2013 Unity Awards open nominations is, um... open

It’s that time of year again! With Unite 2013 fast approaching in Vancouver, it’s time to start thinking about the 2013 Unity Awards as well. The ceremony will take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre this year on August 29. If you’re interested in nominating a project (game or otherwise) for the Unity Awards, please read the submission guidelines and then follow instructions to complete the submission process. Thanks and look forward to seeing you at the show!

The Unity Awards: What are they?

Each year, we hold awards for our global developer community in several different categories in order to recognize the most impressive games and other projects being made using Unity. The categories this year include:

• Best 3D Visual Experience - Submissions for this category will be judged based on artistic merit including thematic and stylistic cohesion, creativity, and/or technical skill.
• Best 2D Visual Experience - Submissions for this category will be judged based on artistic merit including thematic and stylistic cohesion, creativity, and/or technical skill.
• Best Gameplay - Intuitive control, innovation, creativity, complexity, and fun are what make games enjoyable and entertaining--we're looking for games that excel in one or all of these areas.
• Best VizSim Project - Unity projects come in all shapes and sizes; this year we’re looking for projects that have some real world grounded applications for visualization and simulation.
• Best Non-game Project - Unity-authored products that fall outside of games including projects such as art, advertisement, interactive books and comics, digital toys, interactive physical installations, and informational programs will want to submit for this award.
• Best Student Project - This award is for projects worked on by students currently being completed as part of the curriculum of an educational institution. Projects will be judged based on creativity, technical merit, and overall artistic cohesion among graphics, sound, and presentation.
• Technical Achievement - Any project that provides an excellent example of technical excellence in Unity including but not limited to graphics, scripting, UI, and/or sound.
• Community Choice - This category will be voted on at a later date on Unity3d.com by the community of game developers.
• Golden Cube (best overall) - This award is for the best overall project made with Unity in the last year. Everything from technical achievement and visual styling to sound production and level of fun will be taken into account to choose an overall winner.

Qualifications

Pretty much anyone making games with Unity can submit their projects for consideration in the Unity Awards. There are some simple rules for eligibility that all entrants will need to follow.

• Only Unity-authored projects are eligible for nomination
• Projects must have been released from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 to be eligible with the exception of student project submissions which must have been part of the coursework in the 2012-2013 school year.
• Any projects nominated for previous years of the Unity Awards are ineligible for the 2013 Unity Awards with the exception of projects that were previously student work and have since turned into finished commercial projects.

One thing to note about these rules is that it’s OK to submit a game for consideration even if you aren’t totally sure if it will be ready by the June 30th cut-off. We will be checking to make sure any games being considered for a finalist slot meet all of the criteria first.

What Happens After Submitting a Project for Awards Consideration?

The Awards committee at Unity Technologies will look at each submission using the judging criteria for each category. Six nominees from each category are chosen as finalists and are invited to participate in the Unity Awards ceremony taking place at Unite in Vancouver.

How are Unity Awards Winners Chosen?

Once the finalists have been chosen, all of Unity Technologies employees will be invited to cast their votes on what they consider the best of each category. This is true with the exception of the Community Choice Award, which is chosen by our developer community via a poll on Unity3d.com, which will be posted in July.

Where Do We Submit Projects for Awards Consideration?

Nomination submissions are now open. They will close on June 30 at 12:00am PDT. Simply follow directions and fill out the form located at the following the link:  http://unityawards2013.unityproposals.com/

Make sure to spread the word to those you know that have released projects between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013!