Terms and Conditions

I: Definitions and Terms

II: Eligibility and Application Requirements

1. Eligibility

2. Application Process

3. Game Submission Requirements

4. Application Agreements

5. Determination of Eligibility and Review

6. Exclusions and Limitations

III: Competition Process

1. Application Review

2. Round One

3. Round Two

4. The Finals

IIII: Prizing

1. Cash Prize

I Definitions and Terms

a) Application means the package of materials required under these rules for an Entrant to be eligible to participate in this Competition.

b) Competition means the Vortex 2010 Game Competition, organized by the Organizers.

c) Console, or console game, means a Game suitable for or compatible with Xbox 360, PS/3, Wii, PSP, or Nintendo DS.

d) Criminal Code or Code means the Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, as amended.

e) Designated Office means the offices of McLuhan International Festival of the Future, 193 Heath Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1V3.

f) Entrant means a person or persons who has/have met the eligibility requirements for the Competition, as defined herein, and has/have submitted an Application to participate in the vortex2010 Game Competition.

g) Game means an interactive digital experience governed by rules with variable or negotiable outcomes. Games must operate on one of the following four platforms: 1) Console, 2) Mobile, 3) PC, or 4) Internet.

h) Game Concept categoryhas the meaning described in section III.a.i.

i) Game Prototype categoryhas the meaning described in section III.a.ii.

j) A Judge is a member of a panel of persons selected by the Organizers to determine eligibility, interpret these rules, and rank and select winning Applications in each round of this competition.

k) Mobile, or mobile game, means a Game designed to be played on a portable, wireless device with its sole or primary function being telephonic.

l) Organizers mean the organizations organizing vortex2009, being The McLuhan International Festival of the Future

m) PC, or Personal Computer, means a Game designed to be played on a personal computer with Microsoft Windows XP or Apple OSX.

n) Presentationmeans the presentation made to the Judges in Round One and the Finals of the Competition.

o) Rules means the rules contained in this document for the Competition.

p) Internet, or Internet game, means an online Game playable using a web browser, typically with a plug-in such as Flash, Java or Shockwave.

II ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Eligibility

a) An Entrant is:

i) An individual person or team of persons (with the majority of the group being Canadian citizens), who is or who are Canadian citizens or residents; or,

ii) A legal partnership or a corporation established under the federal laws of Canada or the laws of a Canadian province or territory, and which is resident in Canada.

2. Application Process

a) Each Entrant must prepare and submit an Application, which consists of:

i) The Application Form, which constitutes the cover page of the application, in addition to the competition fee.

ii) A one-page summary of the Game concept. This summary must be single-spaced, 12-point font with standard 1-inch margins.  Summary must include: a) description of your proposed project (1/3 page), b) description of your project elements (1/3 page) description of the project merits: artistic, commercial and unique qualities (1/3 page).

iii) A one-page biography single-spaced, 12-point font with standard 1 inch margins from:

1) A single Entrant, if there is only one person; or,

2) Each member of an Entrant that is a team; or,

3) The principal officers of a corporation, if the Entrant is a corporation; or,

4) The members of the partnership, if the Entrant is a formal partnership.

b) Applications must be received online (or in special cases at the Designated Office) by 11:59 p.m. (EST) Thursday, October 21, 2010.

3. Game Submission Requirements

a) There are two categories of Entrants in the Competition.  Entrants can choose to enter the Competition in the Game Concept category or the Game Prototype category, but not both.   

i) Game Concept category Presentations must be in the form of a pitch document, presentation, game treatment, or game design document.

ii) Game Prototype category Presentations must be a playable demonstration of the game concept and can have placeholder art and sound.  It need not be a complete game, but must illustrate the basic gameplay of the final product.

b) Presentations must not:

i) Envision a Game that is more than forty percent (40%) streaming video or music.

ii) Contain or envision a Game that would contain material, images, or text, that, as determined by the judges:

1) May be obscene, as defined by the Criminal Code, s.163 (8).

2) Would constitute Child Pornography, as defined by s. 163.1 of the Code.

3) Depicts or endorses sexual violence or any prohibited sexual acts under the Code, including, but not limited to sexual interference, sexual exploitation, and sexual assault.

4) Incites mutiny, persuades an RCMP officer to desert or be absent without leave, advises, counsels or urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny or refusal of duty by a member of the military, attempts to procure or solicits a person to have illicit sexual intercourse with another person, whether in or out of Canada, or any other analogous prohibited advocacy as prohibited by the Code.

