Bilbao Indie Games Contest
International Awards 2022 Rules

The Bilbao International Games Conference presents a new edition of the international contest Bilbao Indie Game Contest, formerly FS Play. The goal of this contest is to showcase and
promote independent games which have originality, creativity, and innovation at its core.
BIG Contest open this international call with the following rules:

RULES

1. Goal
The goal of the FS Play contest is to acknowledge and reward creative and innovative games creators by providing them with economical support and public visibility.

2. Candidates
2.1 Any person, group of persons or company which considers that their game fits the standards of innovation and the requirements of this call (as explained in paragraph 3) can take part in it.
2.2 Candidates must have full legal rights over the game they present, including licensing rights, exploitation rights, intellectual and industrial property, etc.
2.1 The game must have been published or finished its development after October 1 st , 2018.
2.2 The game must be playable. No videos, trailers, alpha/beta versions or hands-off demos will be accepted.
2.3 Topic and genre are free.
2.4 The game can be presented on any of the following platforms:
2.4.1 Personal computers
2.4.2 Market-available consoles (PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch)
2.4.3 Mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets
2.5 The game must be considered independent under the definition found in Wikipedia.
2.5.1 In case of doubt, the organization keeps the right to decide whether a game in particular is admitted or not.

3. Phases of the contest
3.1 Candidates will apply only through this online form: https://bit.ly/bigcontest2022
3. 2 Deadline for application will be October 18 th at 23.59 (GMT +2). Games presented after this date won’t be accepted.
3.3 The list of finalists will be published on October 31 th , 2022 on the website of the BIG Conference (www.bilbaogamesconference.com) and FS Gamer (www.elcorreo.com/fsgamer).
3.4 Finalists must send at least one representative to the final phase of the contest (as described in 3.6), to be celebrated at the Bilbao Games Conference, as well as be available for attending the awards ceremony on November 18 th /18th.
3.5 If a finalist cannot attend due to force majeure causes they will need to contact the Jury to find an alternative way to offer their presentation. The Jury shall decide what is considered force majeure.
3.6 Finalists will present their games in an Elevator Pitch format, with a presentation under 3 minutes, that will describe the gameplay and theme of the game, highlighting its most
innovative elements. The format and assets used in this presentation are up to the participant.
3.7 BIG Contest has travel grants available. Should you need it please contact the organization to arrange it.

4. Selection process
4.1 The Big Contest jury will be appointed by the board of directors. It will be comprised by professionals of the video games industry with extensive experience.
4.2 The jury may not declare a winner in a certain category if they considers that none of the contestants adhere to the quality and innovation standards of the prize.
4.3 Jury members can’t have any family ties with the contestants, as well as any conflicts of interest, economics, or of any other nature with any submitted game.
4.4 The jury will freely make their decision without any interference from the BIG Conference board of directors.
4.5 The value criteria of the BIG Contest jury will take into account innovation, originality, and art quality, especially taking into account the following points:
4.5.1 Game design: innovative and original game mechanics, control schemes, and level design as well as its implementation and the user experience.
4.5.2 Narrative design: innovation in interactive storytelling, its texts artistic quality (including script, dialogues, world building) and its ties to the game’s mechanics.
4.5.3 Art design: Innovation and artistic quality both visually and its interaction with the game’s mechanics
4.5.4 Audio & music:  Innovation and artistic quality both in the audio area and its interaction with the game’s mechanics
4.6 In the first stage of the selection process, the Jury will narrow the list of participants down to a short list of approximately 5 finalists based on its gameplay and the promotional assets attached to the application (screenshots, gameplay videos, trailers, website, etc.).

5. Awards
5.1 The BIG Contest will award €4,000 to the best indie game.