§1 General Provisions

1. 1. Paweł Turaczyk is the organizer of the Indie Pearls Awards competition.
   2. The competition aims to promote the most intriguing, interesting, and best independent games from around the world.
   3. The initiative’s mission is to support independent developers and create a space for discussion about indie games.
   4. The competition runs from January 1 to December 31 of a given calendar year.
   5. The competition is divided into stages:
      1. 1. • Nominations
            • Announcement of
            • Nominations
            • Selection of Winners
            • Ceremony
   6. The organizer can be contacted at:

contact@indiepearlsawards.com
indiepearlsawards@gmail.com

§2 Award Categories

Awards are given in the following categories:

• Best Indie Game: For a title that stands out for its originality, quality of execution, and/or emotional impact.
• Best Narrative: For an exceptional storyline and its presentation.
• Best Design: For interesting mechanics, gameplay structure, and execution.
• Best Art Direction: For exceptional visuals.
• Best Music: For an outstanding soundtrack.
• Audience Award: Awarded based on online voting after the nominations are announced.

Each category contains five nominated games selected by the jury. The winners will be announced during a live YouTube broadcast.

§3 Game Eligibility Criteria

A game may be eligible for the competition if:

1. It is an indie game (see §4 for definition).
2. It was fully released in the relevant year (early access versions, demos, prologues, and re-releases are not considered).
3. It was not released by a publicly traded or joint-stock company, except in cases where the publisher meets this condition, not the developer.
4. It is on the List of Games prepared by the jury and approved by internal vote.

§4 Definition of an Indie Game

Indie games are defined as titles that:

• Do not have a production scale comparable to AAA games.
• Were created by a team of up to 30 people (not counting external companies and publishers).
• Are creative and original in terms of narrative, gameplay, or audiovisual presentation.
• May have a larger budget („premium indie”) as long as they retain their independent characteristics.
• Their sales and distribution platforms (e.g., consoles) do not affect their eligibility.

Additional provisions:

• A jury member may not vote for a game they have worked on.
• The final decision on whether a game is considered indie rests with the organizer if the jury cannot reach a consensus.

§5 Voting Procedure and Jury Work

The jury consists of gaming industry representatives, including:

• Game editors
• Publicists
• Indie game enthusiasts

Jury responsibilities:

1. Throughout the year, the jury monitors the independent gaming market and adds titles to the Game List.
2. Each jury member must familiarize themselves with all the games on the list for at least 90 minutes.
3. Narrative games that take less than five hours to complete must be finished.
4. The jury shares its opinions on internal communication channels and optionally on public channels.

Stage I: Voting – Nominations

1. After the calendar year ends (i.e., after December 31), the jury proceeds to vote.
2. In each category, a jury member selects five games that they feel are most deserving of a nomination.
3. The games with the most votes in each category advance to the finals as nominees (five titles per category).
4. If fewer than five games are selected for a given category, the jury members hold an additional decisive vote.

Stage II: Announcement of Nominations

1. The nominations are announced publicly on the website, social media, and in an announcement video.
2. Public voting for the „Audience Award” category begins.

Stage III: Voting — Selection of Winners

1. Each jury member selects one game from among the nominees in each category.
2. The game with the most votes wins in that category.
3. In the event of a tie, the jury conducts an additional decisive vote.
   If the tie persists despite the tiebreaker, it is possible to award a tie.

Stage IV. Ceremony

1. The results are announced during a live broadcast on YouTube and social media.
2. Winners will receive Indie Pearl Awards statuettes made using 3D printing technology and sent by courier.