Gaming is as hot a space for startups as it has ever been, and now German firms will have the chance to pit themselves against the best Europe has to offer in the Startup 2.0 2012 competition, entitled On Gaming. Registration has now opened for game developers, and will run to May 30.
The five finalists will have the opportunity to present their projects at Nonick, the International Internet Trends Conference in Bilbao, with an all-expenses paid trip.
The contest is open to any startup formed no earlier than 2008 or any individual from a European country – which has a fairly loose, Eurovision-like definition – who has developed a game. Multiple entries can be made, but projects that are anonymous or are still in development will not be accepted. The games themselves must include interaction with a user interface and have some kind of user challenging and rewarding.
All kinds of subject matter are allowed – serious (scientific, education, city planning), social, entertainment (sports, action, strategy, role-playing) and simulation/training games among them. In terms of display devices, all computing, console, mobile (smartphone and tablets) and online platforms are accepted.
Entries will be reviewed by the advisory board before being subject to a vote by users of the Startup 2.0 Facebook app. The top 20 are then whittled down to five by a ten-strong jury of VCs and gaming experts, who will look at business sense and growth expectations, innovation, degree of competition in the market and quality of the presentation.
An overall winner will be selected in the final in Bilbao on June 15 and 16, with extra prizes on offer including two tickets to the Arctic15 conference in Helsinki, a 60 percent discount for The Next Web Conference 2013 in Amsterdam and funding to help set up an office in the local area.