Experimental Gameplay Workshop wants your off-the-wall prototypes

The Experimental Gameplay Workshop is calling for developers to submit their offbeat ideas for new video game prototypes, some of which will go on to be showcased at GDC 2014.

Organisers are after all manner of ideas, the more experimental the better.

Selected titles will earn a slot in the two-hour Experimental Gameplay Workshop session at GDC 2014 in San Francisco. Those selected will receive a speaker pass to the entire conference.

Among the EGW’s organisers are Robin Hunicke (Journey), Daniel Benmergui (Storyteller) and Richard Lemarchand (Uncharted).

The workshop aims to offer developers from across the industry an opportunity to show off concepts that stretch boundaries and hopefully move the industry forward.

A number of ‘experimental’ titles that have been part of the EGW in years past have gone on to become some of the most well-regarded games in the industry, including Portal, Katamari Damacy, Braid and Spelunky.

To submit an experimental prototype for this year’s workshop, you must have a playable build of your game ready for consideration. For more information on how to put your game forward for EGW 2014, visit the official submission guide.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, February 4th, 2014.

The Experimental Gameplay Workshop itself will take place on Friday, March 21th – the final day of the 2014 Game Developers Conference, which runs March 17th to 21st.

The EGW isn’t the only site for experimental games at GDC. In the run-up to last year’s conference, a number of developers and industry firms also got together to run the very first Plane Jam, a contest to see who can come up with an attractive game, physical or digital, on their flight to GDC.