Online Expo Showcase Submission Guidelines | BostonFIG

Online Expo 2024 Submission Guidelines

Regulations

These guidelines are for submitting a game to the public indie games Showcase on Saturday, June 1. Attending talks at Talks & Learns on Sunday, June 2 is optional.

Registration fees are Pay-What-You-Like. A free ticket option is also available. BostonFIG is a non-profit organization, and all funding goes towards creating programming for indie games community.

Eligibility Region and Criteria

The Showcase at the 2024 BostonFIG Online Expo is open to worldwide submissions. Since there is no perfect criteria for what an “indie” game is, we will take submissions on a case-by-case basis and work with studios to determine what games make sense from a community standpoint.

Submitting your game confirms you have read and agree to the Showcase Submission Guidelines in full.

- Only unpublished games, or games that have been released after February 2023 can be submitted.
- Games should be independently produced, though publisher funding/distribution is acceptable.
- Games are not produced by a major publisher-owned studio.
- Game content and other materials are owned solely by the developer/designers or legal permission is obtained to use any other copyrighted material.
- Games that were submitted to a previous BostonFIG Showcase must demonstrate that they have undergone significant changes with a brief gameplay video or screenshot(s) of the previous version.
- Digital Games should have at least one finished, playable level (or have its core system in place so that curators and attendees can understand your game’s ambitions, mechanics, and gameplay).
- Tabletop games of all types (card games, board games, tabletop RPGs) can be submitted.

Other games that aren’t sure if they fit directly into the Tabletop or Digital distinction are welcome to apply. Developers must be certain that they could exhibit or demo their game within the Online Expo virtual world built in gather.town, and all submission guidelines still apply. For questions about exhibiting virtually, contact [email protected].

Come ready to demo your game in our virtual world on June 1, 2024!

If you have any questions about the eligibility of your game, please contact [email protected].

, 20Timeline

Phase 1

Submissions open.
Developers must submit an overview video of their project (details on the video below) and complete registration via Givebutter.

Submissions close at the end of the day on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
Curation begins. Games will only be judged based on the overview video. Factors such as mechanics, creativity, innovation, playability, and alignment with the BostonFIG mission of inclusivity, accessibility, and community in gaming will determine if the game moves forward.

Phase 2

Finalists for the Showcase are identified and informed that they have been accepted via email.
Developers of accepted games will have one week to confirm acceptance via the included form, and will be asked to provide all final information necessary.

2024 BostonFIG Online Expo Schedule

The Online Expo will be held from 9am-5pm ET (-5 UTC) on Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd.

PLEASE NOTE: During this time, your booth MUST be staffed and not left empty, just like at an in-person event. As an online event, traffic will ebb and flow and your booth may not always be busy, but attendees will notice an empty booth and be disappointed, often then skipping that booth altogether.

For solo developers without a second person to support your booth in the Showcase, BostonFIG staff and volunteers will do our best to assist with brief breaks, but may not be able to accommodate all requests. If you have any questions or concerns about the mandatory staffing of your booth for the public showcase hours, please email [email protected].

Interested in submitting a talk, workshop, or panel? Talk Submissions are here.

Game Submission Rules

Requirements

To be eligible, all submissions must include:

The submission form (fees are Pay-What-You-Like) through GiveButter
A 5-10 minute video showcasing your game

Video Entry

5-10 minutes MAXIMUM, uploaded to Youtube/Vimeo with link to watch. Please make sure it is accessible to anyone with the link, even if you would like it not to be public. We will need to share it within the BostonFIG organization.

Include at least 30 seconds of gameplay that is unedited, so that we can see your game in action. (Except for submissions to Multiplayer and Connected Gameplay, added VO or text is fine, if you need to explain something, but please, NO added music/FX/dialogue not in the game. For Multiplayer and Connected Gameplay games, we request no edits to your gameplay footage.)
Tell us about your game, and WHY YOU BELIEVE YOUR GAME IS COMPELLING
Use this as an opportunity to introduce us to your game for the first time.

Some guiding ideas that might help:

Give us a quick pitch of your game
Describe why your game is interesting and/or the design philosophy behind it
What does your player do and/or what is the player’s goal?
Is there anything special about your game that other games don’t do?
What is the future for your game?

This video will NOT be judged on production quality.

If your game cannot fit this format, please contact [email protected].

Game Quality and Production

Your game doesn’t need to be completed. Instead, it’s fully acceptable for your submission to clearly show a vertical slice of your intended end product.

Acceptance to the Online Expo Showcase

Finalists for the Showcase are identified and informed that they have been accepted via email.
Developers of accepted games will have one week to confirm acceptance via the included form, and will be asked to provide all final information necessary for the festival.

Accepted games will be able to reserve (1) one booth in the 2024 BostonFIG Online Expo Showcase. Booths are virtual and located in a BostonFIG virtual world designed and built on gather.town. Those exhibiting at the Online Expo are encouraged to explore gather.town in advance of the event.

Showcase exhibitors must confirm acceptance to reserve their booth and be sent the Exhibitor Kit.

