Unity GameDev Challenge
Official Rules
The Unity GameDev Challenge described in these rules will operate as a skilled-based contest (“Contest”). This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of California and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of California for any disputes arising out of this Contest. If you do not agree with this provision and these Official Rules, please do not enter this Contest.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THE CONTEST DESCRIBED IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. THIS CONTEST VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
These are the Official Rules that govern how the Unity Developer Contest will operate.
In these Official Rules: “Sponsor” and “Unity” refer to Unity Technologies AsP and its affiliates, the sponsor of this Contest, and “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Unity, its and Contest Partners as identified in more detail in Section 14. “You” and “your” refers to an eligible Contest entrant, whether as an individual or Team, as identified in more detail in Section 4.
The Contest will challenge developers to showcase their creativity, capability and commitment to showcasing Unity, Microsoft and Intel features by designing their own PC game using one (1) of the following five (5) intellectual properties owned and/or controlled by Universal (the “Universal Property(ies)”):
● “Turok: Son of Stone” as depicted in the original Gold Key comic books entitled “Turok” only.
● classic 1975 live-action theatrical motion picture entitled Jaws.
● classic 1985 live action motion picture entitled Back to the Future, the 1989 live action theatrical motion picture entitled Back to the Future II, and the 1990 live action theatrical motion picture entitled Back to the Future III (collectively referred to as the “Back to the Future Franchise”).
● 2004 live-action television series entitled Battlestar Galactica.
● 2016 animated television series entitled Dreamworks Voltron Legendary Defender (specifically excludes 1984 Voltron: Defender of the Universe).
For the Contest submission, use of the full property (world, characters, plots, settings, etc.) is allowed, except for the following listed exclusions. Specifically excluded materials or content which may not be used in this Contest (“Content Exclusions”) are: (1) any rights associated with the music or score(s) from any of the Universal Properties; (2) use of any character(s) appearing in the Universal Properties which incorporate(s) the name, voice or likeness(es) of any performer(s) appearing therein; and (3) rights with respect to any other theatrical motion picture (and/or direct-to-video/DVD) sequel(s) or prequel(s) to any of the Universal Properties, or any television series based thereon or derived therefrom, except as specifically set forth above. Entries using any other property will be automatically disqualified.
3. CONTEST ENTRY AND WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT DATES
A. Phase 1 Contest Entry: Contest participants can submit their entries between 6:30:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on March 19, 2018 (“Contest Start Date”) and 11:59:59 p.m. PT on April 30, 2018 (“Entry Deadline”). A panel of judges will utilize the judging criteria in Section 9A to determine the highest scoring six (6) entries. The six (6) highest scoring entries will be “Finalists” announced on May 19, 2018 at 12:00:00a.m. PT and move on to Phase 2 of this Contest.
B. Phase 2 Finalist Entry: Finalists will have between 12:00:00 a.m. PT on May 19, 2018 and 11:59:59 p.m. PT on August 15, 2018 (the “Finalist Deadline”) to create and submit their game to be included in the final round of judging. The final round of judging will take place starting on or about August 16, 2018. A panel of judges will utilize the judging criteria listed in Section 10B to determine one (1) Grand Prize Winner and five (5) Runner Up Winners.
C. Winner Announcement: Winners will be announced at Unite North America in Los Angeles, California on October 23-25, 2018. Winners list will also be posted online at https://unity3d.com/universal.
4. PARTICIPANTS & ELIGIBILITY
Participants may enter this Contest as either an individual or a team. A group of individuals that creates a Contest entry will be designated as a “Team” (as defined in the Unity Connect Terms of Service) and must specify its Team Representative who will be responsible for identifying all participating members associated with the Team’s entry and who will be the recipient of any prizes won as described below.
You (including all members of any Team) are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at the time of your entry:
● you are a legal resident in your place of residence;
● you are 18 years of age or older;
● you have the technical programming education, experience and/or knowledge to use Unity software to create a Microsoft Windows 10 game;
● you have access to Unity Connect and a Unity Connect profile; and
● you are NOT any of the following:
o for U.S. export control reasons: a resident of Cuba, Iran, N. Korea, Crimea, Sudan, or Syria;
o a resident of Brazil; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Italy; Quebec, Canada; or Saudi Arabia;
o an employee of Sponsor or any of its parents, subsidiaries or affiliates;
o an employee of any Contest Partner or Administrator listed in Section 15 or any of their parents, subsidiaries or affiliates;
o an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of any person prohibited from entering this contest under the previous 2 criteria, and/or
o a student, staff or faculty of any university, college or other education institution entering in this Contest on behalf and/or in the name of your institution.
