Selected Indie 80Free Exhibit Plan for Indie Game Developers

TOKYO GAME SHOW(TGS) 2024, with the support of our sponsors, will set up "Selected Indie 80" slot where indie game developers can exhibit their games in real for free at the Indie Game Area.

Refer to the application qualifications and application conditions below, and if applicants are an individual or group that meets the conditions, please apply for your title in the "Selected Indie 80".

TGS Management Office will be screening for qualified exhibitors. The selected exhibitors will be automatically entered as candidates for the presentation event "SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2024” (SOWN2024), where game ideas will be competed. Eight titles with excellent ideas will be selected by the judge, and the developers will become SOWN finalists. Finalists will present their titles at SOWN2024 on the second day of TGS2024.The winners will receive USD3,000 for the Grand Prix.The presentation will be broadcast on the official TGS program and archived.

Indie Game Developers→screening→Selected Indie 80 (Real Exhibit-Free)→screening→SOWN Finelists

The personal information submitted for the "Selected Indie 80" will be collected by Nikkei Business Publications Inc. It will then be managed in full compliance with Privacy Statement of Nikkei Business Publications Inc. Also, the same information will be provided to respective third parties, the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) , the organizer of TOKYOI GAME SHOW 2024 and DENTSU, the co-organizers of TOKYO GAME SHOW 2024 for the purpose of the sending information (e-mail, direct mail and research questionnaire etc.). After Providing Personal Information to the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and DENTSU each will then manage your information on its own responsibility.

The information related to the title entered at the time of entry will be posted on the website, etc., and will be shared with outsourced companies that have signed confidentiality agreements, judges, and sponsor companies that support "Selected Indie 80". In addition, TGS Management Office sends e-mails, etc., on behalf of various sponsor companies (information on meetings, products/services, exhibitions/seminars/events, etc.) and requests for surveys, etc.

Please only apply if you agree to provide your registration information.
Application deadline : April 30 (Tue.) JST 17:00, 2024 (8:00 GMT).
Qualified/Unqualified result about "Selected Indie 80" : By email after mid-May
If you do not meet the conditions of this project, or if you are not selected for the "Selected Indie 80", please consider exhibiting at the "Indie Game Area" as usual (paid exhibit).

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Device Sponsor

Application Conditions and Outline for "Selected Indie 80"

Venue	Makuhari Messe (2-1, Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba-city, 261-8550 Japan)
Period	September 26 (Thu.) ～ 29 (Sun.), 2024
Screening	Selection will be conducted by TGS Management Office
Exhibition fee	Free
About Screening	①To whom wish to apply for Selected Indie 80, please check whether you meet "Group or Organization that can be exhibited" and your work submitted for entry meet "What can be exhibited" first, then click on the link below, named "Application" to fill out the web form and submit it. If you apply for more than one title for "Selected Indie 80", please apply for each one. ②After the application deadline, we are supposed to review all applications to select the titles presented for the exhibition. We will then directly inform individual or company applicants who passed the screening. ③The exhibitor passed the screening for the Selected Indie 80 are automatically applied for SOWN2024, an "Idea Contests" to choose the best game from the title exhibited at the Selected Indie 80. The presentation will be broadcast on the official TGS program and archived . Please see the details of SOWN here.
Qualification	Open to all individuals regardless of nationality, age, or occupation (students, game producers, etc.) and to all corporate bodies.
Group or Organization that can be exhibited	Only those who can exhibit at Makuhari Messe for 4 days For annual sales of the developer (individual or corporate) of the submitted title: Corporate : Annual Sales with USD500,000/JPY50 Million or less Individual : Annual Sales with USD100,000/JPY10 Million or less If the developer of the submitted title is a corporation, it must be fully independent in terms of capital.
What can be exhibited	A completely original game (Derivative content cannot be exhibited regardless of whether or not it is licensed.) Created for a platform for which an applicant has the right to develop. Works that comply with the CESA Code of Ethics and the CERO Code of Ethics ◉CESA "Global Event Compliance Policy" https://www.cesa.or.jp/compliance.html ◉About CERO https://www.cero.gr.jp/en/publics/index/3/ And do not fall under any of the following items: ①An expression that conflicts with or that may conflict with Attached Appendix 3 "Banned Expressions" of the CERO Code of Ethics (http://www.cero.gr.jp/en/publics/index/18/) is included. ②Works for which an "Z" rating category was assigned by CERO or an expression equivalent to the"Z" rating category may be included. ③Works that have already been released overseas and for which a "17+" (MATURE) rating category was assigned by an overseas examination body (e.g. ESRB). ④Works planned to be released overseas for which a "17+" (MATURE) rating category is expected to be assigned by an overseas examination body (e.g., ESRB) (excessively bloody works that cannot be regarded as being equivalent to a "13+" (TEEN) rating category.

