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Discord
App Pitches 2023
Calling all developers! Have an idea for the next hit app on Discord? Submit a pitch to us for a chance to win up to $15,000 and personal office hours from Discord’s API team. *Submissions are now closed. Winners will be announced here on November 7.
How to Pitch
Developers can submit ideas in one of five categories.
You can submit as many ideas in as many categories as you wish!
You can check out our judging criteria for specific details on what we’re looking for.
Submissions Open: Sep 26
Submissions Close: Oct 10
Winners Announced: Nov 7
Congrats to our winners!
These developers submitted the winning App Pitches of 2023!
Apps for Artists
Winner
Gregory Sarantinos and Team
Art Arena
Art Arena lets you compete, collaborate, and find job opportunities. Engage in art battles, join themed events, and enhance your skills!
IRL-Impact
Winner
Julie Taylor and Team
Coral Reef Cam
Dive into ocean wonders with Coral Reef Cam! Bring marine magic to Discord for global education and entertainment!
Learning
Winner
Maxence Rabrais and Team
Teranga
Learn basic programming logic and problem solving by creating custom Discord integrations using our no-code visual blueprint editor.
Mini-Games
Winner
Imperial Studios
Towntopia
Turn your Discord server into a Discord town! Be a mayor or a citizen, build homes, start companies, and watch your town thrive!
Wildcard
Winner
Georgiana Wright
PaperAI
PaperAI is a customizable story generator using AI to allow anyone to feel represented in their favorite stories.
Wildcard
Honorable Mention*
Tim Smith and Team
Cohezion.ai
Cohezion optimizes game data insights, starting with Discord community analysis, which includes bug reports, feedback, and suggestions.
*Special shout-out from our judges for an impressive pitch!
*Special shout-out from our judges for an impressive pitch!
Judges
Meet our judging panel!
Ann-Marie Harbour
Director of Game Development, Discord
Focused on Activities, I explore new ways to bring social experiences to Discord. I’m eager to judge and see how our devs translate their passions into apps for users. Fave fruit? Berries
Brooke Travis
Sr. Product Designer - Platform Ecosystem, Discord
As a long time Discord user, I’m excited to be a judge for App Pitches and love how apps are an integral part of my Discord experience. I’m a big fan of bok choy.
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Colin Parajon
Brand Creative & Strategy Manager, Netflix
After helping build the Hey, Netflix app, I’m excited to meet the young people of Discord who will reinvent the internet as we know it. My #1 veggie is broccoli!
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Jennifer Herrarte
Software Developer, PXL Agency
As an avid Discord user, I'm thrilled to be a judge for App Pitches, especially to review apps from underrepresented groups. Plums are my favorite fruit.
Josiah Griswold
Founder & Owner, Ticket Tool
I've developed Discord apps for 6+ years, love the DDevs community, and can't wait to see cool new ideas from App Pitches. Pineapple is my fave…on pizza.
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Prachi Gupta
VP Engineering, Discord
As an active app user (and dev!), I'm excited to judge App Pitches and see what innovative ideas participants come up with to make Discord a unique space. My favorite fruit is mango.
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Shay DeWael
Sr. Developer Advocate, Discord
My job allows me to talk to our amazing devs daily. I'm thrilled to be a part of App Pitches and see everyone showcase their creativity. Mushrooms are my favorite for aesthetics.
Prizes
First Place Winners will receive:
Up to $15,000 USD*
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Personal, individual support from members of our Discord API team
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Some
extra goodies from us
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Eternal glory and street cred
*$5,000 start up grant and a $10,000 grant for eligible completed apps (see Terms and Conditions for more information).
Categories
Submit your best pitch to one (or more) of our official categories.
Apps for artists
Artists are one of the biggest communities on Discord, from digital painters and sketch artists creating characters to physical crafters who knit and share macrame patterns. Add a little color and creativity to Discord servers by bringing artists together, sharing skills, participating in challenges, or just enjoying an afternoon doodle!
Apps for Artists can be for:
- Education (learn to draw or use color theory)
- Inspiration (look up new macrame patterns)
- Socializing (daily sketch challenges)
- Fan-oriented (fan art)
- Discovery (browse others’ work or promote your portfolio)
- Mercantile (buy and sell)
- Anything else that specifically helps artists on Discord feel a sense of personal accomplishment or community connection
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IRL Impact
Discord connects like-minded friends and communities across the globe, but it also helps schools, clubs, and neighborhoods stay organized and connected amongst themselves, forging deeper relationships by channeling focus into creating change or working toward a shared goal. We’re looking for app experiences that will help Discord servers be even more successful in making a real impact in their local IRL communities.
