Official Contest Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
1. OFFICAL RULES. Please read these Official Rules before entering the BANNER SAGA GODSTONE CONTEST (the “Contest”). By submitting an entry, entrants (hereafter referred to as “Contestants”) acknowledge that you (a) are eligible to enter the Contest, (b) have read and agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and (c) agree to our judges decisions related to the Contest as described in these Official Rules.
2. ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is only open to legal residents of the United States (including the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), New Zealand, and the member countries of the European Union (excluding the Netherlands), who are at least as old as the minimum age of majority in the jurisdiction from which they enter the Contest, and only to those who have Internet access prior to the Contest start date (the “Contestants”).
This Contest is sponsored by Versus Evil LLC, 815 Brazos Street, Suite 900, Austin, TX 78701 (“Sponsor”). Employees, officers, directors, agents, and representatives of the Sponsor, Stoic LLC, or the legal, promotion, and/or advertising agencies of the aforementioned entities (hereafter “Contest Entities”), including their immediate family members (defined as spouse, mother, father, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, grandparents and in-laws, regardless of where they live) and those living in their household (whether or not related), and each person or entity connected with the production or administration of the Contest, and each parent company, affiliate, subsidiary, agent and representative of any aforementioned entity are not eligible. This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and void where prohibited.
3. TIMING: ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED DURING THE CONTEST SUBMISSION PERIOD. CONTESTANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE APPLICABLE CONTEST ENTRY TIMES IN THEIR RESPECTIVE TIME ZONES.
The Contest begins on September 1, 2014, at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”) and ends on October 11, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. PT (the “Contest Period”), and consists of the following two phases:
Begin
End
Submission Period
September 1, 2014, 12:01 a.m.PT
September 26, 201411: 59 p.m. PT
Judging Period
September 27, 2014 12:01 a.m.PT
October 11, 2014, 11: 59 PM PT
4. HOW TO ENTER: Limit one (1) submission per natural person per email address. Only online Submissions are accepted. Each Contestant must have a user account and in good standing, or create an account at http://www.stoicstudio.com/godstone. Creating an account is free and subject to Stoic LLC’s terms of use and privacy policy located at http://www.stoicstudio.com/privacy-policy.
What we’re looking for: Godstones are large stones engraved with ancient carvings within The Banner Saga (the “Game”) universe, and each Godstone has meaning. For our next chapter in The Banner Saga, we’re looking for unique ideas, mythical histories, and designs for new Godstones, and we’d like your help. We’re hoping you’ll put your Viking hats (or horns) on and help us craft unique Godstones by participating in the Contest!
Here’s how to enter:
a) During the Submission Period, visit http://www.stoicstudio.com/godstone (the “Website”) and, according to the submission guidelines section contained in these rules (the “Submission Guidelines”), complete the essay question as detailed below (“Short Essay”).
b) Your Short Essay can be no greater than 250 words and must describe how your Godstone is contextually applicable to The Banner Saga story and fictitious universe. Minimally, your Short Essay should include and accomplish all of the following:
It should be creative and unique.
It should tell us whether your Godstone is based on an animal (whether fictitious or real), an element (such as stone, earth, wind, fire, water, etc.), and should describe the Godstone’s color and other attributes.
It should describe the fictitious god upon which your Godstone is based. The god you describe should be different from any existing Banner Saga god, but it should also be contextually consistent and logical in The Banner Saga’s world.
c) Once you have completed your Short Essay, submit it during the Submission Period by following the on-screen instructions at http://www.stoicstudio.com/godstone and after entering all required contact information. You may need to create a user account if you do not have one.
d) All Submissions must be in English, and all contact information must be current, truthful, and valid. Submissions must be received no later than September 26, 201411: 59 p.m. PT according to the Sponsor’s internal server time. No other methods of entry will be accepted, including submission by email. All Submissions received by the end of the Submission Period that are complete and otherwise qualified will be eligible to win. The Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Contestant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or violating these Official Rules. Persons discovered entering under several names will be disqualified. Any submission of robotic, automatic, or programmed entries, or any entries submitted through other unapproved methods are void. Contest Entities reserve the right to disqualify false entries or entries suspected of being false or fraudulent. All Submissions become the sole property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. The Sponsor is not responsible for incomplete, late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, void, corrupted, garbled, illegible, or unintelligible submissions and those Submissions are void and will not be accepted; nor is Sponsor responsible for any problems, bugs or malfunctions Contestants may encounter when seeking to enter their Submissions. Contestants are solely responsible for compliance with the Stoic LLC terms and conditions.
e) By uploading your Submission, you agree that your Submission (including the Short Essay) conforms to the Submission Guidelines, Stoic’s Privacy Policy, and that Contest Entities, in their sole discretion, may remove your Submission and disqualify you from the Contest if they believe your Submission fails to conform to these Rules.
5. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Your answers can be as creative as you like within the following guidelines:
a) Your suggestion for a Banner Saga Godstone must be based on your experience of the Game, either through playing the free multiplayer game ‘Factions’, or from trailers, screenshots, gameplay clips, or in the Game itself;
b) Your answers must be inspired by your original ideas and work, and you may not copy or describe any preexisting object or monolith or existing geographic location.
c) Bear in mind that your Submission will be used to complete a final Godstone, which will be designed by Stoic LLC.
d) Your Submission can be funny, silly, amusing, or serious as long as it meets the criteria set out in these Guidelines.
e) Your Submission may, but does not have to, feature existing images and characters from the Game (“Game Content”). All Game Content, and intellectual property rights therein, are owned by Stoic LLC or its licensors and expressly reserved by Stoic LLC.
f) Your Short Essay answer may include fewer than 250 words, but it may not be any longer than 250 words.
g) Your Short Essay may not refer to or rely on any trademark, logo, or trade name of any third party other than Stoic LLC;
h) Short Essay may not feature any third-party toy, action figure, character, actor, celebrity or public figure;
i) Your Short Essay and Submission must not contain material that is unlawful or in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where the Submission and Short Essay is created.
j) Your Short Essay may not depict or describe any nudity, animal or plant cruelty, harmful or illegal activity or substances, or offensive, racist, obscene subject matter as determined in our sole discretion. No Submission shall portray Contest Entities or The Banner Saga in a negative light. Please, no personal attacks on anyone.
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES: All Submissions must be original works of authorship, created by the Contestant who submits the entry. So while we want you to be creative, you need to be careful. You may not copy or otherwise plagiarize any source, nor may your Submission include third-party copyrighted material – such as artwork, photographs, movie or TV screenshots, or tattoo designs – without the copyright holder’s permission. By entering, you warrant that your Submission does not infringe any third party’s rights, and that you have obtained all necessary permissions from all relevant third parties to submit the Submission. Similarly, the Contestant must secure – and each Selected Contestant will be required to submit – a written release from any participant featured on any advertising or promotional material or in a New Game, providing that the Sponsor and/or Contest Entities are granted the right to use the participant’s likeness under the terms and conditions of these Official Rules. Sponsor may request evidence of such permissions at any time during or after the Contest Submission Period.
If, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, your Submission constitutes copyright infringement, the Submission will be disqualified. The Contestant agrees to indemnify the Sponsor against any and all claims of infringement from any third party for any use by the Sponsor of the design Submission. The Contestants may not be represented under any contract that would limit or impair the Sponsor’s ability to use the Contestant’s Submission in any media form; nor can the Contestant be subjected to or under any merchandising agreement or under any other contractual relationship, including but not limited to guild and/or union memberships, that may prohibit them from participating fully in this Contest, or from allowing Contest Entities to use royalty-free, the Submission worldwide in all media in perpetuity.
We reserve the right to exclude any Submission that we believe doesn’t meet the above criteria, at our sole discretion.
6. WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION: Judging will be completed in one (1) round during the Judging Period. All entries will be prescreened to insure the entries have correctly met the Submission Guidelines and meet with the Sponsor’s general standards and practices prior to any judging (“Qualified Submissions”). During the Judging Period, a panel of qualified judges will conduct judging of all Qualified Submissions received during the Contest Period. Each Qualified Submission will be judged on the following criteria, on a 100-point scale:
Creativity and Originality (35 points)
Relevance to Theme (35 points)
Writing Quality (20 points)
Technical Merit (10 points)
Three (3) Submissions with the highest score will be selected as Selected Contestants (“Selected Contestants”). In the event of a tie, the tying submissions will be rescored in order to determine a Selected Contestant.
