Exhibitor Deadlines

The Gotland Game Conference is not a mandatory part of your education. You have to apply to exhibit your work at Gotland Game Conference. Every person must also accept our code of conduct and anti-harassment policy and register online for a ticket.

After applying, you will have several deliveries to meet leading up to the conference. It is a substantial amount of work, but all of it will be spectacularly useful for your education, portfolio, and future career.

Important Deadlines

Application Deadline

You must apply to exhibit by Friday, the 28th of April, 2023!

Deliveries

Where will these deliveries end up?

These are the assets you will need to create a portfolio piece out of your game and to put your game on itch.io or semble.gg. We also use the assets to update the GAME blog‘s project listings or write about your games on the university’s social media accounts.

How do we deliver things?

Whatever information isn’t submitted by you when applying will be uploaded to an FTP server. Once the submission deadline closes, we will send instructions to the team responsible for how to upload to the server.

Graphics

Delivery window: 2023-04-29 – 2023-05-22

In roughly the order you’ll be able to produce them:

  1. Concept art, development photos of the team, in-progress work, construction photos, etc
    • ~4 images each. (jpg, max 512kb per file)
    • Keep these web friendly, 1920px and <=512kb is good.
  2. High-resolution logo for your game
    • Aspect 1×1, dimensions >=500px, PNG (transparent background)
    • This is used in the showreel.
    • This might also be used in various print materials, so consider designing a logo that works well when small or big. Great design principles for this can be learned when looking at flag design.
  3. The title screen / main menu (jpg)
  4. Minimum 4 good-looking in-game screenshots (jpg)
    • Minimum 1920x1080px, maximum file size 512kb.
    • Upload new screenshots as your game improves!

Concept art, screenshots, development photos etc. are (mostly!) used to present your game on our website. Here are some examples for context:

Make sure your assets lead viewers back to your project! Use your game title/logo on screenshots, your names on concept art etc.

Trailer

Deadline: 2023-05-22 14:00

Trailer for Frog Climbers, for inspiration.

Your trailer must be less than 40 seconds. The trailers will be uploaded on our YouTube-channel websites and used to produce the GGC 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 pimp your game.

TLDR: 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 is 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 videos and is free and Open Source.

  • Max 40 seconds long.
  • Provide a good video thumbnail (jpg, max 512Kb)
  • Make sure you clear the audio licenses!
  • No logo- or text overlays in the trailer – these are uploaded separately!

Showcase your Game

Schedule for Friday, May 26th, GGC Kick-off day:

  • 08.00 – Setup begins
  • 12.00 – Lunch @ Rindi Community kitchen (included in paid Student pass)to be confirmed
  • 13.00 – one person in your team pitches your game to a segment of the jury.
  • 15.00 – Booth crawl opens exclusively for jury, students, and staff. Food court and coffee will be available until ~19.00
  • 20.00 – Doors to the show floor close

For the schedule on Saturday + Sunday, please reference the program.

Booth Etiquette

Exhibiting your game at a conference while also trying to listen to talks, participate in meet-to-match, and play other games that are exhibited, is an extremely stressful endeavor. Therefore we have some rules to ensure you and conference visitors have a great time.

  • Create a shift schedule for being at your booth.
  • Have two people at your booth, not more, not less (bathroom breaks are obviously ok!).
  • Do not schedule shifts for more than 2 hours. Trust me.
  • No personal items, backpacks, etc., should be visible at your booth!
  • Practice the art of taking feedback well. Even if the person (visitor, jury, fellow students, staff, etc.) gives objectively terrible feedback, do not start an argument. Just say: “Thank you, I will write this down and bring it to the team!”.