A. Phase 1: You may submit a Phase 1 Contest entry which will consist of: 1) your Entry Profile; 2) your Game Design document; 3) a ‘Pitch’ video; and 4) optional appendix content. In submitting an entry by the Entry Deadline, you must:
1. Create an profile on Unity Connect at https://connect.unity.com/challenges and complete profile details to a minimum of 80% completion;
2. Create a Unity “Project” entry profile that includes a Game Design Document (not to exceed 13 pages in length) submitted as a .pdf and uploaded to the Entry Profile you created. The Game Design Document must include:
● confirmation of development on Unity software and executable on devices running Windows 10;
● conceptual integration of the interactive capability of Microsoft’s Mixer (https://dev.mixer.com/reference/interactive/index.html);
● basic elements of gameplay design, narrative and technical goals; and
● details of your intended use of one of the Universal Properties (excluding the Content Exclusions).
3. Create a ‘Pitch’ Video, of not more than 2 minutes in length, upload it to a private location on a publicly-available platform (e,g. YouTube, DropBox, GoogleDrive, etc,) and provide Unity the private link to the Pitch Video. The Pitch Video must:
● introduce you or your Team, your experience and your game vision;
● explain creative ways you will leverage Sponsor and Contest Partner resources (i.e. Unity Asset Store, Cinemachine, Timeline, Post Processing Stack, and Microsoft Mixer); and
● depicts your game’s functionality and gameplay.
4. Optional: Create appendix content that includes concept art, models and video trailers. You may submit appendix content in any standard electronic format and upload it to your Contest entry profile.
B. Phase 2 Finalist Entry: If you are selected as a Finalist, you will be required to develop your game by the Finalist Deadline:
1. Create a Finalist Entry consisting of one (1) vertical slice of the developed game (i.e. a playable demo which will act as proof of concept for your final game) that:
• demonstrates core gameplay mechanics, UI and narrative design;
• utilizes Unity software (any version) and contains the Unity splash screen;
• is executable on devices running Windows 10 with integration of interactive capability with Microsoft’s Mixer;
• includes 1-3 levels of 5-10 minutes of playtime each for a total playtime of 15-30 minutes; and
• contains original assets based on one (1) of the specified Universal Properties (excluding Content Exclusions).
2. Submit your Finalist entry to the Sponsor at gamesareuniversal@unity3d.com.
Finalist entries may be subject to additional terms and conditions as required by Sponsor or Contest Partners prior to the Finalist Deadline. If you do not agree to develop your game under the terms provided, you may be replaced with the next highest scoring entry at our sole discretion.
6. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & CONTENT RESTRICTIONS
A. To be eligible, your entry must meet the following requirements:
● constitute your own original work;
● not have been selected as a winner in any other Unity Contest in the past 12 months;
● not have been previously published by Sponsor or the Contest Partners or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates, or any mobile operator or mobile device manufacturer; and
● not have involved or been accomplished by any act that is false, fraudulent or deceptive;
● comply with the Unity terms of service at https://unity3d.com/legal/terms-of-service; and
● comply with any Contest Partner or third-party terms applicable to the software, services, programs, materials, and/or platforms you utilize to create and present your entry as described in these Official Rules.
B. An entry may NOT contain any content or material that:
● is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
● promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, or any political agenda;
● is obscene or offensive;
● defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
● contains content which infringes another’s intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other rights or constitutes copyright infringement;
● communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or
● is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where the entry is created.
Unity reserves the right to investigate and verify, conditionally reject, or reject outright any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria. A submission that complies with this Section 6 will be referred to as an “Entry”. Entries that do not conform to these Official Rules will not be accepted. Sponsor reserves the right to terminate your eligibility to participate in this Contest or any other Contest run by Sponsor in the event of any ineligibility or disqualification for tampering or abuses.
