Festival Rules

The BIG Festival - Brazilian International Game Festival ("Festival") is held by G.A.M.E. Tecnologia da Informação Ltda., CNPJ 15.061.613/0001-06 ("Trademark Owner"), thanks to the sponsorship and support of the companies listed on this Website.

The Festival will be held From November 22 to December 2 at MIS, in the Museum of Image and Sound (MIS). The Festival is a cultural contest that will award the best games selected by the Guest Jury and by the Selection Committee, as described below in the Prizes section.

All information about the Festival will be available through the Website www.bigfestival.com.br ("Website"). The Website will also centralize all Festival information and communication, including registration for the Festival, activity dates, lists of finalists, and access to and voting on some games available online that are competing for an audience award.

All those who submit games to participate in the Festival ("Contestants") declare to know and accept the Festival Rules and the Terms of Use of this Website.

Who can participate?

We accept the participation of any person or company representative of any nationality that is interested in signing up games to compete for the prizes offered.

The participation of employees, collaborators, partners, shareholders of the Trademark Owner or of the companies sponsoring the Festival, as well as their respective relatives up to the second degree, spouses and any persons involved directly in the implementation of the Festival, is prohibited.

Which games can participate?

We will accept all kinds of games, for any platform, console or media, provided they are in a state to be played and evaluated by the Selection Committee. We only accept completed games. In other words, we do not accept demos.

In the event the game has already been released commercially, the release must have taken place up to two years prior to the date of the Festival.

Each competitor can enroll as many games as desired. However, a registration form must be completed for each title.

How to participate

To participate, a Contestant must register on the Festival’s Website, choose the option "submit game to festival" and follow the instructions contained on the form. Only one game is accepted for each submission form.

A Contestant can send the game in one of the following ways:

-send a download link for the game's executable file
-send a link of where the game can be played
-send the game by mail (on DVD or CD with installer/executable file)

 

Registration is free, but the Selection Committee will not bear any cost to purchase or play the game. In the event payment is required in order to have access to the game, the Contestant must offer 10 coupons or free access codes.

Deadline for submitting games

Game submissions will be accepted for the Festival until 8/31/2012. For games sent by mail, we will consider the date stamped on the envelope.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories (each item below is a "Category"):

Prizes from the Jury:

• Best Game: trophy and a prize of US 16,000 (developers selected to this prize will be invited to São Paulo by the Festival)
• Brazilian Award (restricted to Brazilian games): trophy and a prize of US$ 3,500
• Best sound: Trophy and a prize of US$ 1,000
• Best Art: Trophy and a prize of US$ 1,000

Prizes from the Public:

• Best game available on the Festival's site (only for games that can be played on the Festival's website): US$ 2,500
• Best game - popular vote (the games competing for this are those exhibited at the Festival venue): Trophy
• Best game in 24 hours: trophy and a prize of US$ 3,000 (see specific rules)

The prizes can be cumulative for the same game. The price values are gross and the winners shall pay the taxes due. It will be at the discretion of the jury and Selection Committee to determine which games will be indicated for each category in accordance with what is described below. I.e. the Contestant does not choose the category in which his/her game competes.

Selection of the best games

The games are selected firstly by a Selection Committee appointed by the Festival and by the Trademark Owner. The members of this Committee will be game professionals, journalists, critics, consultants and representatives of prominent companies in the area. A campaign will be held to select a gamer to occupy one of the seats of the Selection Committee (see details here [link]). The Chair of the Selection Committee will be given to a member indicated by the Festival from among members of his/her own team.

The Selection Committee has the job of selecting the finalist games that will be evaluated by the Guest Jury. At least 3 games will be appointed in each category. The Category "Best game available on the Festival’s Website" has no predetermined limit of selected games.

In the event it is not possible to appoint 3 games for a category, the Selection Committee may, at its discretion, remove the category and add the value of the prize to another category. The Chairman of the Selection Committee will make the final decision in the event of a tie or any indecision in the  nominations.

The list of selected games will be published on the Festival’s Website on 9/15/2012.

The Guest Jury will be composed of experts and outstanding professionals from the gaming area. The names of the jury members will be announced before such date. The Guest Jury will choose the Jury Prize.

The Public Prizes will be chosen by way of internet vote (in the Category "Best game available on the Website") and at the Festival venue (in the Category "Best game in 24 hours"). The vote over the internet will be available to registered users of the Website. To register, simply click here [link] and follow the instructions. The winning game must have at least 50 votes. In the case of a tie (we will consider up to 1 decimal figure), the game with more votes will be the winner.

