The Sonic Amateur Games Expo 2020 Guidelines and Deadlines!

• For this year making use of Sonic Fan Games HQ’s Showcase is mandatory. If you’re unsure how to use the Showcase, please refer to our guide below!
• Please do NOT send your entry to the SAGE email. If you do not use the Showcase, YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED TO SAGE.
• Likewise, all entries with less than 500MB must be uploaded directly to the site.
• Each game entry must contain a image in square format (1:1) of, at least, 500x500 for the SAGE website. This does not have to be the same as your submission's cover, just needs to be attached to the gallery.
• All game entries must be submitted by August 21st 2020, 11:59 PM CDT.
• Entries can be updated after registration and even during the event.
• ROM Hacks and Mods are allowed, given they have considerable changes from its source. Level ports, character swaps and so on, as technically impressive as they may be, won’t be accepted.
• If you have multiple game projects to submit, please follow the submission guidelines for each project and submit them separately.
• Frameworks/Engines are welcome but must follow the same guidelines as stated above.
• Entries from users currently banned from SFGHQ and/or Sonic Retro won’t be accepted.

Similar to years prior, we will be making a SAGE trailer featuring some of the games. If you’d like your submission featured in the SAGE 2020 Highlight Trailer, please send a separate email with your footage with “Trailer” along with the name of your game in the subject line. We ask that the game footage be kept to 15 seconds, 1920×1080, .mp4 format, and 60 fps. Please submit your footage to [email protected] with “Trailer” in the subject line no later than July 18 2020, 11:59 PM CDT.

• Minimum Content

Your submission needs a minimum amount of effort and substantial content. This is by no means strict. What this means is we’re trying to avoid submissions in which a fan game engine’s built-in test level was exported with only minor tweaks, or is just an empty scene with a Sonic model in it, or similar cases is not an acceptable entry.

• Not a contest

SAGE isn’t, and has never, been a contest. This means we don’t rate, judge, or award games. Do not worry about how “good” you think your submission is; all we’re looking for is a little effort and something unique to share. SAGE is not a contest, it’s a place for people of all skill levels to show off what they’ve learned, get feedback for improvement and for us to all have fun with the cool things we all create for each other. Bullying of people with legitimate submissions because they’re “not as good” is not an acceptable behavior at SAGE.

• Submission Accessibility

While we do ask you to host your project on SFGHQ this year, if for some reason you must choose an alternative hosting method (perhaps due to file size) or have your personal website featured in the event, you must make your submission easily accessible. We will not host submissions that require excessive, arbitrary or unusual limitations to access, unless there is a very justifiable reason.

• Do not hold your submission hostage

For example, do not host your submission on a forum which requires signing up for an account, or require people to join your Discord server, or force them to use an external download manager application, or built in “DRM” that makes the content difficult to access or remotely controlled. You’re submitting your game to SAGE for people to access and enjoy first and foremost, not to farm stats by holding your content hostage or to attach strings to people. You are however welcome to promote yourself, your Discord server or whatever you like with your submission, as long as it is reasonable and not restricting anything.

• Your game should be a game

No spooky stuff! If it does anything else other than being a game, such as secret data collection, any form of “remote control”, requires online checks for non-online content, observes or interacts with system processes for non-gameplay purposes or any of that sort of nonsense, it is not considered acceptable at SAGE. This is a place for people to share things they created in a friendly, safe environment, not spooky things that make someone wonder if playing your game is going to get them hacked or do something crazy. Obviously, actual malicious software or anything of that sort is a severe no-no and will be dealt with harshly.

• Please make English the primary language for your booth!

While we welcome everyone from across the globe to participate in the event, the SAGE audience primarily speaks English. Entries and booths in entirely different languages can be difficult to navigate, and as a result, we ask that your submission, as well as your booth page, are primarily in English. You are more than welcome to have multiple languages in your booth and entry!

• A note on Patreons and Donations for Fan Games

Please note that we will not accept any fan games that are accepting any donations of any kind towards their project, even if the game itself is free. This absolutely includes any sort of Patreon or related sites linked to the project or the creators/team behind it. SEGA has been kind enough to allow us to run SAGE for 20 years without issue, but fan games should always be about learning and passion, not for profit. This rule does not apply to indie or original titles submitted to SAGE.

• To reserve your time for streaming, please send an e-mail to [email protected]
• Each stream entry must have the following:
  • The name of your stream.
  • The time at which you would like to broadcast your stream.
  • What content your stream will involve.
  • A link to your current stream page.
• We will do our best to work with and around everyone’s schedules. Keep in mind we will have plans in the beginning and end of SAGE, but the rest of the slots will go quick. Make sure to get your submission in as soon as possible!
• Unless you have a very specific reason for your show to be longer, please try to keep slot reservations in the 2-3 hour range, though this is a loose restriction that is much more lax during the less active hours of the event. (Usually 1 am to 5 AMish CDT)
• Streams targeted at English-speaking audiences will take priority in our time slots.

And that should do it! Once again, if you have any questions about booths, guidelines, regulations, deadlines, or anything else, feel free to hit us up on the SFGHQ Discord!