Universal agrees to not object to your use of any Universal Property to create your Entry so long as such your use is in accordance with these Rules and for the limited purpose of creating an entry for this Contest only (and such waiver and agreement not to object specifically excludes claims with respect to any music and/or persons appearing in any Universal Property). At all times, as between Universal and any entrant, Universal shall retain all right, title and interest in the Universal Properties as well as all intellectual property rights therein; this limited non-objection is not intended to transfer any ownership rights in the Universal Properties or the intellectual property therein, and all use thereof by entrants inures to the benefit of Universal. This limited waiver is further made contingent upon your maintaining all copyright and trademark notices. This limited non-objection will automatically expire at the end of the Contest, unless otherwise agreed by Universal. Any other use of the Universal Properties is strictly prohibited and constitutes an actionable violation of Universal’s rights.
7. ADDITIONAL TERMS & DISCLAIMERS
Each Team of more than one (1) member is solely responsible for its own collaboration and cooperation with respect to Contest participation. Sponsor accepts no responsibility or liability for any disputes that may arise between members of any Team relating to participation in this Contest or the award or distribution of Contest prizes.
Sponsor disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between any one or more Contest participants or between a Contest participant and an employer or client in respect of this Contest. In no event, will Sponsor officiate in any dispute regarding the activities and participation of Team members.
There is a limit of one (1) entry per individual or Team, as applicable. Entries which are received in excess of this limit may be disqualified. Unity will automatically disqualify any incomplete or illegible Entry as well as any Entry that does not comply with these Official Rules. We reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest for any or no reason.
Any license granted to you in connection with this Contest may be revoked or terminated at any time. Neither Sponsor nor any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and each of their directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns, are responsible for lost, interrupted, or unavailable network server or other connections, miscommunications, failed telephone or computer transmissions, or technical failure, jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions, or other errors of any kind whether human, mechanical or electronic or for phone, electrical, network, computer hardware or software program malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or for ISP/network/Web site accessibility or unavailability; any incorrect or inaccurate account information; any incorrect or inaccurate achievement information; human errors; technical malfunctions; theft, tampering, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, accounts.
By submitting your Entry, you
● grant us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license (with the right to sublicense and assign) to use your Entry and all content thereof for all reasonable purposes related to this Contest in all media whether now known or later developed.
● acknowledge that we may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your Entry and waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your Entry; and
● acknowledge that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your Entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules.
By entering this Contest, you agree:
● to be bound by these Official Rules and consent to Unity’s privacy policy (at https://unity3d.com/legal/privacy-policy), the Unity Terms of Service (at https://unity3d.com/legal/terms-of-service) and the Unity Connect Terms and Conditions (at https://connect.unity.com/public/terms/terms.htm);
● that you will be separately bound by such additional terms and conditions which may be applicable to your use of the requisite technologies and/or materials described in these Official Rules, which terms are presented and maintained by the Contest Partners or other third parties;
● to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us to make use of the rights you granted above;
● that our decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and
● to receive regular communications from us specifically related to this Contest at the email address(es) provided to us in your Unity Connect profile(s)
If you do not want to grant us these rights to your Entry or do not agree to the statements in this Section 8, please do not enter this Contest.
A. All Phase 1 judging will be based on the following judging criteria:
Criteria Description Points (out of 100)
Gameplay & Narrative Design Is it fun?
We want to make sure gameplay is fun and engaging, so we’ll need to be able to understand the rules of your design and be excited to play it! 40
Creative Use of the Universal Brand Does your fandom show? Your concept document should showcase your creative vision for the Universal property you select. Let’s see the creative way you work with these characters and worlds to show us how inspired you are by your love of the brand! 30
Capability Can you do it? Ability to demonstrate that you have the expertise necessary to create a PC gaming experience. Unity Connect projects required with your submissions will be considered as an example of your team’s capabilities, and should reflect the best of your portfolio. Remember, your profile has to be 80% completed to be eligible! 20
Integration of Tools What’s under the hood? Examples: Do you have a new, exciting way to integrate the Mixer API into your game? Have you considered what you can do with Unity’s Timeline for creating cut scenes? Are you an early adopter of Unity 2018.1 and want to showcase what you can do with the C# Job System or Scriptable Rendering Pipeline? Show us how you may integrate Unity, Microsoft and Intel technology into your game. 10
