Nokia has announced that it's extending the submission deadline for its Mobile Games Innovation Challenge competition until September 8th.
Entries were previously due in by yesterday, but the company wants to give more time for developers to polish their creations.
The contest has been organised by Nokia's games publishing division, in partnership with the IMG Awards. I talked to Nokia's Ari Tulla and IMGA organiser Maarten Noyons to find out more.
"It's very similar to the IMGAs, but it's a Nokia initiative," says Noyons. "They're looking for unpublished new concepts, and to stimulate the innovation in mobile games. There'll be an international jury of people, and it'll be a completely different group of people from the IMGAs."
Nokia plans to announce the winner at the end of October, at its Mobile Games Summit in Rome.
"We have made it easy as possible for developers to participate," says Tulla. "They don't need to even publish any code it can be just a great idea. And there is a contract on offer for the winning developer, where we will see what kind of a plan we can make based on their concept."
How is Nokia defining 'innovation' as part of this contest, though? Tulla is keen to stress that it's not just about game ideas using new technologies although that is something Nokia is keen to encourage but also on the business models.
"Look at how [N-Gage title] Reset Generation can be played for free on the Web," he says. "That kind of business model innovation where you look at the market and find new things is also good to see."
Tulla says that when it comes to the technology side, Nokia wants to see great game ideas, not just cool tech used for its own sake.
"We are not making the mistake of using the new technology in a funny way. It's really about focusing on the consumer, and using these new powerful devices in a way that takes mobile games to the next level. We want to turn technological innovation into real emotion, which is a hard thing to do."
Noyons encourages developers with new ideas to enter both Nokia's Mobile Games Innovation Challenge and this year's IMGAs.
"They're both looking at unpublished games, and if you have a good idea, send it in to both contests," he says. "Each jury will have a different dynamic. And if you have more than one idea, submit them both!"
You can find entry details for the Nokia Mobile Game Innovation Challenge by clicking here, and for the IMGAs by clicking here.
Interview
Contributing Editor
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)
Top Stories
News
9 hours, 46 minutes ago
Nintendo releases first official statement on "the successor to Nintendo Switch"
News
10 hours, 15 minutes ago
Microsoft closes Mighty Doom dev Alpha Dog, Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and more
News
10 hours, 31 minutes ago
Nintendo made $10.8 billion in FY24 with mobile and IP income up 81.6%
Feature
11 hours, 9 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Feature
May 7th, 2024
April 2024 mobile game charts: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile loses launch momentum and Brawl Stars’ astronomical rise
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Develop: Brighton 2024 | Europe | Jul 9th |
Mobidictum Meetup Barcelona September 2024 | Europe | Sep 1st |
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024 | Nordic | Oct 1st |