Important change to due date:

In consideration of the weather-induced school cancellations, the due date for submissions has been changed to March 14^th.

2007 Contest Rules

This contest is for anyone who wishes to submit an entry or entries in one or more of the categories below. There will be two separate divisions; one exclusively for SDE students (and students of programs that articulate with UB’s SDE or Corporate Communications programs) and one for the general public. Vendors, volunteers, employees of either the University of Baltimore or the Community College of Baltimore County, and their families are ineligible. Judging will be conducted the week before Computer Game Day so all entries must be submitted by 6:00 PM, March 14, 2007. Judges will be recruited from the academic world and the game development industry.

All entries must be submitted on CD accompanied by the submission form found at the end of the printable submission document. The CD label must contain the title of the submission, the category for which it is being submitted, whether the entrant is a student in the SDE program or from the general public, and contact information for the submitter. Entries should be consistent with ESRB ratings of "E" (Everyone) and may be excluded if they do not comply.

Categories

3D Character Model

• Built in 3DS Max 7^TM, Gmax^TM, Swift 3D^TM or Maya^TM
• Judging will include such factors as originality, low-poly count (detail vs. polys) and texturing.
• Deliverables:
  
  • Character Source file
  • Texture source files
• 8 JPEGS of the character, to include:
  
  • Untextured: top, front, left, right images
  • Textured: top, front, left, right images

Flash/Director Games

• Successful submissions in this category will have been built using Macromedia Flash^TM or Director^TM. There is no restriction on the version of Flash or Director used.
• Deliverable is the pair of .html and .swf files, in addition to any external files required to play the game. The .swf file size must be under 2MB in size.
• Characteristics of the game will include at least 5 levels of increasing difficulty and a means to win.
• A fun and compelling game will gain more favorable consideration.
• Special consideration will be given for good usability and/or accessibility for disabled players.
• All graphics, game design, and sonic elements must be original and created by the entrants. Remakes of existing games are discouraged.
• Games produced by teams are permitted, but given no special consideration.

Levels and Mods

• Submit a playable level for a widely accessible PC videogame, such as Unreal Tournament^TM or Neverwinter Nights^TM, along with a discussion indicating the most important features and design elements of your work.
• The winning entry will be well designed, extensive, and fun to play.
• Particular consideration will be given to entries that stretch, twist, parody, or otherwise depart from the original game.
• The accompanying discussion should explain the theme and distinguishing properties of the level. It should also clearly identify the source of digital assets, such as characters, meshes, terrains, sound effects, and music tracks. Entrants may use materials provided with modding packages or distributed in the public domain, but may not use materials copyrighted by others without written permission.
• Within reason, the judges will consider levels for any game playable on a contemporary PC, but may exclude entries based on obsolete or obscure systems.

Submission form