Submit your digital or tabletop games starting March 15 View this email in your browser Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Visit the BostonFIG website Get ready to submit your game to BostonFIG 2017! Time to start preparing... Submissions to the BostonFIG Digital & Tabletop Showcases open on March 15 . Our showcases are a great opportunity to bring together designers and their audiences. Both showcases have three goals: To provide a space where independent designers can share their talent and showcase their games to the general public

To bring together game designers and their audience and increase awareness of each other and the game design process

To encourage and inspire designers to create indie games We look forward to seeing what interesting and innovative games you are creating! Stay tuned for more information on submission guidelines, categories, etc. The date for BostonFIG 2017 will be announced soon! Changes to the Digital Showcase

Like game development itself, the digital showcase submission and curation effort is an iterative process. Last year we learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t, specifically by listening to developers, curators, and attendees about their experience.



The 2017 Digital Showcase submission process will follow in the same footsteps as last year while integrating changes and tweaks to address the pain points pointed out by the community.



More information about specific submission categories, detailed timelines, and our curation process will be coming soon, but we wanted to share with you the first three moves we have already made to make 2017 even better!

Submissions open March 15th, Longer timeline to allow more time for developers to submit and curators to play games This year we are opening submissions March 15th, with notification on submission guidelines + categories announced mid to late February. The big difference between this year and last year is that our timeline will be a bit longer, allowing developers more information and lead up time to submit their game, while providing curators more time to play games. The other benefit is that our notifications of acceptance to developers will be at least 6 weeks before the festival date, giving more time for dev’s to arrange travel and confirm commitment.

Keeping the curation category system, but changing/simplifying the categories and offering more direct support to submitting developers Last year we shook up our curation process, deviating from the traditional “throw your hat in the ring and see what happens” model to a more focused and intentionally curated process. Like any new process there is always room to improve, but after hearing directly from developers from last year, we feel that this format is a step in the right direction. That said, we will be revising the submission categories for better clarity and focus, as well as being better about helping developers navigate the category system.

Removing the restriction on submitting games this year that were accepted and shown in previous years (with some caveats) We are also making a significant change to eligibility on previous BostonFIG games. The old rule was if your game was if your game was in a previous BostonFIG showcase, you aren’t allowed to submit that same game again. But game development is an iterative process! A game from 2 years ago today might be completely different, have new mechanics, tighter game loops, etc. Therefore, the problem shouldn’t be to hold back developers from submitting, but instead better trust our curation process to make sure the digital showcase allows for diversity in developer representation AND the best games possible. That’s why this year, if you have previously been in a BostonFIG showcase, feel free to submit your game again. We only ask that if you won an award at a previous BostonFIG OR have been in the showcase 2 years in a row (and still want to represent at BostonFIG) you reach out to our sales team to inquire about purchasing a sponsor table.



Stay tuned for more information coming soon!



On a more personal note, Mary Yovina will be stepping up as the Vice President of Digital Curation for BostonFIG 2017. Click here to see a farewell note from Jordan Pailthorpe, our former VP of Digital Curation.