We’ve made a few changes regarding our CSGC competitions this year and we wanted to make sure that all of you are aware of the changes. These changes were based on assessments of the competitions over the last few years and current trends in the game development industry.
Our core categories of Computer Simulation/Graphics and Game Development/Design will remain the same we have made a few additions and changes to the individual competitions.
NEW FOR 2020
The biggest change to this year’s CSGC is the addition of the all new Physical Game competition. As part of the Game Development and Design category this new competition is aimed at game developers of all levels who want to develop in analog vs digital.
According to the market value data on Satistica, the global board games market is worth over $3.2 billion and is set to rise to $8.12 by 2021. While most of today’s youth are digital natives, there is a trend showing the need for a more meaningful human connection. People want connect in person with their friends and board games (and other physical games) are an excuse to get people together!
Physical (analog) games can developed in a variety of formats from traditional board games to card games or even an actual physical game.
This new category also allows those who have an idea for a game but do not yet posses the skills to turn it into a digital game, still develop their idea into a playable game.
Changes to Competitions
Before development begins on many triple-A games, the developers design a physical (analog) version of the game to play, and test if their idea is even feasible. Therefore we have decided to remove the subcategory of Game Design from our Game Design Showcase. The Game Design category was originally developed for those who had ideas for a game but not the skills for a digital game. Instead we would like those with game ideas to fully develop them into a physical game to submit.
Once we removed the Game Design subcategory from the Game Design showcase, we were left with concept art, animation and sound design. These elements are what the industry refers to as game assets, therefore we decided to rename this competition to Game Assets. While games are made in teams, typically game assets are made by individuals on that team. Thus this category is now only open to individuals, not teams. Keep in mind that you might have created an asset for one of the game competitions (digital or physical) which you are welcome to submit as a team to that category, however, you can still enter the independent assets as an individual as well.
With the continuous low participation in the 168-hour Code Jam we thought was best to discontinue this competition. While we love the idea, the time constraints made it difficult for participants to work on the project, specially during one of the busiest times of the school year. We’ve had some great things come out of the code jam in the past and while we are sad to see it go, we will continue to support and co-host the Tulsa Global Game Jam. This event is the last weekend in January and is a great time to start building your game entry for our April CSGC competition.
Countdown to CSGC 2020
We hope with each CSGC we continue to improve and provide the resources and events that attendees look forward to each year. We are truly excited about what’s in store for all our competitors this year!