B. The judges will score the submitted Finalist entries using the judging criteria below.
Criteria Description Points (out of 100)
Gameplay & Design Is it fun? Most of all, the vertical slice prototype should demonstrate the fun factor of the game. Show how the moment-to-moment gameplay will be fun and engaging, and make players excited to dive in! 40
Creative Use of the Brand Does your fandom show? Your vertical slice prototype should showcase your creative vision for the Universal property you select. Let’s see the creative way you work with these characters and worlds to show us how inspired you are by your love of the brand! 30
Capability Can you do it? Ability to demonstrate that you have the expertise necessary to create a PC gaming experience. Unity Connect projects required with your submissions will be considered as an example of your team’s capabilities, and should reflect the best of your portfolio. Prove that your team has the capability to deliver the full game. 20
Integration of Tools What’s under the hood? Examples: Do you have a new, exciting way to integrate the Mixer API into your game? Have you considered what you can do with Unity’s Timeline for creating cut scenes? Are you an early adopter of Unity 2018.1 and want to showcase what you can do with the C# Job System or Scriptable Rendering Pipeline? Show us how you may integrate Unity, Microsoft and Intel technology into your game. 10
The Entry scoring the highest value out of 100 points will be considered the “Grand Prize Winner” and will be offered the prize listed in Section 10(A). The next five (5) highest scoring Entries (including any tying scores) will be considered “Runner-Up Winners” (Grand Prize Winner and Runner-Up Winners to be referenced as “Winners”) and will be offered the prizes listed in Section 10(B).
The decisions of the judges are final and binding for both judging phases. In the event of a tie between any eligible Entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. If we do not receive a sufficient number of Entries meeting the Entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of Runner-up Winners described below. In the event any of the Finalists or Winners are deemed ineligible, Sponsor may reduce the number of Contest prizes awarded.
A. One (1) Grand Prize consisting of:
1) Two (2) passes to 2018 Unite North America held in Los Angeles, California on October 23-25, 2018 (ARV USD$400);
2) 1-year Consulting Contract with a Universal entity (ARV: USD$25,000);
3) Unity Spotlight Team Project Review (No retail value);
4) Trip for two (2) to VIP Mentorship Summit at Universal’s offices in Los Angeles County, California including:
o Round trip airfare (ARV: USD$1,000 maximum spend per person
o Hotel (3nights/4days) (one room/double occupancy) at Sponsor-specified hotel (ARV: USD$900 maximum spend per person)
o one-day passes to VIP Experience at Universal Studios HollywoodSM (ARV: USD$400 USD per person);
5) 1 hour workshop with Intel Evangelist (No Retail Value);
6) 1 hour Unity workshop with 2 Evangelists (No Retail Value);
7) 1 hour workshop with Windows Evangelist (No Retail Value);
8) 2-hour mentorship with Universal visionaries (No Retail Value); and
9) Cash in the amount of $150,000 USD
B. Five (5) Runner-Up Prizes each consisting of:
1) Two (2) passes to Unite North America held in Los Angeles, California on October 23-25, 2018 (ARV USD$400);
2) Trip for two (2) to VIP Mentorship Summit at Universal’s offices in Los Angeles County, California including:
o Round trip airfare (ARV: USD$1,000 maximum spend per person
o Hotel (3nights/4days) (one room/double occupancy) at Sponsor-specified hotel (ARV: USD$900 maximum spend per person)
o one-day passes to VIP Experience at Universal Studios HollywoodSM (ARV: USD$400 USD per person);
3) 1 hour workshop with Intel Evangelist (No Retail Value);
4) 1 hour Unity workshop with 2 Evangelists (No Retail Value);
5) 1 hour workshop with Windows Evangelist (No Retail Value);
6) 2-hour mentorship with Universal visionaries (No Retail Value); and
7) Cash in the amount of USD$20,000.
Limit one (1) prize listed above per Entry. Reporting and payment of taxes, duties and any other costs, if any, relating to receipt, acceptance and/or use of a prize is the Winner’s sole responsibility. The Sponsor, Administrator and Contest Partners and each of their directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns, shall not be responsible in any way for any such taxes, fees and costs.
Potential winners will be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and any applicable tax forms which we may be required to provide within 10 days of notification by the Sponsor or Administrator. If any potential winner does not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, the potential winner may be disqualified by Sponsor. All Contest prize consideration will be awarded solely to the officially registered Team Representative on behalf of any winning Team.