Any communication or information transmitted to the Sponsor and/or the Website by electronic mail or otherwise is and will be treated as non-confidential and nonproprietary. Proof of submitting any Submission is not considered proof of delivery to or receipt of such Submission. Furthermore, the Sponsor shall have no liability for any Submission that is lost, intercepted or not received by the Sponsor. Sponsor not responsible for delays in finalizing winners.
Contest Entities reserve the right to distribute or display any Submissions in any media and on any website, including on its and affiliated websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube pages. The Contestants understand that users of these sites may share, embed, comment on (including negatively) and re-post their Submissions during and after the Contest Period. Contest Entities are not responsible for such third-party activities.
The name, profile, and the Short Essay answer of each Selected Contestants may be announced and posted on the Contest Entities’ website(s) and social media pages, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and in all other media and media forms to be determined solely at the Sponsor’s and Contest Entities’ discretion.
The Selected Contestants will be notified by email (“Notification”). The Selected Contestants will be required to respond to the Notification by email or phone (as directed) within 48 hours of attempted Notification. The failure to respond timely to the Notification may result in forfeiture of the prize (as later described herein); and, in such case, the Sponsor may choose the next highest scoring Submission from among the remaining eligible submissions (up to three times). The Selected Contestants may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (“Declaration”) and any other documents the Sponsor or the Sponsor’s representative may require within 48 hours of receipt of the Declaration. Failure to timely return a signed Declaration or other required documents or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable will result in prize forfeiture. If a Selected Contestant cannot be reached, is unable or unwilling to accept the prize (or any portion of the prize) or is disqualified for any reason, the prize may be awarded to a runner-up, if any, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Only three (3) alternate Selected Contestants may be determined, after which the applicable prize will remain un-awarded. Acceptance of any prize shall constitute and signify each Selected Contestant’s agreement and consent that the Sponsor and its designees may use the Selected Contestant’s name, city, state, likeness, Submission, and/or prize information in connection with the Contest and the Game for promotional, advertising or other purposes, worldwide, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including the internet, without limitation and without further payment, notification, permission or other consideration, except where prohibited by law. The Sponsor will not make multiple attempts to contact Selected Contestants. Assumed notification by caller ID and any subsequent returned calls do not constitute a winner. Winner selection is subject to verification, including verification of the Selected Contestant’s eligibility.
7. PRIZES. Up to three (3) prizes will be awarded, one to each of the Selected Contestants. Selected Contestants will have their Godstone included in the next Banner Saga game (the “New Game”). Contest Entities are not obligated to use any Selected Contestant’s Submission or the content of the Short Essay in the New Game or on any other promotional product.
Each Selected Contestant will have the opportunity to meet, via electronic communication (telephone or conference call or other form of electronic communication), members of the Stoic Banner Saga development team for the purpose of including the Selected Contestant’s Godstone into the New Game. Contest Entities are not obligated to use a Selected Contestant’s proposals nor the content of a Selected Entity’s Short Essay in the New Game or on any other promotional product.
Each Selected Contestant will be included in the credit section of the New Game.
Additionally, each Selected Contestant’s Godstone may also be featured on the Contest Entities’ websites, in Contest Entities’ sole discretion.
The odds of winning a prize are subject to the total number of eligible Contestants.
Each prize for each Selected Contestant is valued at USD $0, which includes the inclusion of the Selected Contestant’s Godstone and other Short Essay content into the New Game, and including the opportunity of each Selected Contestant to meet via electronic communications the Banner Saga team.
For all prizes, all federal, state and local taxes and other expenses in connection with the prize are the sole responsibility of the Selected Contestant. Selected Contestants are solely responsible for any other unspecified expenses related to prize. All activities related to the prize, are at the Selected Contestants’ own risk and subject to whatever restrictions are imposed by the entities that govern activities. Selected Contestants not entitled to any surplus between actual retail value of the prize and stated ARV and any difference between stated ARV and actual value of the prize will not be awarded. No substitution, transfer, or cash redemption of prize is allowed, provided however that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value should the advertised prize become unavailable for any reason, including, without limitation, in the event the Sponsor or Contest Entities determine in their sole discretion to not commercially release the New Game. If a prize is awarded but goes unclaimed or is forfeited by recipient, the prize will be forfeited and, at Sponsor’s discretion, an alternate Selected Contestant will be selected. Each Selected Contestant will meet with the Banner Saga team at a time mutually convenient to both parties within a commercially reasonable time after the conclusion of the Contest (exact timing subject to change time schedules and availability of the Banner Saga team members). Game credits will be included and contingent upon the commercial release of the New Game. Limit: One (1) prize per person per household.
