2014 Windows and Windows Phone Games Competition - Congratulations winners!

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNERS!
The competition is now closed. Unity would like to thank all of the participants of this year’s Unity Game developer contest, sponsored by Microsoft.

This year we saw over 600 entries. The quality of games submitted was incredible and it certainly kept our judges not only busy but highly entertained. It was a tough call but we are thrilled to be able to announce the winners.


Unity - Windows and Windows Phone Games Competition Results.

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Show us your awesome games for a chance to win up to $50k!


It’s competition time again. Following the huge success of the competition we ran with Microsoft in 2013, we’re inviting you to participate in a new competition. Any game you make with Unity, and publish to the Windows or Windows Phone Store prior to July 20th are eligible. To see the full terms, please visit the Windows Competition section of the Unity website.

There are three steps to follow:

• Step One: Sign Up!
• Step Two: Develop your game using Unity 4.3.4 (or later), Visual Studio Express (or any other SKU) 2013 and publish to the Windows Store and/or Windows Phone Store.
• Step Three: Submit the game to the competition.

Judging of submitted games will start on July 20th. Only games submitted to the competition on or before July 20th will be eligible. Judging will be made based on Quality (50%), Creativity and Originality (30%) and Technical Excellence (20%). Winners will be notified on August 13th how to collect their prize.

 

Awesome. It would be great to see more of these competitions.

 

My game is not published because I do not have a credit card and I am required to have one for it to be published. I only have a debit card but They said it wont work on the registration. Does that disqualify my games?

 

Good day.

The FAQ states that we can't add ADs to the games for contest. Can we add ADs later, when the contest ends?

 

Yes. You need to be registered with Microsoft in order to publish to the store. If that process requires a credit card, then yes, you need a credit card. (And that js probably a requirement to prove that you are 18 or older.)

 

I don't have an official answer, but I can't see why you could not publish an updated version after the end of the competition. (Well, after the winners have been announced. Maybe if you win, you won't want to add ads?)

 

Please, say it will be Unity 5 license, or cover Unity 5 when it will be released...

Thanks!

 

Sorry for the cross post. I posted a question in the other thread and just realised that it would have been better to post it here:

Also, someone else posted an important question:

Thanks for your time clarifying things, Graham. This is an exciting contest, indeed!

 

I guess this is a pretty dumb question but, is the contest open to games made by just one individual? No teams allowed?

 

I've used a VISA debit card to register at the MS Windows Store / Phone Developer site. As it's linked to your bank account what is the problem? The credit card company is where you'd deposit income you earn from the Microsoft Windows Store, it'd be deposited into your bank account.

 

That has to do which the law: it is illegal to run a contest to entice people to buy your product. They used to just to say 'No Purchase Necessary.' 'Void where Prohibited.'

 

Can we use unity free?
What are the steps to get a game from unity free onto the windows apps store? (maybe link please)

The instructions say that we have to submit several weeks prior to final date if we havent built a game for windows mobile, please explain? is this for unity free users?

is it possible to test games for windows 8 phones using emulator on pc?

 

I wonder why they made the deadline so early. It's a great competition but it basically restricts entries to games that have been released on other platforms or games that are close to completion.

Especially if you have never released to the Windows Store which basically gives you a month to finish the game plus a week of polishing and then hoping you are on time.

If this competition is a drive for more quality content on the Windows Store then they will have had more success by pushing the deadline to September. In my opinion anyway.

Good luck to all those who are entering!

 

Microsoft have adjusted the terms. Your games can use ads.

 

Yes

You mean, like some kind of documentation?

Well, the instructions say that your game needs to be submitted, and approved, before you can be eligible. Since this process can take some time, the advise is really to not leave it too late.

Maybe. You'll need a real device to test on though.

 

Hello Graham,

Will those award licenses cover Unity 5 when released?

Thanks!

 

Do we get a free license for Microsoft Developer to publish apps for this contest?

 

Is the free token valid only one year?

 

Probably.

 

I received my token, but it says that it's not valid! What should I do?

 

Token you sent me doesn't work! Please help!

 

I did two days ago, but they didn't reply me since.

 

There seems to be an issue with the dev center and sometimes the tokens are not getting through. We are investigating and will get back to you when we have an update. The issue is intermittent and you can try again after a few days, But in the mean time please continue to develop or porting your games. We will get back to you as soon as we confirm it is all working.

 

How many days spent on review applications ( http://unity3d.com/ru/pages/windows/offer ) ? We have a game on iOS and Android (4,5 stars rating) - we filled application form with the link to it, but the answer did not come.

