Since 2013, the PSF Games Program have been critically examining the medium of games through a series of exhibitions, installations, performances, talks and panels. Our previous programming explored subjects such as disorienting design, the "empathy games" debate, and the indie revival of side-scroller games.

In previous years we've hosted game creators from around the world, veterans and new artists alike, and presented works by the artists such as Robert Yang, Tatiana Vilela dos Santos, Molleindustria, 11Bit, Jane Friedhoff, Adam Atomic, Polytron, One Life Remains, Robin Arnott, Fullbright, Mario Von Rickenbach, Thatgamecompany, Bennet Foddy, Cardboard Computer, and many more.

15 May 2018:
Applications Deadline

1 June 2018:
Winners Announcement

July 2018:
1st review talk

August 2018:
2nd review talk

1 October 2018:
Final Build Delivery

31 October 2018:
Print Screen Festival

Absolutely anyone can apply to for the commission, regardless of age, country of residence, released works or industry experience.

That being said, ability to deliver your proposed game on schedule will greatly affect our consideration, and supporting this consideration will greatly improve your application.

Students are invited to apply. We may require to speak to one of your professors or instructors for evaluation.

Teams of any size are invited to apply. Every project will be regarded as one application, regardless of team size. Please include your team name, as well as the names of all team members, in the application document.

Selected applicants will be required to create a small game in accordance with the festival theme and our technical criteria, to be finished at least one month before the festival.

Each selected applicant will receive a commission grant of 1000 USD upon delivery of the final build.

The scope and breadth of the game is up to you, but rest assured that we do not expect big games. The grant we offer should support a small experiment, should allow you some time to try out an expressive interaction you wouldn't have time or resources for otherwise. Some of you may be willing or able to make something bigger and that is great (as long as you can assure us that you will deliver on time), but size is not an issue for us; a concise, tiny game is good enough. See more below under TECHNICAL.

The games may be connected to a larger body of work by you, but the commissioned project MUST be a new game.

Works should be in dialog with the theme (details below) as well as adhere to our technical ruleset for “Gallery Games”: fixed camera angle, simple controls, short interaction loop, etc. More details below.

During July and August, winners will conduct short online review talks with the PSF curatorial team, present their WIP and discuss the development. These talks will be conducted in English, online via standard video chat apps, and should take ~15 minutes each. They are aimed at helping the artists reach both the production goal (by making sure they begin the process early) and their own design goals (by discussing theme, aesthetics, etc.)  They will also help the PSF curatorial team prepare for presenting your work in the best way possible.

The works will be included in our 2018 exhibition, as well as in a digital collection we will release after the festival (PC and Mac, and perhaps mobile as well).

PSF will retain the rights to re-exhibit the games in physical exhibitions affiliated with PSF as well as digital distribution rights (as part of the digital collection).

The artists will retain the rights to exhibit their game in any other physical exhibition after the festival ends (with credit to PSF as commissioner, when appropriate), as well as retain all rights to further develop the IP, including commercial rights.

The general theme for PSF 2018 is Fakes and Fabrications.

We're looking for games that explore lies and deceit; the game designer as a mis-leader, the player as an impostor or the game-world as an illusion.

To some extent, we have a special interest in works that exceed formalism: looking at *specific* cultures and politics of truthlessness and post-truth and how they can be expressed in digital form; we'd love to see works that examine local and regional expressions of trickery. That being said, any inspired ideas around the themes of of lies, fabulation and bluffing are invited.

This is our 2018 vision of "Gallery-oriented Games":

SIMPLICITY: Games that do not require high-level game literacy and skill in order to be understood and played (even if skill can somewhat add to the experience); Games that have a simple control scheme.

IMMEDIACY: short interaction loops, games that convey meaning even when played for a minute or two; fixed camera angle, an experience that won't be disorienting for a viewer who stumbles into the gallery mid-playthrough.

LOOP: the game resets when left idle, when a dedicated button is pressed, or when the end is reached. The start screen should be thoughtfully designed and convey meaning, as this will be what gallery attendees see when they approach it.

INSTALLATION-FRIENDLY: games should work on PC, with standard input devices (gamepad / mouse / keyboard). Special input devices can be considered but should have a standard alternative (this is also important for the online digital collection).

email our games curator: shalev dot email at gmail dot com
Copy this title to the subject line: "Regarding the PSF Games 2018 Submission"

Please note that it may take us some time to reply to all the questions - don't wait for us to begin creating your submission!