The Gamebridge Student Games Festival is a free, live-event happening on Saturday 1st July 2023 at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. It has been designed to highlight the best work created by students/graduates from across the country, as well as supporting all attendees in their journey towards a career in the games industry through talks, recruitment booths, bookable 1-to-1s with industry, and other networking opportunities.

The heart of this event is the Gamebridge Showcase, a way to recognize and reward students who have worked hard to produce amazing work, that enriches our lives by challenging and entertaining us. Teams or individuals can enter, and winning submissions will receive cash prizes, with over £5000 of prize money up for grabs. This page has been setup as the submission system to request a place at the showcase.

Award Categories

Across the two main award categories, the industry judges are looking for outstanding team created games, as well as individual work that showcases excellence in the areas of art, design, and technical ability. There are also other award categories where they are looking for work that is innovative or has a significant impact by depicting a range of important social issues and emotional experiences. Submitted work will automatically by entered into the relevant categories, that include:

• Team Game Awards
  • Best Team Project
• Excellence Awards
  • Design Excellence Award
  • Technical Excellence Award
  • Artistic Excellence Award
• Peoples Choice Award

Your Eligibility

To be eligible for the showcase you:

• Must fall into one of these categories:
  • Currently attending a Further Education institution (i.e. College) in the United Kingdom
  • Currently attending a Higher Education institution (i.e. University) in the United Kingdom
  • Have attended a Further/Higher Education institution in the United Kingdom
• Must not be currently employed within the games industry
• Must be able to attend the Gamebridge event on 1st July, specifically between 11am and 5pm
  • For teams, at least two members must attend
  • For individuals, it is recommended that you bring someone with you so that your work is not left unattended during the afternoon

Eligible Work

To be eligible for the showcase, all work:

• Must fall into one of these categories:
  • A game or game prototype
    
  • A game related technical demo. For example an interesting ProcGen system, character controller, or enemy AI system
  • A piece of 3D game art. For example an environment (with fly through) or character (on turn table)
  • A piece of  2D game art.  For example concept work or sprite sheets
• Must be showcased either:
  • Within a self contained executable (i.e. build from a game engine) in the format:
    • Windows (.exe)
    • Android / Oculus VR (.apk)
  • As an image file (.png) if is a 2D piece
• Must have been created either:
  • By yourself
  • Or if you are submitting a game or game prototype, by a team you are a member of 
• Must have been created after July 1st 2020
• Must not contain nudity, or hateful language / visuals. No submissions that are NSFW
• Must not be / have been sold as a commercial piece of work
  

Showcase Places

The process for gaining a place at the showcase is as follows:

1. A panel will try to review all work submitted through this itch.io jam within a few days of the work being submitted.
2. Work that meets the quality requirements of the event (as determined at the discretion the panel) will be emailed at that point and offered a place.
3. Places are limited, and once we run out, no further places will be offered for this year's event. Because of this, we suggest you submit earlier rather than later.
4. To attend the showcase you will also need to register for one of the free event tickets. These can be found through our website: www.gamebridge.uk. These are limited, so please register early. For team submissions, each member of the team attending will need to register for their own ticket.
5. We have secured a few gaming PCs, android mobile devices, and Oculus Quest 2 devices for those that need them on the day to showcase their work. But we highly recommend you bring your own gaming laptop, mobile / Oculus Quest device if possible. Places will be prioritised based on those that are able to do this.

Judging & Prizes

1. After submitted work has been reviewed by an industry panel, and if you have been invited to attend the Showcase, the panel will decide which award categories your work will be entered into. 
2. At the Gamebrideg event on Saturday 1st July, 2023, judges will view the work that is being showcased and decide upon winners and runners up if applicable. With all awards being decided at the discretion of our industry judges.
3. Winners will be announced, and prizes/trophies given, during our awards ceremony held at the end of the day (approx. 4pm).
4. More details of the awards and prize sponsors will be available at www.gamebridge.uk over the coming weeks.

Submitting Work

1. If you do not already have one, you will need a free itch.io account (https://itch.io/register).
2. Then you will need a new itch.io project (https://itch.io/game/new) for each piece of work you wish to submit.
   1. 'Pricing' must be set as $0 or free, otherwise the panel will not be able to access your work.
   2. 'Visibility & access' must be set as 'Public' for the same reason as above.
      1. To hide the work from others, select 'Configure settings' beside the 'Public' option and set page as 'Unlisted in search & browse'.
   3. Include at least one good quality screenshot of your work.
3. When ready to submit your work, click on the Join Jam button (at the top of the page) to start your participation.
4. Then press the Submit your project button to select the itch project you are submitting for the competition.
   1. For team projects, only one member of the team should join the jam / submit the project.
5. All elements of the submission form must be completed.
   
6. All submissions must be submitted before the end of the day (GMT) on Sunday 25th June, 2023.

FAQ

Question: Where can I find information about the Gamebridge event itself?
Answer: Details of the event can be found on our website at www.gamebridge.uk

Question: Can I submit more than 1 piece of work?
Answer: Yes. Please submit any work that you feel represents your best work.

Question: Can I showcase more than 1 piece of work?
Answer: Yes. If accepted you can showcase multiple individual pieces of work / team projects.

Question: Can my team showcase more than 1 piece of work?
Answer: Yes. If a team, or some of the same members, are chosen to showcase multiple pieces of work they can. But each chosen piece will need a different person attending to stand with their work.

Question: How do I submit 2D game art?
Answer: Create a project and upload your work through the Uploads section. Please submit in the png format and limit to no more than 10 images.

Question: Can I make updates to my submission?
Answer: You can make updates to your work after it's been submitted, and as long as it's the same basic piece of work.

Question: If accepted, do I need to showcase the exact version that was accepted?
Answer: You can make updates to your work after it's been accepted, and as long as it's the same basic piece of work.

Question: I have other questions, how can I contact you?
Answer: Contact us through our website at www.gamebridge.uk

Updates and Changes

Gamebridge representatives reserve the right to change, modify, and or update the rules, regulations, and guidelines connected to this competition at any time and without notification.