Each booth can fit 2 avatars/team members at a time. PLEASE NOTE: During the Showcase hours (12pm – 5pm ET (-5 UTC)) there MUST be one team member available at your booth at all times to demonstrate and discuss your game.
Your booth functions as a private audio/video space, with attendees engaging with you in real-time as they visit. You can share audio, video, and/or a browser window to demo your game. Computer audio can be shared with attendees by utilizing a shared chrome tab/window.
Creativity is encouraged!
Visit the BostonFIG Discord server community and say hello prior to the event! This is also where Showcase exhibitors tend to discuss setup methods and approaches prior to a virtual Showcase event.

Further details regarding setup and gather.town navigation will be included with the Exhibitor Kit.

Materials Requested Upon Acceptance

Upon notification of their acceptance to the Showcase, developers of accepted games will be asked to provide all final information necessary for the festival. This information includes:

Name of your game.
Name of the team.
Studio logo. If you have a studio logo, please provide one. It must be a PNG with the dimensions 372 x 178 px (If you do not have a studio logo, we will provide a BostonFIG placeholder logo with your studio/team name).
Game logo. If you have a game logo, please provide one. It must be a PNG with the dimensions 372 x 178 px (If you don’t have a game logo, please inform us at this time).
Game video for your booth. A 60-90 second trailer video of your game, that attendees can view on approaching your booth to learn more and get excited about your game. Additional demos and videos can be shared via screenshare by the staff at your booth. Sharing a Google Chrome tab also supports audio sharing.
Name of team lead who will be handling communication and check-in during the event, and their contact information.

Talk Submission Rules

To be eligible, all submissions must include:

The submission form via Givebutter. This form will capture talk info such as title, topic, duration, and a brief (<150 word) summary. Fees for submitting a Talk are pay-what-you-like.

Talks & Learns Acceptance

Speakers accepted to Talks & Learns will be notified via email with an included confirmation form – this form must be completed and all final information provided to reserve their place in the talk schedule and be sent the Speaker Kit.

Talks will be sorted into a Talks track and a Learns track based on the indicated categories and talk content detailed by the speaker(s) during the submission process.

The Talks track focuses on specific areas of game creation including design, methodology, technology, art, process, business topics and more!
The Learns track highlights hands-on learning, case studies, student presentations, the potential of gamified environments, educational uses and approaches, tool-based training from industry professionals, and more!

All talks are virtual and located in a BostonFIG virtual world designed and built on gather.town. Those presenting a talk for Talks & Learns at the 2024 BostonFIG Online Expo are encouraged to explore gather.town in advance of the event.

Within the virtual world, attendees can engage with you in real-time via proximity chat. Speakers can screenshare. Computer audio can be shared with attendees by utilizing a shared chrome tab/window.
Creativity is encouraged!
Visit the BostonFIG Discord server community and say hello prior to the event! This is also where folks tend to discuss setup methods and approaches prior to a virtual event.
Further details regarding setup and gather.town navigation will be included with the Speaker Kit.

Materials Requested Upon Talk Acceptance

Speakers of accepted talks will be asked to provide all final information necessary, including:

Name of your talk.
Name of all speakers giving the talk or speaking on the panel.
Speaker Headshots. The file must be a PNG; one for each Speaker in your talk. A square headshot with the dimensions 372 x 178 px is preferred, but any image you use to represent yourself is good! This image will be included in any Digital Program or Talk Schedules.
Speaker Bio. A short bio (<250 words) that will be included in any Digital Program or Talk Schedules.
Name of team lead who will be handling communication and check-in during the event, and their contact information, for talks and panels with more than one speaker.

Additional Information

Submissions are open April 15 through May 8th, 2024. The submission form will also ask for basic information, and include an area where further game information can be described. Accepted games will be notified via email and must confirm acceptance by completing the included form. Decisions are final. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

Developers of games that do not progress to the Showcase are eligible for a discounted sponsorship package if they choose to pursue a booth outside the Showcase.

The intellectual property rights from the games will belong to the designers, independently of their places in the competition, and will be respected. If a designer feels harmed by the Jury deliberation, we remind that the game’s quality remains subjective, and that the main goal of the Showcase is to create buzz around the indie game scene. If there are not enough submissions for the Game Design Showcase, the staff reserves the right to cancel the 2024 Online Expo Showcase. The participation in the Showcase requires the full acceptance of this Regulation.

Terms & Conditions

By submitting to a BostonFIG Showcase, you agree to the above stated process and that failure to comply with it can lead to your game being rejected from submission without refund. You also understand that if your game is not accepted into the BostonFIG Showcase, your entry fee will not be refunded.

You agree that BostonFIG will not be held responsible for any damages incurred through participation in the showcase and submission process including, but not limited to: audience, media, and judges’ reactions to your game; rejection from the showcase; and feedback given by other constituents.

You agree that all game content and other materials are owned solely by you and fellow developers and designers. You agree that you have appropriate permissions from all developers and designers to enter your game into the showcase. You also agree that BostonFIG will not be held liable for any legal disputes that arise from your participation in the showcase and submission process.