Contestant Responsibilities

Upon submitting a game to the Festival, a Contestant expressly declares and warrants to be the owner or possessor of all rights and licenses necessary for the use and/or public execution of all material submitted (games, videos, pictures, texts and other materials submitted online or by mail), including, but not limited to:

a) All rights to the game source code;
b) Licenses for the technologies and software used for the development and execution of the game;
c) Rights to songs used as a soundtrack or incidental in the game and in other materials submitted;
c) Right to texts that appears in the game and in other materials submitted;
d) Rights to the script or texts that have served as inspiration for the game and the other materials submitted;
e) Rights to archive footage or third parties’ footage that appear in the game and in other materials submitted;
f) Rights to patents or licenses for use of third party information in the game and in other materials submitted;
g) Or any other copyrights that may prevent the implementation or the commercial or non-commercial execution, play or airing of the game or other materials submitted.

The Contestant further agrees to:

a) not send any material containing images or sounds that are vulgar, defamatory, or prejudiced, or that disrespect the Brazilian Penal Code and the legislation in force;
b) not violate the privacy of third parties or racially, ethically, professionally or otherwise disrespect them.
c) not violate any copyright or any other law in submitting the game and other materials and information to the Festival.

The Contestant also agrees to send the complete game or a game excerpt to be made available for online playing on the Festival’s Website. In the event a playable excerpt of a game is not available, at least a video demonstration of the game’s functioning and mechanics is required, given that all games accepted by the Festival will be presented on the Website.

All games or playable excerpts accepted by the Festival and made available online will compete for the prize for Best Game available on the Festival’s Website, described above. Games which cannot be played will not compete for this award.

Contestants agree to, free of charge and throughout the world, grant to the Festival and to the Trademark Owner all rights to make a game, demo or playable excerpt available to be played on the internet by users of the Website for a period of one year, automatically and indefinitely renewable if the Contestant does not inform the Festival, prior to expiration of the period of assignment of rights, that he/she does not want the game to continue to be available on the Website. Contestants also agree to provide all information about the game for disclosure on the Website, including images and videos, as well as to offer support to install the game on the Website, if necessary.

Games finalists

The Contestant responsible for a finalist game ("Finalist") must send a signed and dated copy of these Rules within 7 days of being notified, together with other documents requested by the Festival’s Organizers at the time of the notification.

Each Finalist agrees to grant to the Festival, free of charge and throughout the world, all rights to his/her game disclosure material, for disclosure and marketing in any format and on any media, including at the Festival venue and on its Website, including illustrative and explanatory game materials, videos, photos, texts, interviews with the game developers and other materials and information about the games.

Each Finalist authorizes the Festival to exhibit and run the Finalist game at the Festival venue, allowing any visitor of the Festival to play the game without any encumbrance, payment or limitation of any kind.

The assignment of rights described above is also valid for any eventual replications of the Festival in other cities and on other dates.

In the event of an invitation on the part of the Festival (i.e. If we have money to pay for their travel and lodging expenses), the Finalist agrees to appoint and send a representative to the Festival activities, which may include a press conference, networking sessions with industry professionals and presentation of the finalist game.

Curatorship and Omissions

All creative decisions of the Festival are the sole responsibility of the Trademark Owner, or of the people, companies or partners to whom these decisions are delegated, and cannot be questioned in any circumstances.

The Organizing Committee of the Festival shall resolve events omitted or not foreseen in these Rules.

Disclaimer and Indemnity

Contestants agree to exempt the Festival, the Trademark Owner and other companies and individuals involved in providing the Festival’s Website, as well as its partners, clients and sponsors, of any loss and damage arising from non-compliance with the Festival Rules, or any loss or damage derived from any kind of legal violation generated by the game(s) or other material(s) submitted.

Contestants shall indemnify any complainant for loss and damage, in addition to indemnification of the Festival, Trademark Owner and the other companies and individuals involved in the realization of the Festival, as well as its partners and clients, for the damage caused.

 

Tolerance

Tolerance in relation to the provisions of Festival Rules and of the Website’s Terms of Use shall not constitute a precedent for non-compliance with what has been here agreed.

Jurisdiction

The Festival is governed by the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil.

The parties elect the Forum of the Central District in São Paulo, Capital, to resolve any disputes arising from this contract, and expressly waives any other as competent as they may be.