Developers, start your engines! Starting on October 19th, Leap Motion and IndieCade are kicking off a six-week global competition for developers to build innovative experiences for desktop, virtual reality, and beyond.

The range of possibilities is almost unimaginable, so we’ve made the competition as inclusive as possible. Using the Leap Motion Controller for desktop (or with optional VR Developer Mount) developers can build complete experiences in the categories and genres of their choice – games, musical experiments, artistic explorations, educational apps and more. Surprise us!

We’re giving away over $75,000 in prizes, including $30,000 cash, the opportunity to showcase your creation at IndieCade events in 2015, a visit to Leap Motion HQ, and lots more (full contest rules here).

The competition will consist of two tracks – Select Jam and Open Jam. The selected teams will be chosen at IndieCade, while the Open Jam is global and open to everyone. Each track will have first, second, and third-place prizes. Here are the prizes:

  • Winner Prize
      • For the Select and Open 3D Jam first-place teams, $5,000 USD and up to $2,500 in travel costs to exhibit with Leap Motion at IndieCade East 2015
      • For the Select and Open 3D Jam second-place teams, $3,000 USD and up to $2,500 USD in travel costs to exhibit with Leap Motion during IndieCade East 2015
      • For the Select and Open 3D Jam third-place teams, $1,500 USD
      • Any honorable-mention teams will receive $500 USD
  • Finalist Prize
      • Featured spot in a Leap Motion marketing campaign and (of course!) a free Leap Motion Controller for each team member. VR Developer Mounts will also be included for each team member if a VR game is produced
  • Participation Prize (for final submission)
    • Code for discount submission to IndieCade 2015 for 3D Jam Game

After we launch on October 19th, the big deadline is December 1st – that’s when final submissions are due. From there, we’ll work with the top teams to create featured campaigns on the Leap Motion App Store, just in time for the holidays. The top 20 finalists will be announced December 20th. The winners will be announced on January 10th. Here are the full details, including important milestones for Select Jam teams:

  • Oct. 19: 3D Jam begins
  • Nov. 15: Milestone: initial build or video of progress due
  • Dec. 1: Jam ends. Last day for submissions on itch.io
  • Dec. 20: Finalists announced
  • Jan. 10: Winners announced

Don’t have a controller or VR Developer Mount? Don’t worry! We’re also launching nine hardware hubs around the globe – in San Francisco, NYC, LA, Paris, Berlin, London, Shanghai, Edinburgh, and Toronto – where developers can get their hands on a controller and the VR Developer Mount. Find out more on the official forum thread.

REGISTER NOW »

We can’t wait to see what you’ll create. Be sure to touch base with your fellow jammers using the hashtag #3Djam, give us a shout @indiecade @leapmotiondev on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or join the conversation on Reddit. Check out our community forum thread to discuss your project with fellow devs and get the latest updates.

Good luck!
The Leap Motion and IndieCade Teams