8. LICENSE: As a condition of receiving any prize, and unless prohibited by applicable law, all Contestants hereby grant the Sponsor and Contest Entities an irrevocable worldwide license to use, distribute, copy, create derivative works from, and publicly display the Submission and Short Essay content in any and all media throughout the world, in perpetuity, for any purpose whatsoever (including without limitation in a screensaver, in a book and at trade shows), without any additional compensation, the term of which shall be the entire life of the copyright. Should any Contestant be unwilling or otherwise unable to enter into license, or provide permissions and or releases or otherwise cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, Contestants with the next highest score will be chosen from the remaining entries until one who is able to meet all requirements can be selected. Contestants may not sell, assign or transfer any of their rights in their Submissions under these Official Rules. Contestants will not be paid for their Submissions, Short Essay, Godstone concept, or for granting Sponsor any of these rights.
At any time before or after the Contest Period, the Sponsor and Contest Entities may post, share or print Submissions, Short Essay content, or a Contestant’s Godstone concept in any order or sequence, with or without commentary, in its sole discretion. While Contest Entities will seek to post Submissions in the form as provided at the time of entry, all Contestants agree that due to technical or other limitations, Submissions may be altered from their original form and that Sponsor reserves the right to edit or modify the Submission in its sole discretion, including adding its logo or other trademarks. Selected Contestants further understand and agree that their Submission, Short Essay, and Godstone concept, or any portion thereof, may be used, edited, and/or modified by Sponsor at any time before or after the end of the Contest Period for promotional purposes, including without limitation, for the purpose of promoting the New Game, other Contest Entities’ games, and Contest Entities’ offerings.
9. CONDITIONS. Contest is subject to these Official Rules. By participating, Contestants agree: (i) to be bound by these complete Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which shall be final and binding; and (ii) to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules, except where prohibited by law. By accepting a prize, Selected Contestants agree to release Contest Entities, including their parent, subsidiary and affiliated entities together with their respective directors, employees, officers, licensees, licensors and agents, and respective advertising and promotion entities and any person or entity associated with the production, judging, or administration of the Contest (collectively, the “Releasees”) from any and all liability, loss or damage arising from or in connection with awarding, receipt and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any prize-related activities.
Releasees shall not be liable for: (i) telephone system, telephone or computer hardware, software or other technical or computer malfunctions, lost connections, disconnections, delays or transmission errors; (ii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry or other materials; (iii) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind, including death caused by the prize or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of a prize, or from participation in the Contest; or (iv) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Contest. Sponsor disclaims any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participating in, or accessing or downloading information in connection with this Contest. The Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or suspend the Contest, in its sole discretion, should it receive fewer than 30 entries, or receive no entries that have a judged score above 60 points, or due to circumstances beyond its control, including natural disasters. Submissions will not be returned and may be destroyed.
By participating, each Contestant further agrees that Contest Entities, their shareholders, agents and representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors are not responsible or liable for, and shall be released and held harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with or resulting from participation in the Contest, or acceptance of the prize, including without limitation, claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL CONTESTANTS BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN AWARDS FOR, AND CONTESTANTS HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO CLAIM, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES, OTHER THAN CONTESTANT’S ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES (E.G. COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTERING THE CONTEST). CONTESTANTS FURTHER WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE DAMAGES MULTIPLED OR INCREASED.
The Sponsor is not responsible and shall not be held liable, and your entry may be disqualified and may not be considered for any prize, should your Submission be removed from a social media or other hosting site for any reason (including without limitation DMCA take-down), or should your Submission be unavailable for any reason during the Judging Period.