5) Would constitute a civil libel or a criminal libel, including the Criminal Code offences of Seditious Libel Blasphemous Libel or Defamatory Libel or would constitute Hate Propaganda as described in ss. 318-319 of the Code, or any other analogous prohibited speech, as determined by the Judges.

c) The competition seminars are designed to help Entrants develop the strongest possible application and, as such, entrants are strongly encouraged to participate in them.

4. Application Agreements

Each Entrant, by the act of submitting an Application,

a) Warrants that:

i) The Entrant has carefully reviewed these rules and

1) The Entrant meets the eligibility requirements enumerated in section II(2), above.

2) The Entrant agrees to comply with these Competition Rules.

ii) The game concept submitted on the Application is the Entrant’s original creation, has never been published, has never been entered into any other competition or won any other competition, contest, or award, and does not infringe any rights of a third party.

b) Grants a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, license to the Organizers to use, exploit and distribute and to permit others to use, exploit and distribute, in any media whatsoever now known or hereafter created, including, without limitation, the Internet, the material submitted as part of an Application, the Entrant’s Round One and/or Final Presentations, Entrant’s name, likeness, image, or voice without any further consent or compensation of any nature or kind, provided that such use, exploitation and/or distribution by the Organizers and their sub-licensees is for one or more of the following purposes:  (i) to operate the Competition; (ii) to promote the Competition or other events organized by the Organizers; (iii) to show and exhibit this material and information at a public exhibition (the Finals), as discussed below in section III(3); and (iv) as otherwise described in these Rules.  If the Entrant is selected as the winner of the Game Prototype category, The Entrant also grants a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, license to the Organizers to use, exploit and distribute and to permit others to use, exploit and distribute, in any media whatsoever now known or hereafter created, including, without limitation, the Internet, the game prototype displayed at the Competition without any further consent or compensation of any nature or kind. 

c) Agrees that the Organizers may:

i) Share the Application or any of its contents with the Judges and mentors selected by the Organizers; and,

ii) Discuss and disclose the Entrants and their games in any media whatsoever, now known or hereafter created, including, without limitation, the Internet.

d) Understands that, except as herein provided for, the Organizers:

i) Do not claim any intellectual property right in the Application material submitted to it, including, but not limited to copyright or moral rights;

ii) Will not disclose personal information regarding the Entrant beyond the Entrant’s name and background biographical information. Postal addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and websites will not be disclosed without prior written permission from the Entrant;

e) Agrees that the Organizers and any person or entity connected with the development, administration, reviewing or judging of any element of the Competition and any of their respective parent organizations, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents or representatives are not responsible for and are in no way liable for any injuries, loss or damages caused by:

i) The administration or scheduling of the Competition including any failure of transportation or inability for any reason to come before the respective panels of Judges;

ii) The Entrant’s disqualification or failure in being selected or the results or decisions of a jury or the individual judges, including the failure of the Entrant to meet or comply with these Competition Rules;

iii) Any printing, typographical or technological errors in any materials associated with the Competition

iv) The failure of the Application to be received by the Organizers by the deadline established in these Rules.

f) Agrees to indemnify and save harmless the Organizers and any person or entity connected with the development, administration, reviewing or judging of any element of the Competition and any of their respective parent organizations, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents or representatives, from any and all costs, claims, actions, loss, injury, expense, damages, fines, or recoveries, whatsoever arising out of any negligent act or omission of the Entrant in connection with the Competition and such indemnity shall include all reasonable legal costs (including fees and disbursements) incurred by the party indemnified, but does not include any administrative costs incurred by the party indemnified.

5. Determination of Eligibility and Review

a) The Judges of the Competition have complete, sole, and final authority to determine if an Entrant has met the eligibility requirements or if an Entrant has contravened any of the rules contained herein. The decisions of the judges on an Entrant’s eligibility or compliance with any of the rules herein shall be final.

b) In any dispute regarding the operation of the Competition or the application of these Rules to the Competition, and in any ruling made by them, the Judge’s decision is final and non-reviewable.

6. Exclusions and Limitations

a) The Organizers reserve the right to amend the Competition Rules, including, but not limited to set dates and any official schedule promulgated by the Organizers or terminate the Competition at any time without any liability to the Entrant.

b) The Organizers reserve the right to disqualify an Entrant for any reason and replace an Entrant with a replacement Entrant even if such a replacement Entrant was not previously selected or had been eliminated by the Judges.

c) The Organizers may, at any time, require, from the Entrant, proof of identity or eligibility.

d) Entrants will be disqualified for having a weapon, alcohol or non-prescription controlled substances on their person or under their control while attending any event organized by the Organizers.

