Asset Lists and Deadlines

Delivery:

  • Submit your game to the show floor via the GGC 2021 Exhibitors Application
  • All graphic assets are uploaded to our FTP-server.
    • The connection information to the server was mailed out to the contact person of your team.
    • New carpets can be emailed to Ulf.
  • the web build of your game can be hosted on any public server that allows embedding.
    • itch.io is a great solution, but has size limitations.
    • talk to HÃ¥kan if you need alternative hosting of your game executable
  • The game must be submitted to the itch.io showcase.1Whether you host your web build on itch.io or not, you will have to have a game listing to present your game in our show case.
    • You can keep updating the itch page even after submitting to the show case
    • You can update the embed link at any time by mailing Ulf.

Texts

Delivery window: 2020-04-28 – 2020-05-28 12:00

Provide all text through GGC 2021 Exhibitors Application. Register your game and team info early so we have an accurate count. 28th of April is the start of the application window, and you can update your information at any time after that!

This information is used on our websites and on our social media, and to inform the jury about the games they are about to play. Remember to update the information if your project changes.

Jury Presentation

Delivery:
2020-05-29 13:00 (draft)
2020-05-30 21:00 (final cut)

Upload slides and (optionally) a pre-recorded video of your presentation to the FTP.

The presentations are held on Zoom the 31st. You have 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions. This is a brief presentations of your game, as you will have more time to talk speak with the jury and answer questions on the show floor.

itch.io game listing

Delivery window: 2020-04-28 – 2020-05-28 12:00

Your game must be available in the GGC 2021 Show Case on Itch.io. Make your game listing look great – it is a public presentation of your work.

Good examples from previous years:

Your game listing must contain:

  • Link to download the game, and/or the embedded game ready to run
    • Playing in browser is ideal, but a lot of people will want the download for optimal performance / resolutions / gamepads etc.
  • The game trailer
  • Quick reference for the controls
  • Player instructions / how to play
  • Screenshots
  • Credits list (name and title / responsibility of everyone involved)

Graphics

Delivery window: 2020-04-28 – 2020-05-28 12:00. In roughly the order you’ll be able to produce them:

  • A “carpet” to decorate your booth in Gather Town. Carpets are 128x256px. Check how they are used in Gather Town!
    • Leave room in your design to furnish on top of the carpet.
    • The carpet is your games first impression to visitors.
    • Put your game title on the carpet.
  • Concept art, development photos of the team, in-progress work etc
    • At least 4 images (jpg)
    • Keep your graphics web-friendly, ~128-512kb is reasonable.
    • Try to stick to 16×9 aspect and 1920x1080px resolution for screens and photos.
  • High-resolution logo / splash for your game (transparent background) (PNG or PSD with layers)
    • This is used in the conference show reel video.
  • The title screen / main menu (jpg)
  • Minimum 4 good-looking in-game screenshots (jpg)
Screenshot from the Alumni Days 2020. Note the “carpets” in each booth. Your game needs a carpet. 128x256px.

Your graphics are (mostly!) used to present your game on our website. Here are some examples for context:

Keep all your graphics web-friendly, ~128-512kb is reasonable.

Make sure your graphics lead viewers back to your project! Always put your project name / logo on screenshots, your names on concept art etc. A good domain name is an excellent investment.

All assets should be original work. Submissions with plagiarized graphics from other copyrighted sources will be disqualified. Use free- and open source fonts and audio.

All licensed assets (for example from the Unity Asset Store) must be listed in your game credits and in the game’s readme.

Trailer (16×9, 60fps, H264, MP4)

Deadline: 2020-05-28 12:00

Trailer for Frog Climbers, for inspiration.

Your trailer must be less than 80 seconds. The trailers will be uploaded on our YouTube-channel, websites and used to produce our annual showreel:

Watch Trail-er Blazing: Creating the Trailers your Game Deserves! (~23 minutes) and How To Make an Indie Game Trailer | Game Maker’s Toolkit (~14 minutes) to learn how to effectively show off your game.2TLDR: Try to focus on one core concept, and tease that what you’re showing is only a glimpse of what’s to come. Try to create a story with continuous momentum, structure, and a buildup to a resolution at the end. Do not try to demonstrate the game (that’s what a play-through is for).

Render your trailer using Youtube’s preferred settings:

  • 16:9 aspect ratio, 1080p, 1440p or 2160p
  • Capture and encode at 60fps
  • Container: MP4
  • H.264 video encoder (two pass)
    • Progressive scan (no interlacing)
    • High Profile, 2 consecutive B frames
    • Closed GOP, GOP of half the frame rate
    • CABAC
    • Variable bitrate. No bitrate limit required, but for reference you should aim for 12, 24 or 54 Mbps for 1080p, 1440p and 2160p, respectively.
  • AAC-LC audio encoder
    • Channels: Stereo or Stereo + 5.1
    • Sample rate 96khz or 48khz
    • Audio bitrate: 384 kbps (stereo), 512 kbps (5.1)

OBS Studio is great for screen-capping video, and it’s Free and Open Source.

  • Max 80 seconds long.
  • Provide a good title-screen (= the thumbnail on YouTube) (jpg)
  • Make sure you clear the audio licenses!
  • No logo- or text overlays in the trailer – these are uploaded separately!

Optional deliveries

The Game Executable

Deadline: Can be uploaded at any time – even after the event!

In addition to putting your game up on itch.io, you’re also encouraged to upload a copy to our FTP.

  • Make sure to include a README (.pdf, .txt or .html) with information about:
    • supported platforms
    • how to install the game
    • how to play the game
    • any known bugs / broken features
    • your contact info / website / link to trailer etc.
    • full credits
    • full credits for all assets that you did not create yourself (eg. Unity Asset Store and such).
  • A couple of screenshots and an image of the default control mapping is a good idea to include!
  • A portable install (“unzip and run”) is more convenient than an installer.
    • Just make sure the game unzips to a folder and doesn’t puke a hundred files over somebodies desktop.
  • Clean up, compress and minimize the distribution folder as much as possible. Ideally the folder contains nothing but the game executable and the documentation.

Upload instructions

All materials are uploaded to the GGC FTP3server info was mailed to the contact person in each team on the 19th and 21st of May. We recommend the FileZilla FTP client. Here is a guide on how to use it.

  • ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF ANYTHING YOU UPLOAD! The FTP is NOT a backup!

You can not delete things from the FTP. Be mindful with what you upload, and always provide clear versioning in the file names (eg. dates or increasing numerals). If you need a file removed, contact Ulf.

Folder structure:

Step into the folder for your year (1st, 2nd or 3rd) and create a directory with your project name. In your directory you create three folders (pics, exe and trailer). Eg:

#-year/
--- OurGameTitle/
------ OurGameTitle.jpg  [web-friendly poster]
------ pics/
--------- [concept art, screenshots, prints, logos etc]
------ exe/
--------- [zip of executable + documentation]
------ trailer/
--------- OurGameTitle.mp4
--------- OurGameTitle.jpg [trailer title screen / thumbnail] 

For pictures, video trailer and executables – respectively.

Example of the folder structure you need to create on the FTP

Keep uploading content when you’ve made significant progress, even after the deadline. We have many uses beyond the prints and will always pick the best-looking stuff that’s available to us. Try to provide good, versioned, filenames: MyGame_screen01_190516.jpg for example.