"Selected Indie 80" Benefits

TGS2024 will provide the following services to exhibitors (For Selected Indie 80) with free of charge.

A dedicated booth will be set up in the Indie Game Area at the Makuhari Messe venue. (See the booth image)
5 exhibitor passes
Internet WiFi Access at the booth (no guaranteed bandwidth)
Posting exhibitor names on the TGS official website "Exhibitor List/Selected Indie 80" page
Exhibitor introduction pages (Japanese and English) are provided
Exhibited titles will be posted on the TGS special site installed on Steam (if titles for Steam are available)
Use of TGS Business Matching System

Application guidelines

Deadline	April 30 (Tue.) 5:00pm (JST/ 8:00am GMT), 2024
Application	Submit Indie Game "Selected Indie 80"
Schedule	<1>Qualified/Unqualified result about "Selected Indie 80" : By email after mid-May. TGS Management Office do not accept inquiries by phone. <2>SOWN finalist acceptance notification: After August 2024
Contact	TOKYO GAME SHOW Indie Game Management Office tgs.indie80maruttoworks.jp Please contact by email.

Application closed

What is "SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT(SOWN)"?

"Sense of Wonder Night (SOWN)" is an event that aims to discover game ideas that will trigger a "Sense of Wonder" (a feeling of something changing in one's world the moment one sees or hears the concept). This year will be the 17th time for the event.

The presentations will be held on September 27 (Fri.) at Makuhari Messe, and will be broadcast on the official TGS program and will also be archived. On the day of the event, the winners of the "Audience Award Grand Prix," "Audience Award Semi-Grand Prix," "Best Technological Game Award" "Best Arts Award" "Best Experimental Game Award" "Best Game Design Award" "Best Presentation Award".

Last year's "Sense of Wonder Night 2023" can be viewed on TGS Official YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSJ1ieBffIk&list=PLfuGgcBbCkUf8-GF5LTmXmMNU7wpEcRo2&index=2

Objectives of "Selected Indie 80" and
"SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT"

To introduce game with a game design and ideas that are experimental and creative, and that cannot be called conventional or traditional
To raise awareness of the great value of "Sense of Wonder" in games, which may transform the common sense of game, and lead to invigorate the game industry
To provide future opportunities for those who are developing experimental and creative games.
To create new domains in the game industry

SOWN targets games that meet the following five criteria.

❶ A game that realizes a totally new, never-seen-before gaming experience: A game that employs technologies that have not previously been used successfully, such as natural language processing, physics engines, image recognition or gesture control, to present a new kind of experience.

❷ A game that challenges the common sense of games: A game that pursues new ways of gaming expressions and changes the player's vision of the world after playing and experiencing it.

❸ A game with emergent features: A game that brings user's activities into the game world by embedding features such as AI interactions and social elements.

❹ A game that makes people want to play it immediately: A game that makes everyone thinks that they want to enjoy the new experience for themselves and feel that they want to treasure it.

❺ An amazing game: Any kind of new, eye-grabbing and impressive game!!

Acknowledgement

The "SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT" event has received a lot of inspiration from the "Experimental Gameplay Workshop" that was started at the Game Developers Conference in 2001. We would like to express our thanks to the many people who helped to make these workshops a success and to all our friends.

SOWN2024 Implementation Outline

Date	September 27 (Fri.), 2024 Japan Standard Time (time to be determined)
Venue	TGS2024 Scheduled in Makuhari Messe venue
Prize Money	Grand prix (Audience Award Grand Prix): USD 3,000 Other awards : USD 500 Audience Award Semi-Grand Prix Best Technological Game Award Best Arts Award Best Experimental Game Award Best Game Design Award Best Presentation Award
Notes: The Presentation Day	Eight finalists will be selected from the "Selected Indie 80" to present at SOWN2024. TGS Management Office will send information to the eligible companies by e-mail after August (inquiries by phone will not be accepted). Presenters are required to make their presentations within the time limit. (Simultaneous interpretation between Japanese and English will be provided.)