III COMPETITION PROCESS

1. Application Review

a) From October 21-26, 2010, the Judges will review all Applications to ensure that each Entrant has met the eligibility requirements.

b) All Applications found to have been eligible will be reviewed by Judges selected by the Organizers. The Judges will select a number of Entrants for each category to invite to Round One (described below); the final number will be at the discretion of the Judges based on the number of Entrants in each category, and the quality of the Applications.

c) Those Entrants selected by the Judges will receive an invitation to proceed to Round One during an announcement at the Vortex Boot Camp about the competitionat the Bell LightBox in Toronto, Ontario on Wednesday, October 27, 2010.

2. Round One

1. The first stage of the Competition for each of the Game Concept and Game Prototype categories (“Round One”) will run concurrently on November 9, 2010 at the Bell LightBox in Toronto, Ontario.
2. In Round One, each Entrant will have a thirty minute session before a panel of Judges. In the first 10 minutes the Entrants will make their pitch.  This will be followed immediately by 20 minutes of discussion and review with the panel of Judges.  The Game Concept category competitors will present in to the Judges in a closed room, while the Game Prototype category competitors will present in to the Judges in an open room.
3. Six (6) Entrants will be selected from each category as the six (6) best in their category (each, a “Semi-Finalist”).  The twelve (12) Semi-Finalists will proceed to the next stage of the Competition, described below.

3. Round Two

1. The second stage of the Competition for each of the Game Concept and Game Prototype categories (“Round Two”) will run concurrently on November 18, 2010 during DIGat the London Convention Centre in London, Ontario.
2. Up to three members of each Entrant will be provided return coach transportation between Toronto and London at no expense to attend Round Two.
3. In Round Two, each Semi-Finalist will have a thirty minute session before a panel of Judges. In the first 10 minutes the Semi-Finalist will make their pitch.  This will be followed immediately by 20 minutes of discussion and review with the panel of Judges.  The Game Concept category competitors will present in to the Judges in a closed room, while the Game Prototype category competitors will present in to the Judges in an open room.
4. Three (3) Semi-Finalists will be selected from each category as the best in their category (each, a “Finalist”).  The six (6) Finalists will proceed to the next stage of the Competition, described below.

4.  Mentoring

a)   Following the Semi-Finals each of the teams selected to go through to the Finals will be mentored by experts in areas identified by the jury panel at the Semi-Finals. Judges may determine that teams require more than one kind of mentor.

b) Mentoring period will commence on November 22, 2010 and conclude on February 4, 2011. Teams will be notified of their mentor(s) as soon as they have been confirmed.

5. The Finals

1. The three (3) Finalists in each category will proceed to the next round of the Competition (the “Finals”).  At the Finals, the three (3) Game Concept category finalists and the three (3) Game Prototype category Finalists will all compete against each other.  The Finals will be held will run on February 9, 2011 at the Bell LightBox in Toronto, Ontario
2. In the Finals, each Finalist will have a thirty minute session before a panel of Judges. In the first 10 minutes the Entrants will make their pitch. This will be followed immediately by 20 minutes of discussion and review with the panel of Judges.  The Game Concept category competitors and the Game Prototype category competitors will all present in to the Judges in an open room.  These Presentations will be open to the public and may be available over the Internet through web conferencing.
3. The Judges will comment on the Entrants’ Presentations and will select up to four winners:  Best Mobile (for the best Mobile Game, if any, of the Finalists), Best Concept (for the best Entrant in the Game Concept category), Best Prototype (for the best Entrant in the Game Prototype category), and Best of Vortex2010 (for the best overall Entrant, in any category).
4. Before the Judges’ results are announced, the members of the public viewing the Finals will each be allowed one vote for the Audience Choice winner.  Votes for the Audience Choice winner will be tabulated immediately following the last Presentation.  Each of the above-noted winners will be announced at the Awards Gala which will begin immediately following the Finals on February 9, 2011.

IIII Prizing

1. Cash Prize
2. A cash prize of $4,000.00 will be awarded to the Best of Vortex2010 winner, as selected by the Judges in their sole discretion.  Each of the winners will also be given a certificate and will be listed on the Vortex website.