Train2Game judging Microsoft competition

The Windows 8 “Power Up” Game Apps Competition is to see who can make the very best Windows 8 application. All Windows 8 game apps submitted as part of the competition will be initially reviewed by a Microsoft panel of judges who will then shortlist the entrants down to 10 games. Those games will be submitted to the final judging panel of Microsoft and independent judges – Train2Game, UKIE The Trailer Farm, Yo Yo Games, Nokia, TIGA, Dolby Sounds & GamesIndustry.biz.

The purpose of this contest is to engage with the ever growing indie game dev audience in the UK and inspire them to develop and publish Windows Game Apps to the Windows 8 App Store. The prize structure has been designed around the strategy of supporting the indie game space in the UK. The prizes will help foster a vibrant and successful industry by giving developers the best chance of success through profile and exposure. This is being achieved by a PR campaign offered by Train2Game, mentoring with industry leaders and a professionally produced video games trailer.

The judging will be based on: originality of the game idea, design and artwork, use of Windows 8 App features and graphical UI, and finally playability of the game and creative use of audio. The final judging decision will be made by January 11 2013.

All ten game app finalists will be invited to an Awards Ceremony hosted at Dolby’s London HQ in January 2013 and in addition to the awards ceremony itself; there will be a chance to discover the latest audio technologies plus a guest speaker will be there discussing the challenges involved in delivering a great audio experience.

The rest of the prizes are listed below:

1st Prize

• One month’s free PR campaign for the developer and game from Train2Game (equivalent to 15 hours of PR support in the month).
• A commercial game app trailer created and produced by The Trailer Farm up to the value of £4,000
• Up to 3 hours of mentoring sessions with Andy Payne (Mastertronic, AppyNation, UKIE Chairman) and Ian Livingstone OBE (Eidos, UKIE Vice Chairman)
• A Nokia Lumia 920 Windows 8 Smartphone courtesy of Nokia
• A £500 Visa Gift card courtesy of YoYo Games
• A Mentoring session of two hours with Jason Kingsley, Chairman of TIGA & CEO of Rebellion Studios

2nd Prize

• A Nokia Lumia 920 Windows 8 Smartphone courtesy of Nokia
• A £250 Visa Gift card courtesy of YoYo Games
• A mentoring session of two hours with Philip Oliver, TIGA Board Member & CEO of Blitz Games Studios

For further information and how to enter you can go to www.ubelly.com/gaming and good luck to all those who enter.