In collaboration with Core Games, UpSync Consulting is proud to announce the Student Game-Dev Hackathon!

Nov. 9 - Nov. 29, 2020

THEME: "2020 THE GAME"

What would this year look like if it was a game?

Whether it's your first time building a game or you're a seasoned game-jam veteran, we're inviting you to participate in our month-long game-dev hackathon to build games in Core.  You'll take a deep dive into the world of video games using the new, powerful, and easy-to-use game creation tool and gaming platform, Core. 

Update: That's a wrap folks! View the Hackathon winners right here!

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Details:

Through November, we'll be hosting workshops and speaker series to introduce you to the Core platform for game creation and publishing. The workshops will teach you how to make a high quality 3D single or multiplayer PC game in Core that is powered by the Unreal Engine. You'll be able to submit your games up until November 29 at 11:59 PM. After judging your submissions, we'll announce the winners on Core's Twitch Channel on December 4. There is a prize pool of $10,000 for the best games created by current high school, college, or university students! 

If this sounds at all interesting to you, we urge you to sign up and get started working on your game! 

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Prizes:

For this event, we are offering a prize pool of $10,000 USD across several different competition categories. Additionally, winning creators will be given the opportunity to participate in Core's Creator Payouts Program; a program where you can be paid to create, share, and grow your talents within the Core Games platform while getting access to exclusive creator resources and swag!

**Please note that only submitted titles created using the Core platform are eligible to receive prizing. **

Automatic Entry: All Core-made entries to the hackathon will be considered for these awards:

• Grand Prize: $3000

Awarded to the submission that  demonstrates superior quality in art, design, and gameplay. All entered submissions are automatically considered for this award. 

• People's Choice Award: $2000 (1st place), $1000 (2nd place), $500 (3rd place)

Awarded to the three submissions that achieve the highest amount of user interaction during the post-jam period. For these awards, judging will be based on the amount of likes and plays each game accumulates from November 9, 2020 -  December 7, 2020. All entered submissions are automatically in consideration for this award. 

• (2x ) Core Student Innovation Award: $250

Awarded to two (2) submissions that best showcase new or previously-unseen game genres, mechanics, or systems on the Core platform. 

Entrant Categories: In addition to consideration for the above, all Core-made entries may specify one (1) award category to submit to from the following: 

• (2x) Best Art: $500

Awarded to two (2) entries that demonstrate superior art and aesthetic direction, including environment art, prop art, and user interface design. Entries wishing to be considered for this award MUST disclose this on their submission page. 

• (2x) Best Use of Theme: $500

Awarded to two (2) entries that demonstrate the most creative or polished interpretation of the hackathon theme. Entries wishing to be considered for this award MUST disclose this on their submission page. 

• (4x) Core Rising Talents Award: $250

Awarded to four (4) entries created by either junior high, high school or first-year college students who demonstrate superior quality and achievement. Entries wishing to be considered for this award MUST disclose this on their submission page. 

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Resources:

If you've never built a game before, no worries! The Core platform was built specifically to ease the learning curve it takes to build games. Here's a few helpful resources to get started making games in Core! 

Core Community Discord: For the duration of the hackathon, our Core Community Discord server will be adding new channels for discussion, finding teammates, asking questions, or showing off project progress! Join now at https://discord.gg/core-creators 

Core Academy Videos: If you're eager to learn more about the platform beforehand, our Core Academy (Playlist) on YouTube is a great tutorial series for starting development in Core!

Core Documentation: The Core Documentation Hub contains many helpful tutorials and user guides to get you familiar with the Core editor, even if you're coming from a different game development platform!

Workshops: Over the course of the hackathon, we'll be holding several workshops for you to hone your skills and add new tricks to your game development toolkit! Keep a close eye on the Community tab for this event as well as the Core Discord for more information about these sessions! 

Get some inspiration by checking out the previous submissions to Core's 'Alice in Wonderland' Competition above!

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F.A.Q:

1. Who's eligible to participate?

Anyone is eligible to participate! We want to encourage and support the efforts of student developers, so for prizing eligibility, we require that you're a currently-enrolled 13+ junior high, high school, college, or graduate student. For winning entries,  we will be asking for proof of current enrollment.

2. I've never built a game before, can I participate?

Yes! We're hosting this hackathon to introduce anyone who's interested in the world of games to actually building games. We know it's a daunting task to learn how to do so, which is why the Core platform is specifically built to help you through this learning process. On top of that, we have amazing tutorial videos linked above, as well as workshops where you'll be able to walk through the engine and ask for help in real time. 

3. Do I need a team? If I don't have a team, where can I find one?

No, you can work either solo or with a team! Our contest-specific channels on the Core Discord will run through the duration of the contest, and are specifically for helping you meet other participants and get started on great games. You can join the server at https://discord.gg/core-creators 

4. How do I submit my game?

Detailed submission instructions can be found  here.

5. How can I download Core?

You can install Core for free right here: Download Core 

6. Can I make unique looking art in Core? 

Yes! From high fantasy to dark wonderlands to modern military, we've got assets to match the mood - and thousands of primitives that can be combined and kitbashed to create a wide selection of complex and simple shapes.  Our art director's blog post describes the ideology behind it all, for those who are curious.

7. How are winners paid? 

We use Tipalti to pay winners in their local currency. 

8. Are the detailed legal rules anywhere? 

Yes, see this link right here  for our general contest rules and this link here for contest-specific information. 

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About The Event Organizers:

Core:

Core is an endless universe of games to play and worlds to explore designed by a global community of creators. It’s a radically accessible game construction kit and game-playing platform, all in one. Whether you’re interested in playing unexpected takes on shooters, RPGs, and party games, exploring massive and spectacular words with friends, or unleashing your own insane game designs on the world, Core is your portal to the multiverse. Learn more about Core, and download it here.

UpSync Berkeley:

UpSync is a nonprofit organization that works with companies to help students reach success in non-technical career development in technology companies. We partner with corporations to give students the opportunity to provide answers to the industry’s most pressing problems. They work under the mentorship of senior leaders ranging from startups to Fortune 500 Companies to provide them real-world experience while developing their skills to prepare them for success.

We not only provide exposure to prominent leaders in the industry to help students refine their skill set and have the tools to build a successful career, but also aim to inspire students and professionals to be the catalysts of the change they want to see in the world. Learn more about UpSync here.

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