The Competition
Swedish Game Awards is Sweden's biggest game development competition. It is open for anyone within the borders of Sweden, hobbyist or self-employed. As long as at least 50% of the team’s participants are not currently or previously employed by a company within the game and/or entertainment industry, you are all welcome to apply! Submissions for SGA’21 are open from the 30th of May to 30th of June.
'The Swedish Game Awards gala is planned to be held in Stockholm in September/October (TBA). All SGA’21 nominated games will be on display for the general public to play, followed by a gala dinner during which the winners are announced.
1. General
Rules
2. Technology
1. Swedish Game Awards (SGA) reserves the right to decide whether an entry may compete or not.
2. The deadline for submissions during SGA 2021 is the 30th of June 11:59 PM Swedish time (UTC +01:00). Entries submitted later than this may be ignored.
3. Entries and participants may not be currently associated with, or sponsored by, a company in the games or entertainment industry. An entry that violates this rule will be disqualified. However, it is allowed to start a company associated with the entry. The rationale behind this rule is that this is to be kept a student oriented competition.
4. The entry must not have been published by a publisher. Releasing the game independently is allowed.
5. A playable demo – not necessarily a completed game – must be submitted by each team by the competitions deadline. This submission is referred to as the final entry. Additionally, each team is required to submit at least three (3) in-game screen shots, a game-play video or a trailer and a 150 word description of the game.
6. Partners to SGA are not liable for lawsuit from participants of the competition regarding game ideas or likenesses to their own products, current or future.
7. Award nominees and winners are selected by the competition’s jury, and its decision cannot be appealed.
8. If a team plans an ambitious entry that does not completely follow the rules above they may contact SGA with a rules exception request. More specific demands that affect the final entry may be announced during the course of the competition.
9. Teams may submit multiple game entries. This also means individuals may participate in multiple teams and entries during the same competition run.
1. Entries must run on one of the following operating systems: Windows 7, 8 or 10, Linux (latest stable build of Ubuntu) or OS X (as a Universal binary). Emulators are permitted. The entries may use special hardware such as gamepads or home made input devices, but they must provided to SGA prior to the jury weekend in order for the jury to be able to do their job. They will be returned shortly after. Should your game need a gamepad or such, please contact one of the organizers.
2. Entries targeting the mobile platform must run on one of the following platforms: Windows Phone, Iphone/Ipad or Android. The entry must be a native application. SDK emulators are also allowed.
3. Entries are allowed to use existing technology (such as libraries, game engines, game makers, etc.) and existing media (such as images, 3D models, sound effects, etc.) However, teams must have the right to use the technology, media and trademarks, as well as the right to submit the final entry to SGA for judgement, i.e. respect copyrights and any applicable license agreements. This also means that modifications of existing games (“mods”) are allowed.
3. Participants
1. SGA aims to promote ambitious individuals, looking to break in to the Swedish game and/or entertainment industry. Therefore at least 50% of the team participating cannot be currently or previously employed by a company within these branches.
FAQ
1. Do we need to provide you with PC/ Xbox controls etc.?
Unless your game have alt-controlrs, you do not have to provide us with controllers or any extra material for the testing, as we will have most things on site. But it would be appreciated if you noted this in your submission, so we can have them ready.
3. Is there a guaranteed place at the Gala if you have been nominated or do you have to buy a ticket in advance?
Each Nominated team gets two free tickets. Remaining team members are welcome to come, but may have to buy their own tickets. But we will try to make sure there are tickets for everyone in the team.
5. What if the project has had a Kickstarter before?
It's ok to apply, as long as the game was self-published, and has not gotten any funding/been published by an established investor/ publisher.
7. I did not receive any confirmation E-mail!
If you use a hotmail/outlook mail, the e-mail might be blocked by the server. If it is, we'll manually send one, but it might take a few hours. If you are unsure that your game was submitted, please contact us at info@gameawards.se!
2. What materials are available on site and what are the exhibitors expected to assist with?
Exhibitors are expected to bring their own computers and technology necessary to show off the game. Max two computers per game. If you have bigger games like alt-control or VR then you'll have one. If you have trouble getting external screens, SGA may help with that. Have at least one from the team at site at all times, whom can rig up everything and help game testers. This is only for the Expo if you've been nominated.
4. Do I have to send an .Exe if it's a mobile, arcade, or self-published game, can't I just send the store page link or bring it to the testing site?
This is acceptable, but we would recommend to send a PC/exe version as well. So if there is any problems, we have an extra back-up. Just make sure to add a comment or a Read-Me in your zip file with the trailer, screenshots etc., so that we don't miss it.
If you have alt-controls that you wish to bring to the play-test, please contact us at info@gameawards.se
6. When I try to Submit my game, the page scrolls back up and the information I entered disappear!
If this happens, the submission have probably gone through, but the information text has failed to appear. When you submit your game, the page scrolls up, a message is sent, and everything you have written is cleared (so if you want to submit a contribution, you do not need to refresh).
If it does not clear, but scrolls up. Look through your submission and see if you've entered all required information.
If you're still unsure, feel free to contact us at info@gameawards.se at any time!
The crowds favorite. During the expo on August 10th, the audience will vote for their favorite.
An eye catching game that caught all our attention. This game should exceed in most of this years categories. This will be awarded to the best of the best.
Mobile games are taking over the world! We are looking for relevant games that shows innovation and promising market potential, preferably by using AR technology.
Give us great technical solutions. Whether it be a custom made game engine, innovative controlls for an app or inspiring virtual reality. We are looking forward to see what ideas you've come up with! Do remember that it's the technical execution that is being viewed, so make sure you have really perfected this aspect of your submission.
Never forget that audio is one of the most essential parts of a game, it can add life to your world. The game that wins this prize should have audio that overall enhances the experience of playing.
As we all know games can be a great tool for stepping out of your everyday life and often it's because of its narrative. A game's narrative can be told in many many ways - so here's a prize to the game that is the most compelling narrative in any form imaginable.
The games in this category show a great understanding of how art can be used to convey a game's genre and story.
This year we're hoping to see more inclusive games than before and this prize will go to the game that shows the widest range of diversity. We encourage the contestants to challenge stereotypes and present situations in new, exiting ways.
The nominees of this category will show great problem solving skills, and a well thought out design that supports the story and core of their game.