The Third Annual Saxxy Awards!







That's right, it's that time again! After all the amazing videos from last year, we couldn't not host another Saxxy Awards! We can't wait to see what you can all do after having the SFM in your hands for a year, instead of only a few months.

So get your entries ready - we will be accepting submissions from 4PM November 11th through 4PM November 18th, Pacific Standard Time. Don't wait until the last day to submit, however. We encourage you to submit early in the prior week, and then re-submit any refinements later in the week, so that if your computer dies, your power goes out or you get confused by the time zone conversion to Pacific time, you still have a version submitted. Full submission rules available here.

While you're working on your entries, note that there are a few changes to the categories this year.

Since the Saxxy's have grown into a contest about movies, we felt that the Replay category doesn't fit as well as it did in previous years. There are some great replays showcasing some impressive skills (or equally entertaining, showcasing an impressive lack of skills) but they weren't generally able to tell stories the way that entries to the other categories did.

We're also merging the Original IP category into the other categories. Our goal with that category last year was to encourage you to create new maps, models, textures, and sounds. Looking at the SFM workshop, as well as the various internet forums and download sites, it looks like that's something you're all already working on.

We're also adding a Short category this year, that is limited to videos no longer than one minute. There are a lot of you out there who may have time to create a great tight one minute piece but not the time for a five minute one, and now you have your chance to compete without feeling like you need to pad your videos out. One minute may not seem like much time, but when you have to animate all 1800 frames of it yourself, it starts to feel like plenty. Remember that the first six Meet the Team videos up through Meet The Sniper were only one and a half minutes each, and the Aperture Investment Opportunity shorts were anywhere from 45 seconds to just over a minute. We're looking forward to seeing the quality you can achieve when you're focused on a shorter experience.