If you are confirmed as the Grand Prize Winner or a Runner-Up Winner of this Contest:
● you may not exchange your prize for other merchandise or services. If for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value;
● if you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize you may not designate another winner;
● if you accept a prize, we may be required to report the payments to the tax authorities and/or withhold taxes from such payment and remit to your tax authorities depending on the local tax rules. You will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting your prize; and
● you are solely responsible for the actions of your guest who accompanies you to Unite North America and at the VIP Mentorship Summit at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Unite North America prize does not include airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, meals or parking. Actual retail value for the trip to the VIP Mentorship Summit at Universal’s offices in Los Angeles will vary depending on airfare and hotel rate fluctuations and is subject to the maximums stated above. Any difference between stated approximate retail value and actual value will not be awarded. All other travel-related expenses are the sole responsibility of the Winner. Once trip is booked, any changes made at Winner’s request are at Winner’s expense. Winner and his/her guest must be 18 years or older and possess required travel documents prior to departure and must travel together on the same itinerary. Universal Studios Hollywood theme park passes are valid during normal operating hours only. Operating hours and availability of attractions and shows are subject to change without notice. Some special events may be separately ticketed. Except as otherwise indicated herein, all tickets specifically exclude admission to special or separately ticketed "hard ticket" entertainment events. Unity Technologies and Universal will not replace any lost, mutilated, or stolen passes or tickets. Requests to change VIP Experience reservations must be made at least 48 hours in advance. All VIP Experience tours and content are subject to availability based on peak periods, capacity, refurbishing, production schedules, force majeure, and special events. VIP Experience tickets are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the sole discretion of Universal.
By participating in this Contest, you acknowledge and agree that we may collect the personal information submitted by you, and use the information pursuant to these Official Rules (including sharing between Unity, the Contest Partners and Administrator) and Unity’s privacy policy available at https://unity3d.com/legal/privacy-policy. If allowed under applicable law, you may exercise your right to access and modify your personal information which is stored by Sponsor by writing to privacy@unity3d.com and detailing your request.
Winners may have their Entries and names posted on all Unity and Universal media channels, including, without limitation, within Unity and/or Universal websites, Facebook pages, Twitter pages and/or blogs.
Except where legally prohibited, by participating in the Contest, if you are a Winner you hereby give us (including our advertising and promotion agencies) full permission, right and authority to use their likeness, photograph, name, hometown, and Entries, or any other information that they provide about themselves, the prize, the Contest, or us for the purposes of advertising and promotion (in any media, including but not limited to in print media, television, film, video, radio, internet or otherwise) related to us or the Contest, without any further notification or compensation to such Winners other than that set out herein.
12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, by entering in this Contest you:
A. agree that Unity, the Contest Partners, Administrator and each of their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, directors, officers, employees, agents and assigns (collectively, “Released Parties”) shall not be liable for personal injuries, death, damages, expenses or costs or losses of any kind resulting from participation or inability to participate in this Contest or acceptance of or use or inability to use a prize or parts thereof including, without limitation, claims, suits, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light (whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory;
B. release the Released Parties from any and all liability and responsibility with respect to any prize (including any property loss, damage, personal injury or death) or otherwise arising from or in connection with this Contest;
C. if you are selected as a Winner, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties for any and all claims, liability, damages, costs or expenses arising from the actions of your guest at Unite North America and at the VIP Mentorship Summit at Universal Studios Hollywood; and
D. acknowledge that Released Parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible for any warranty, representation or guarantee, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, related to a prize.
13. SEVERABILITY; CONTROLLING LANGUAGE
In the event any Provision of these Official Rules prove unenforceable, void or incomplete, the validity of the other conditions will remain unaffected. The English language version of these Official Rules shall be controlling in all respects, notwithstanding any translation made for any purpose whatsoever.
14. SPONSOR & CONTEST PARTNERS
This contest is sponsored by Unity Technologies APS, a Danish corporation having its principal place of business at Løvstræde 5, DK-1150 Copenhagen K, Denmark, on behalf of itself and its Affiliates (“Unity” or “Sponsor”) and in cooperation with Universal Studios Licensing LLC (“Universal”), Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) and Intel Corporation (“Intel” and together with Microsoft and Universal, the “Contest Partners”). As used herein, the term “Affiliates” shall mean an entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with Unity Technologies ApS. In addition to the services for this Contest as provided by Sponsor, Contest administration will be provided by Gage Marketing Group, LLC (an “Administrator”).
© 2018 Unity Technologies. Unity Technologies ApS, Unity Technologies, Unity and their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unity Technologies ApS or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.