Dream.Build.Play is back! The long-running indie game development contest was on hiatus for a few years, so it’s high time for it to make a resounding return.
The Dream.Build.Play 2017 Challenge is the new contest: It just launched on June 27, and it challenges you to build a game and submit it by December 31 in one of four categories. We’re not super-picky — you can choose the technology to use just so long as it falls into one of the challenges and that you publish it as a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) game. It’s up to you to build a quality game that people will line up to play.
The four categories are:
Cloud-powered game – Grand Prize: $100,000 USD
Azure Cloud Services hands you a huge amount of back-end power and flexibility, and we think it’s cool (yes, we’re biased). So, here’s your shot of trying Azure out and maybe even win big. Build a game that uses Azure Cloud Services on the backend, like Service Fabric, CosmosDB, containers, VMs, storage and Analytics. Judges will give higher scores to games that use multiple services in creative ways — and will award bonus points for Mixer integration.
PC game – Grand Prize: $50,000 USD
Building on Windows 10, for Windows 10? This is the category for you. Create your best UWP game that lives and breathes on Windows 10 and is available to the more than 450 million users through the Windows Store. It’s simple: Create a game with whatever technology you want and publish it in the Windows Store. We’ll look favorably on games that add Windows 10 features such as Cortana or Inking because we really want to challenge you.
Mixed Reality game – Grand Prize: $50,000
Oh, so you want to enhance this world you live in with something a little…augmented? Virtual? Join us in the Mixed Reality challenge and build a volumetric experience that takes advantage of 3D content in a virtual space. You’ll need to create your game for Windows Mixed Reality, but you can use technology like Unity to get you kickstarted. Oh, and don’t forget the audio to really immerse us in your world.
Console game – Grand Prize: $25,000
Console gamers unite! Want to try your hand at building a game for Xbox? This category is your jam. Your UWP game will be built for the Xbox One console family and must incorporate Xbox Live Creators Program with at least Xbox Live presence. Consideration will be given for games that incorporate more Xbox Live services such as leaderboards and statistics.
There are some important dates to be aware of:
- June 27: Competition opens for registration
- August 2: Team formation and game submission period opens
- December 31: Game submission period closes
- January 2018: Finalists announced
- March 2018: Winners awarded
We have big things planned for you. Maybe some additional contests and challenges, maybe some extra-cool prizes for the finalists, maybe some extra-cool interviews and educational materials. Once you register, we’ll keep you updated via email, but also keep an eye on our Windows Developer social media accounts.
As I mentioned earlier, you can pretty much use whatever technology you want. Create something from the ground up in JavaScript or XAML or C++ and DirectX. Leverage one of our great middleware partners like Unity, GameMaker, Cocos2D or Monogame. Or do a bit of both – do your own thing and incorporate Mixer APIs into it, Vungle or any one (or more) of our other partners. The biggest thing we want from you is a fun game that’s so enjoyable for us to play that we forget we’re judging it!
Speaking of that, you might be wondering how we judge the games. We have four “big bucket” criteria for you to aim for:
- Fun Factor – 40%: Bottom line – your game needs to be fun. That doesn’t mean it has to be cutesy or simple. Fun comes in many forms, but we can’t forget what we’re aiming for here – a great game. Take us for a ride!
- Innovation – 30%: And while you’re taking us on that ride, surprise us! We’re not looking for a clone of an existing game or a tired theme that has been done a bazillion times before. Mash-up two genres. Take a theme and turn it on its head. Don’t restrict your innovation to the game, but also the technology you’re using and how you’re using it. Think outside the box when you incorporate Windows features, or how you can creatively use a service like Mixer.
- Production Quality – 20%: Games have to be fun and we want them to be innovative, but if they don’t run, then they’re just not ready to be called a game. This scoring criterion is all about making sure your framerate is right, you have audio where you should, you’ve catered for network instability and more. Give us every opportunity to get to your game and enjoy it the way you intended.
- Business Viability/Feasibility – 10%: And of course, what’s your plan to engage your gaming customers? Do you have a good revenue-generating plan (e.g., in-app purchases, premium charges, marketing, rollouts, etc.)? That’s stuff you might not normally think about, but we’re gonna make you. Because we care.
If you want to get started with UWP game development, you can try our Game Development Guide.
Want more? Check out the introductory .GAME episode here:
https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/dotGAME/Introducing-the-DreamBuildPlay-Game-Developer-Competition
So, what are you waiting for? Get in there and register!