2005 AGD Awards Sponsored By

2005 Rules & Regulations

Nominator Eligibility

Nominations are open to Australian and New Zealand residents.

Nominee Eligibility

Only games developed in Australia and New Zealand that were initially released and made publicly available to consumers between 5 November 2004 and 30 October 2005 are eligible.

Unless specified otherwise by the award category, nominations for any platform or delivery medium are accepted.

Expansion and mission packs are NOT eligible.

To be eligible for the Award for Best Original Character Design, the game character must have been first created for an Australian or New Zealand developed game and cannot be a character from a licensed property.

To be eligible for the Award for Best New Start-Up, a studio must have no prior game releases.

Eligible nominators must provide a valid email address and may only nominate once for each category. Subsequent submissions will be disqualified.

Should an AGD Awards Committee member be deemed to have reasonable cause for bias they will be required to abstain from the vote.

The nominee or a representative must be present at the Gala Awards Dinner to accept the award(s).

Best Unsigned Game Requirements

Teams must submit:

1. Either a playable demo or gameplay video of their game with their nomination for review by the Awards Committee.
2. A 100 word supporting statement outlining why the nomination should win.
3. A 200 word description of the game/playable prototype.

All games short listed for eligibility in the categories of Award for Best Unsigned Game (Professional) or Award for Best Unsigned Game (Indie) will be on display during the conference. All nominees must be willing to supply and setup their own computer hardware and software for demonstration in the Expo area from Thursday, 1 to Saturday, 3 December 2005 . Teams will be allocated space to setup. Access to the Expo Hall (Federation Square Atrium & BMW Edge) is free of charge. Entries for this category which are not in a playable format at the commencement of the AGDC Expo on Thurdsday, 1 December 2005 will not be accepted.

All delegates who attend the AGDC will have the chance to test the games and submit their vote on a numbered ballot paper provided in the conference bag.

Setup times are from 1500-1800 hours, Thursday, 1 December 2005 . Pack down times is from 1600-1800 hours, Saturday, 3 December 2005 . A maximum of three (3) computers are allowed per team and a maximum of two (2) trestle tables and two (2) chairs will be provided by AGDC. AGDC recommends that equipment be supervised at all times. AGDC will not be liable for the loss, theft or damage of any equipment. Entry to the Expo Hall on Thursday, 1 – Saturday, 3 December 2005 is free of charge. The top two (2) finalists will be provided with one (1) dinner ticket per team to attend the Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday, 3 December 2005 . Additional Gala Award Dinner tickets can be purchased from the AGDC Secretariat.

Pitching Competition

All unsigned game entrants are eligible to nominate themselves for the AGDC pitching competition. The best pitch will receive Legal Services from Hynes Lawyers to the value of $4000 presented at the Gala Awards Dinner.

Judging

All winners will be selected by the AGDC Awards Committee based on nominations received during the nomination period. The AGD Award Committee comprises of the AGD Advisory Board and other invited guests.

The awards for "Best Unsigned Game (Professional)" and "Best Unsigned Game (Indie)" are determined by popular vote by AGDC delegates at Federation Square , Melbourne from 1-3 December 2005.

The judging panel reserve the right to change the nominee's nominated category to an alternative category if considered more suitable by the judging panel.

There will be one winner per category. Should entries not meet an acceptable standard in a particular category the AGD Awards Committee reserves the right not to select a finalist and/or winner. The decisions of the judging panel are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Nomination Process

Nominations will open at 0900 hours AEST, 15 August 2005 and close at 1700 hours AEST 21 October 2005.

During these dates, eligible nominators can submit their nominations for the Australian Game Developers Awards online.

Awards Presentation

The finalists and winners of the AGD Awards will be announced at the Gala Awards Dinner. This will take place on Saturday, 3 December in Melbourne . The Gala Awards Dinner will be a formal event attended by 250 delegates and VIP guests.

The top two (2) finalists from each category will be notified via e-mail from Monday, 14 November 2005 . Each finalist (individual or company) will receive a limit of one (1) complimentary Gala Awards Dinner ticket. Finalists in multiple award categories will not receive additional complimentary tickets. Additional Gala Award Dinner tickets can be purchased from the AGDC Secretariat.

Prizes

All winners will receive a framed certificate and acknowledgement in press release(s) and on the official AGDC website: www.agdc.com.au .

Winners will be permitted to display the 2005 AGD Awards logo subject to certain conditions.

In addition to this, winners will receive a copy of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional [Special Edition] valued at over AUD$900.00 sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, Windows 3rd Party Gaming & Entertainment.