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Contest should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control, corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. Sponsor may prohibit a Contestant from participating in the Contest or winning prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest in any way by cheating, hacking, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives. Use of automated entry devices or programs is prohibited. Any attempts to access the site, enter the Contest or increase votes or views via a bot script, device or brute-force attack will result in disqualification, including that IP address becoming ineligible for the entire Contest. Caution: any attempt to deliberately damage or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be in violation of criminal and civil laws and will result in disqualification from participation in the Contest. Should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek remedies and damages (including attorney fees) to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal prosecution.
The laws of the United States and the laws of the State of Texas govern the Contest and all claims must be resolved in the United States. As a condition of participating in the Contest, Contestants agree, to the extent permitted by law, that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action out of or in connection with this Contest, will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in Travis County, Texas.
For residents of the EU: The limitations on damages provisions in the foregoing statements in this Section do not apply to claims against Sponsor their representatives and its vicarious agents for damages because of personal injury or death, and to claims for damages in case of intent or gross negligence by Sponsor, its representatives or vicarious agents. In such circumstances, the release will apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.
10. PUBLICITY. Contest Entities reserve the right to use the Submissions, Short Essay, and a Contestant’s Godstone concepts, and any portion thereof, for publicity purposes prior to, during, or after the Contest end date, in any media, and to use the name, likeness, hometown name, of any Contestant, including all or part of their Submission throughout the world, in perpetuity, without any compensation or prior review unless specifically prohibited by law. Contestants will not be paid for their Submissions or for granting Sponsor any of these rights. Should any Selected Contestant be unwilling or otherwise unable to provide permissions and or releases or otherwise cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, the Selected Contestant with the next highest score will be chosen from the remaining entries until one who is able to meet all requirements can be selected.
11. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. Except as prohibited by applicable law and as a condition of participating in this Contest, each Contestant hereby irrevocably and perpetually waives any right s/he may have to a trial by jury in respect of any litigation directly or indirectly arising out of, under or in connection with this contest, any document or agreement entered into in connection herewith, any prize available in connection herewith, and any of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.
12. PRIVACY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION. Nothing in these Official Rules shall be deemed to exclude or restrict any of the Selected Contestants or any Contestant’s statutory rights as a consumer. Participation in the Contest implies authorization to collect, use and disclose the Contestant’s personal information including the right to transfer personal data to the United States for purposes of administration of the Contest and prize fulfillment. All information submitted to the Sponsor as part of this Contest will be treated in accordance with Stoic’s privacy policy, available at http://www.stoicstudio.com/privacy-policy. Personal information includes name, address, email address, birthday, country of residence, and will be used to: (a) contact potential Selected Contestants; and (b) if a Contestant selects to receive additional information from the Contest’s entry form, to send additional information to that Contestant; and (c) to publicly announce the winners of the Contest. The recipient of your personal data is the Sponsor and Contest Entities.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOUR INFORMATION WILL NOT BE STORED OR PROCESSED ON SERVERS LOCATED IN THE EUROPEAN UNION.
For Residents of France Only: Pursuant to French law pertaining to data collection and processing, you have a right of access to, modification and withdrawal of your personal data. You also have the right of opposition to the data collection, under certain circumstances. To exercise such right, you may write
an e-mail to: http://*protected email*. The data controller is the Sponsor. The recipient of your personal data is the Sponsor. Your data will be transferred outside the European Union.
For Residents of Germany Only: Pursuant to the German Federal Data Protection Act, you have a right to information about the personal data stored about you, including its origin, recipient or categories of recipients of the data and the purpose of the storage. In addition, you have the right of correction and, in certain circumstances, to disabling and deletion of your data and, in certain circumstances, the right to object to the collection, processing and use of your personal data. To exercise such right, you may write to: http://*protected email*.
All Contestants have the right to access, withdraw, and correct their personal data. Contestants may request such action by sending a message with the request, subject line “THE BANNER SAGA GODSTONE CONTEST to http://*protected email*.
14. OFFICIAL RULES AND WINNERS LIST. For a copy of these Official Rules or of the winner(s), send your request in a self-addressed, stamped envelope (WA and VT residents need not affix return postage) to: Versus Evil LLC, 815 Brazos Street, Suite 900, Austin, TX 78701. In the alternative, winners’ lists may be obtained by accessing the URL http://www.stoicstudio.com/godstone. Your request must be received within 90 days of the end of the Contest.
© 2014 Versus Evil. All Rights Reserved.