Do I need to make some steps in addition to filling out the application?

 

Thank you

Thank you for your patience and your submission. If you have submitted please normally allow 3 business days for processing, especially in cases where a submission happens over the weekend.

 

I am 16 and want to participate
can i ?

 

can i use the same game for this offer http://unity3d.com/pages/windows/offer and also submit for the contest?

 

Is it possible to use altered versions of assets bought from the Unity Asset Store (or those assets in general)?

 

If a team consistent of two people would get an honorable mention and therefore win a Unity Pro license would both team members get one or is it just one per team?

 

oh ho i was very exited for this .

 

The prize is for the winning app, so whether a single individual or team developed it that winning app developer/team would get the one license.

 

Hello!
I got a token by mail, but after following steps to register as a developer i got an error message saying it is not valid... I sent a mail to unity3d@microsoft.com, how many days do you think it will take to have the process sorted?
I'd like to ask another question: the token is valid for individual developer, isn't it? You must not follow company developer registration, right?
Thanks in advance,
Kae

 

Hi,

Unfortunately I just heard of this competition which might be a bit late, I'm already working on a game for windows phone 8 but I'm using Visual Studio with XNA Framework ,, are games created with XNA Game Studio able to enter the contest?

Thank You,

 

I am student developer (below 18) is it possible for me to somehow participate in it. You can check my works in my website (http://www.apgames.in).

 

Hello? .. could you please reply because time is running out :|
is XNA considered as part of visual studio or not?

also, same as too other many questions above, I got the token but it didn't work ,, is there any region-restrictions or something?

thanks.

 

The contest rules are here.

It says you have to be a registered Unity developer. But it does not specifically state that your game has to be made with Unity.

I think you can probably submit your game, but, since the judging is subjective and the spirit of the contest is to promote the use of Unity, it's not likely that you could win with a non-Unity game.

I love XNA. I wish Microsoft had supported that platform better. Good luck.

 

I'e been following this thread and the other WIndows Phone Incentive contest to gain a Windows Phone device and, having jumped into this from a Mac background I'd just like to clarify the Windows 8 requirements. My app has cleared stage one of the Incentive and I'm being sent a Windows 8 PRO license, in the meantime I'm advised to download the Windows 8 Enterprise trial to continue development.
I have a laptop running Windows 8 *Standard* (doesn't seem to have any defining label)... not Pro or Enterprise. I understand I need Pro eventually so that I can run the Windows Phone emulator. So am I right in this; My current Windows 8 is no use and won't run the emulator, but Enterprise WILL run it and that will tide me over until Pro arrives?
I've just taken on this laptop and took an age getting it all smoothly running with Unity etc ready to build to Windows Phone, but now look like I'll be re-installing twice in the next couple of weeks. I'm ok with that but don't want to miss something stupid and end up realising I could have stuck with Win 8 Standard until Pro arrives.

 

Thanks Tautvydas, that's what I assumed. As I need the Emulator in the absence of a physical device I'll go through the Enterprise trial-then-Windows 8 Pro route. I'd just hoped Windows 8 Standard could have been of some use. I'm currently running the 64 bit Win 8 edition too, so it's ready for Enterprise/Pro 64 bit.

 

Hi, I submitted Lost Echo ( http://windowsphone.com/s?appId=9617e5bf-f024-47de-84ad-2049e54cf48a ) to the Windows Phone contest, but I haven't received a confirmation e-mail or anything like that. I'm tempted to submit again, since I feel that something went wrong, but I wouldn't want to flood the contest with Lost Echo entries.

Is there a way to confirm if the entry was received successfully?

 

Well, i have applied to windows offer where they give a mobile phone or tablet to test your game.

I have applied with a game in progress. (Not in market but in development, though it's 75% complete)

I have uploaded two videos just for contest, a screenshot gallery, and an apk file. And after 9 days, my entry was rejected. Then I've viewed youtube analytics, they didn't even watch the videos before rejecting.. (They are 1 minute each, they didn't even click the link) I am really disappointed.

 

i have also applied to windows offer where they give a mobile phone or tablet to test your game and luckily I won first level so I want to known is there any possibility of getting a developer device (asking this because it's clear on their website that it's a first come first issue and the competition is about to end).

 

(Just to clarify, you guys are talking about the "offer" while my previous post was about the "contest")

(Although I also had trouble with getting replies from MS for the "offer" as well. We submitted the final store link to them, but we keep getting reminders that we should submit the store link soon, because the deadline is approaching!)