Apps for Local Impact can be for:
- Civic engagement (showing up to city council meetings, registering to vote, working toward a ballot initiative, educating others on the political process)
- Activism (organizing interest groups for grassroots change, non-violent protests)
- School improvements (campus-related changes, student opportunities, book availability, college application support), or anything else that specifically enables Discord users to work toward a shared goal or create change in their local community
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Mini-Games
Millions of people use Discord to play games together on console, PC, and mobile. But many people play games right within Discord, solo or with others. Navigating through a text-based dungeon, running a food stand, trading cards, or answering trivia - bite-sized games keep the entertainment online 24/7. Especially when you’re waiting for your friend to sign on and need to kill a few minutes.
Mini-Game apps can be:
- Short, casual games (hangman, minesweeper, card games)
- Continual and progressive games (accumulated scores and progress over several Discord sessions)
- Solo games (memory tests, map challenges),
- Competitive multiplayer games, collaborative multiplayer games
- Any gameplay experience you can do entirely within chat, voice, or some combination of Discord features - the more creative the better!
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Learning
Have you always wanted to learn a new language, practice a skill, or collect obscure fun facts to drop at a family gathering? We have too (and who doesn’t love feeling like their chill time was also kind of productive). Studies show that learning is much faster, easier, and more fun when you do it alongside friends. Not only will you have accountabilibuddies and goals to strive for, but you can also throw a leaderboard in there for a bit of friendly (or not) competition.
Any experience can have a little sprinkle of education on top (and how many sprinkles you use is up to you). Memory games that help build vocabulary:
- Instructional wikis
- Historical facts
- Things like how to care for a new puppy are all types of apps that could be enjoyably educational. If you’re unsure where to begin, try using your favorite game as a jumping off point for testing game knowledge and prove once and for all who’s the biggest fan.
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Wildcard (open)
If you’ve been inspired with a great app pitch that doesn’t fit perfectly with the other categories, then this is the category for you. There are no rules, guidelines, or restrictions for a wildcard pitch! If you have an interest area that’s a little niche, give it a go anyway - you might discover there are others on Discord who’ll be super grateful to meet others who are hyped about the same things as you!
Anything your heart desires - you have our blessing. Have fun!
How pitches are evaluated
Value
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App concepts should be experiences that an average Discord user in the stated group (e.g. “Artists” or “Gamers”) would find frequent or repeated use out of. A strong score would be an app that is used daily! The app should not have diminished novelty after all slash commands are used. The app should have value for admins as well as all members of a server. Premium App concepts are welcome, and Premium commands and offerings will be considered toward the overall value score; however, non-Premium commands should also demonstrate high value on their own as well.
Uniqueness
App concepts should not already be available in the App Directory. If a similar app exists, the proposed app should be a more robust offering, such as more user benefits, more languages supported, or better design.
Professionalism
Your app pitch should be polished, succinct, well-articulated, easy to follow, and crisp. Proposals should demonstrate qualities typical of a product manager, such as deep customer understanding and strong grasp of required resources and timeline.
Proposals should exemplify professional work styles and attitude, such as a developer who is ready to be hired to do contract work for a paying client. You got this!
Proposals should exemplify professional work styles and attitude, such as a developer who is ready to be hired to do contract work for a paying client. You got this!
Innovation
Think about user needs in new, creative ways! Apps pioneering new uses for existing or early stage technology (such as machine learning, A.I., or other cutting-edge solutions) will receive a higher score for their innovation strength!
Representation
We want the developers behind an app pitch to be a part of the audience the app is for. Developers from underserved identities and communities who create proposals to serve those app users will receive high scores through demonstrating how their knowledge, identity, skillset, and perspective better inform the design or functionality of the app they are proposing.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to receive prizes, the developer submitting the App Pitch must be:
At least 18 at the time of submission, or 13-18 with guardian's approval (in accordance with the terms)
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Not a legal resident of Brazil, Italy or the Canadian province of Quebec or any country subject to OFAC trade sanctions or regulations
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Not a Discord employee or judge, or of their family members, or a colleague of any of the judges
