Student Game Showcase 2025

1. Submitting Project Files

Game submissions require the creation of a free GitHub account. If you do not have an account, please create one before proceeding.

1. Create a GitHub repository for your game.
• The repository must be public.
• The name of the repository should be the name of the game you are submitting.
2. Create an executable for your game.
• Before creating the executable, make sure your game has a "Quit" button so players are able to exit the program once finished.
• Executable must be made for Windows.
• Follow the executable instructions for the game engine your project was created with.
• NOTE: If your project was created with GameMaker 2, a paid account is required to create an executable. If you do not have access to a paid account, you may submit your game as a .YYZ file.
• Test your executable before submission.
3. Add the game executable to the GitHub repository
• Create a folder in the repository labeled "Game-Name-Executable" (ex: "Half-Life-3-Executable").
• Put the executable in the created folder.
• Test that the upload was successful by downloading the executable directly from the repository and running it.

2. Submitting Project Information

1. Create a PDF document.
• Name the document "Game-Name-Info" (ex: "Half-Life-3-Info").
• In the document, fill in all of the information below:
1. The title of the game
2. The name of all the developers who worked on the project and what roles they filled
3. A short description (1-2 sentence) of the game.
4. A list of all the game's controls
5. A list of credits for game elements (such as music, art, sound effects, etc.) that the developer(s) did not create themselves and where they were retrieved from.
• If artificial intelligence was used to create any elements of your project, provide credit here. Specify what platform you used and what you used it for (ex: "ChatGPT was used for the creation of the background assets and menu music").
6. What event you developed the game for (ex: Intro to Game Design course, Capstone project, Spring 49 hour game jam, etc.)
7. The timeframe in which the project was completed (start date and end date)
• Add this document to the GitHub repository.
2. Create a folder to hold images for the game.
• Name the folder "Game-Name-Images" (ex: "Half-Life-3-Images").
• Add the following images to the folder:
• NOTE: For all added images, please ensure the file extension is .png or .jpg.
1. An image that represents your game (such as a logo, or an exciting screenshot). The title of the game must be displayed somewhere in the image. Name this image "Game-Name-Title-Image" (ex: "Half-Life-3-Title-Image"). The image must have the dimensions 600x900px.
2. OPTIONAL: 1-3 screenshots from your game (screenshot parts of your game that you are most proud of!). Name them "Game-Name-Image-#" (ex: Half-Life-3-Image-2)
• Add this folder to the GitHub repository.
3. OPTIONAL: Create a folder for concept art.
• Name the folder "Game-Name-Concept-Art" (ex: "Half-Life-3-Concept-Art")
• Fill this folder with any cool design sketches or art that was created during development (please note that these images will be displayed at the event, so only include what you are comfortable showing).
• Add the name of the creator(s) of any concept sketches in the bottom right corner of the image.
• Name the images "Game-Name-Concept-#" (ex: Half-Life-3-Concept-4).
• Add this folder to the GitHub repository.

Submit Your Repository

Your GitHub repository should include everything listed below:

• A folder that contains the executable for the game
• A PDF document that contains the project information
• A folder that contains a title image and screenshots
• Optional: A folder that contains credited concept art

Before submitting your repository, double check that your submission meets all of the listed requirements and includes all elements listed in the submission instructions.

Once the repository is ready for submission, email the link to lelbel@charlotte.edu with the subject line "Your Game Name Student Game Showcase". If your submission was developed by a team, only one person needs to send the link to the repository. Once the submission is received, allow up to 48 hours to receive a confirmation email in response. Please be sure to check your email in case you need to be contacted about your submission.

Submissions will be reviewed before the event. Once your submission is accepted, you will receive an additional confirmation email. Submissions that are rejected will receive an email with an explanation as to why. Rejected submissions will be allowed to update their repository and resubmit until the resubmission deadline Sunday April 27th.

Submission Deadline

• Game submissions for the showcase must be submitted before midnight on April 20th.

Time Completed

• A game is eligible to submit if it abides by the following:
• The game or demo was completed during the fall 2024 - spring 2025 academic school year (August 19th, 2024 through May 1st, 2025).

Student Status

• Developer(s) of submitted games must be active UNC Charlotte students
• Note: If you graduated during the fall 2024 semester and no longer attend UNC Charlotte, your games are still eligible for submission.

Completion and Stability

• Games submitted must be stable and free of critical bugs.
• Game should not crash during normal play.
• Implemented mechanics must be completely functional.

Hardware

• Games during the showcase will be running off of university machines. Submitted games should be capable of running on generic machines. Projects that are too demanding of hardware will not run effectively and cannot be displayed during the showcase.
• If your game requires additional input devices (such as a controller), go to the contact section and send an email inquiring about it.

Content Guidelines

• Games must be appropriate for a general audience. Excessive violence, explicit content, hate speech, or other inappropriate material is not permitted.

AI Policy

• If artificial intelligence was used to create any elements of your game, you must disclose it in the credits section of your information document.

Use of External Resources

• If a game uses any resources that were not created by the developer(s) (such as music, art, sound effects, etc.) they must be properly licensed and credited during submission.
• Copyrighted or licensed material is not permitted.
• Any resources used must be free. Any resources that are not available for public use should be replaced before submission.