Q: I missed this year's IGF Competition deadline, but I'd like to enter next year. When are games due?
A: The due date this year is September 6.

Q: I live outside the United States. May I enter the IGF Competition and/or Student Showcase?
A: Yes.

Q: We are working on more than one game. Can more than one game be entered in the IGF Competition and/or Student Showcase?
A: Yes.

Q: If I'm invited to appear at the IGF Competition in March, do I have to bring my own computer too?
A: Yes. The Festival management will provide monitors and supply Internet connections for all finalists at the IGF in 2006, but the computer itself isn't supplied.

If you don't wish to bring your own system, you can rent one from the rental company supplying machines to exhibitors at the Game Developers Conference. The cost of rental machines is in the $300-$800 range for the duration of the event, depending on how powerful a system you need. We strongly advise bringing your own system, though - the rental machines not only aren't inexpensive (these rates are what every exhibitor pays at the GDC -- this is out of the IGF's hands), they may not be configured in a way suitable for your game. E.g., getting a specific graphics card from the rental company has posed problems in the past.

Q: Why do you ask so much information in the entry form? How is this information used?
A: The IGF gets many inquiries from the press about the games that are entered into the competition. As such, the information you provide in the entry form is largely used by us to market the event -- talk about who the different teams are and why they are unique. So don't put confidential information in there. Do put information that helps us understand any interesting angles to your game and/or team. What you write in the entry form helps us market you and your game in the context of the event.

Q: If I'm invited to appear at the IGF Student Showcase in March, do I have to bring my own computer too?
A: No. We will provide a PC for students to demonstrate their games, as well as monitor, speakers and high-speed internet access.

Q: If I find a publisher between the time I submit the Festival entry form and the date of the Festival itself, does that disqualify my game from the IGF Competition?
A: No. You must not have a signed publisher at the time you fill out the entry form. If you sign a publishing deal after that point, you are still eligible for the IGF Competition.

Q: Why do I have provide hardware to the judges?
A: If your game runs on a platform that the judges do not have or requires, for instance, a special graphics or audio card or input device above and beyond what is specified in the minimum system specs, you may be asked to provide the necessary hardware to judges. If you cannot provide that hardware, we will refund your entry fee and you will be disqualified.

Please state any specific hardware needs on the entry form. We'll only contact you about this if it is a problem.

Q: What kind of set up will be provided at the show for me to demonstrate my game at the IGF Competition?
A: The Festival will provide demo pods for developers. These pods will consist of a counter, a 21" monitor, hook-ups for electricity and Internet connectivity, and signage indicating the name of the developer and the name of the game. You need to supply your own computer, keyboard, and any game peripheral necessary to demo the game. If you cannot bring your own computer, you can rent one at the GDC for a few hundred dollars.

Q: What kind of set up will be provided at the show for me to demonstrate my game [at the IGF Student Showcase]?
A: The Festival will provide demo pods for student teams. These pods will consist of a counter, a computer (inquire as to the particular workstation which will be provided -- it changes each year), a 21" monitor, hook-ups for electricity and Internet connectivity, signage indicating the name of the developer and the name of the game.

Q: Is there an entry fee for the IGF Student Showcase?
A: No. Only the IGF Competition has an entry fee.

Q: What systems must a game run on?
A: The IGF Competition officially supports any platform - PC, console, PDA, cell phone, etc. We may need your help arranging some hardware if it's an older console or something hard for us to lay our hands on, but we will bend over backwards to support whatever platform you run on.

Q: How much of a fully-functional game do you need? I want to make sure that, given our limited time and resources, our team focuses on the most important aspects of our game.
A: We now that games be "beta or better". In the past we received many games that had a single playable level, games that were unstable, crashed frequently, and so on. So we are no requiring that game be at least in the beta stage of development (in other words, functionally complete, though games may still be somewhat buggy).

Q: I entered my game into the IGF Competition, but didn't make it to the final round. Since the game was developed by students and we all qualify to enter the Student Showcase, can we re-submit our game for the Student Showcase?
A: Yes. If you didn't make it into the final round of the IGF Competition, and you qualify for the Student Showcase, you can re-enter your game for the Student Showcase by filling out the SS entry form and mailing it in with your game by November 14.

Q: Can the same game be entered in subsequent years?
A: Yes, provided the game and development team meet the criterial for the IGF the next year.

Q: I have been a full-time college student for the duration of my project's development cycle; however, I'm currently in the process of transferring to another school and as such have switched to a part-time student schedule. Am I still eligible?
A: This is an interesting question, and we receive a lot of inquiries like it. We take situations like this on a case-by-case basis, and we try to make the Student Showcase as accessible to students as possible. In this case, you sound like you are trying to finish your studies, and you're currently enrolled, so you can enter your game.

Q: Our game didn't make it to the finals/win an award. Can you tell us why?
A: It's our policy not to provide the judges' feedback. Each year the IGF gets more entries, and addressing this answer for every entrant is really time consuming - it's just not what our limited staff can handle.

Q: I was a full-time college student for the duration of my project's development cycle and graduated in the Spring. Am I still eligible?
A: Yes, if graduated during the Spring quarter/semester, you can enter a game that you developed while you were a student.

Q: It's been X days since the deadline for submissions has passed. Is it too late to enter our game into the festival?
A: If you don't make the cutoff date, we can't accept your game. Sorry -- it's in the interest of fairness to all the other entries, who had to cut their development cycle short to get their games in on time. You can always enter the Competition next year!

Have another question not addressed here? Send it to the IGF Chairman.