that you're the Top DOG!

 

Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions or comments about the Top DOG contest then please feel free to contact us and let us know.