Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions (Terms and Conditions) govern the Kiwi Game Starter 2023 competition (Competition). The Competition is being run by the New Zealand Game Developers Association Incorporated (NZGDA). The purpose of the Competition is to promote game development in New Zealand by encouraging eligible NZGDA members (Entrants) to submit a game demo (an Entry) from which up to two winners will be chosen and awarded a First Prize or Second Prize as set out below (each referred to as an Award). By participating, all Entrants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and by the decisions of judges which are final and binding on all matters relating to the Competition.

1. Purpose
   1. Kiwi Game Starter 2023 is a business start-up competition for New Zealand-based game development teams. Its purpose is to support the commercial success of two high-potential teams or projects.
2. Prizes
   1. The Competition will award a First Prize and a Second Prize to the Winners as chosen by the judges. Prizes will consist of a monetary award and mentoring from experienced industry professionals. Complete prize details will be released in advance of the Finalist pitching sessions.
   2. First Prize will include NZD$25,000, and Second Prize will include NZD$10,000.
   3. The Entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Mentors’ advice will be informal and provided in good faith and no liability will be incurred by either the relevant Mentor, the NZGDA or any of the Sponsors arising out of or in connection with the Entrant’s reliance (or otherwise) on the relevant Mentor’s advice.
3. Eligibility
   1. Each Entrant must be:
      1. an individual, or a group of individuals, with at least one team leader living in New Zealand and at least 18 years of age or older, and at least one must be an individual member of the NZGDA; or 
      2. a business entity incorporated in New Zealand and an organizational member of the NZGDA.
4. How to Enter
   1. Entries must be submitted before 5 PM on Friday 30 June 2023 (Entry Deadline) to the online form at https://www.kiwigamestarter.com.
   2. The Entry submission must:
      1. include a playable demo or prototype (Prototype) of a game (Game) provided as either:

• a weblink to an online version of the prototype playable inside a web browser; or 
• a weblink to download an .EXE or .ZIP file for Windows PCs; or
• a weblink to download an .APK file for Android devices; or
• a TestFlight invitation for Apple devices (NZGDA to provide judges’ account details).
• Please note, entries should be in development for any digital platform: mobile, browser, computer or console. If there is a reason why the above delivery options are not possible, then please email kgs@nzgda.com. 

2. include a proposal document (Proposal) in either Google Docs or PDF format, using the provided template.
3. not include a Prototype that is available for sale at the time of submission, including via pre-sales services such as Steam Early Access.  However, it is able to have been provided as a reward as part of a crowd-funding or charitable campaign; 
4. not contain any audio content, visual content, software code or any other material that infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights;
5. not contain any viruses or malicious content;
6. not be of a pornographic nature or involve chance elements to win items virtual or otherwise that could potentially be redeemed or traded for money;
7. not have been a previous prize winner.

3. By entering the Competition, the Entrant warrants that all eligibility requirements are met.
4. Each Entrant may only submit one Entry for the Competition.
5. An Entrant may withdraw its Entry at any time on or before the Entry Deadline by emailing kgs@nzgda.com and advising that it wishes to withdraw its Entry effective immediately.

5. Shortlisting of Finalists
   1. A sub-committee appointed by the NZGDA committee will play each Prototype and review all Entries and select up to five Finalists (Finalists) in its sole discretion based on the following criteria:
      1. originality, point of difference, or any other market advantage;
      2. appeal of the concept;
      3. commercial potential;
      4. visual and audio design and graphic style;
      5. business and production strategy, based on the template provided;
      6. sub-committee member’s experience of the gameplay of the Prototype.
   2. The NZGDA acknowledges that Prototypes may be either early-stage or late-stage and do not represent the complete product as described in the Proposal, and will take this into consideration when judging.
   3. All decisions of the sub-committee are made at the sub-committee’s sole discretion and are final and binding on all matters pertaining to the shortlisting of Finalists.
   4. Finalists will be notified by a date as determined by the NZGDA prior to the start of the competition.
   5. If reasonable efforts are made to contact a Finalist using the details provided in the Entry, and these efforts are unsuccessful, the NZGDA may disqualify the Finalist and select an alternate Finalist.
6. Selection of the Winner
   1. Each Finalist will have the opportunity to discuss their entry with a panel of judges appointed by the NZGDA (Judges). These meetings will:
      1. be held as a remote online conferencing session;
      2. require Entrants to answer questions about their entries.
   2. At least one representative is required to attend the final judging panel. Failure to attend the panel, without notifying the NZGDA in advance, will result in disqualification. 
   3. The Judges will play each Finalist’s Prototype, review each Finalist’s Entry, ask questions at each Finalist’s meeting, and select a First Place Winner and Second Place Winner (each referred to as a Winner) in its sole discretion based on the following criteria:
      1. appeal of the concept;
      2. commercial potential;
      3. point of difference, originality or any other market advantage;
      4. visual and audio design and graphic style;
      5. business and production strategy as outlined in the Proposal, based on the template provided;
      6. the Judges’ experience of the gameplay of the Prototype;
      7. the responses to the Judges’ questions during the Presentation.
   4. The Winners will be notified by an NZGDA representative no later than six weeks after the finalist announcement, date to be determined before the start of the competition (Notification Date).
   5. All decisions of the Judges are made at the Judges’ sole discretion and are final and binding on all matters pertaining to the Competition.
   6. If reasonable efforts are made to contact the Winner by the Notification Date using the details provided in the Entry, and these efforts are unsuccessful, the NZGDA may disqualify the Winner and select an alternate Winner. 
7. Award Terms
   1. Where the components of the relevant Award are in the nature of services, those services must be redeemed or used within 12 months of the Notification Date. The cash award will be provided to the Winner within 30 days of the Notification Date.
   2. The NZGDA reserves the right to award a substitute Award or a portion of the Award.
8. Arrangements for the redemption of any non-monetary Awards will be made between the Winner and the Sponsor of the Award (contact details of the Sponsor will be provided to the Winner by the NZGDA).
9. The Winner will bear the responsibility for any taxes, fees (including third party fees and disbursements) or other costs associated with the Award.
10. No cash equivalent will be given as a substitute for non-monetary Awards.

4. The Award components are not transferable to another party.
5. Any violation of these Terms and Conditions by the Winner will result in the Winner’s disqualification, and an alternate Winner may be selected.

8. Intellectual Property Rights and Publicity
   1. The NZGDA does not claim ownership in the intellectual property rights of the sample code, proposals, videos, articles or any other content submitted as part of an Entry. Each Entrant grants the NZGDA a non-exclusive, royalty free licence to use its Prototype and any other item submitted as part of the Entry for any purpose relating to the Competition.
   2. Each Entrant warrants that no part of its Entry infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party, and will indemnify the NZGDA, Sponsors and Mentors against any loss or damage suffered by them arising out of or in connection with a breach by the Entrant of this clause.
   3. By submitting an Entry, each Entrant grants the NZGDA, Sponsors and Mentors the rights to (without requiring the Entrant’s permission or the requirement to pay the Entrant any compensation):
      1. profile the Entrant and publicise the Entrant’s involvement in the Competition and the nature of the Entry in or for any promotional communications, advertising or other purposes including, but not limited to, media releases, media interviews, websites, blogs, and social media sites (together Promotional Communications);
      2. use, copy, modify, and publish (excluding any information of a personal nature other than to identify the Entrants, Finalists and/or Winner) any part of the Entry (including video footage, screenshots or any other samples from the Prototype or other parts of the Entry) in any Promotional Communications;
      3. record, photograph, videotape, and use the likeness and images of each Entrant. This material will be owned by the NZGDA and may be used for Promotional Communications or in any other manner the NZGDA may see fit.
9. Liability
   1. If for any reason any aspect of the Competition is not capable of running as planned, including by reason of infection by computer virus, network failure, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures, civil unrest, acts of God, or any cause beyond the control of the NZGDA which corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Competition, the NZGDA may in its sole discretion cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition, or invalidate any affected Entries.
   2. NZGDA may, at any time, modify, alter or cancel the Competition or any aspect of the Competition without prior notice.  Any notification of such modifications will be posted on the NZGDA website (www.nzgda.com). 
   3. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the NZGDA, Sponsors and Mentors (including their officers, employees and agents) will not be liable for any form of loss or damage, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising out of or in connection with the Competition or the provision of the Award, including in respect of:
      1. any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the NZGDA’s control); 
      2. any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; 
      3. any Entry that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by the NZGDA) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the NZGDA; or 
      4. use of any Award or the outcomes from the use of any Award.
   4. Each Entrant agrees that its participation in the Competition and acceptance of any Award is not in violation of any applicable laws, regulations or policies of NZ or of a NZ government agency.
   5. Entrants may direct any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Competition to the NZGDA.  Any questions can be directed to kgs@nzgda.com.