Students challenged to develop video games

Wanted: American students in grades five to eight to take on the challenge of designing video games that use science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM, to create a new way to learn.

Prizes include laptops, game design books, and other tools to support their skill development. Cash prizes and educational software will also be awarded to the winning students' sponsoring organization with additional prize money for underserved communities.

The first STEM competition, which includes another category for professional game developers, is being sponsored by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media in partnership with AMD Foundation, Entertainment Software Association and Microsoft. Founding outreach partners include the American Library Association, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The International Game Developers Association and BrainPOP. The

An announcement of the contest Thursday got a nudge from the White House. "Our success as a nation depends on strengthening America's role as the world's engine of discovery and innovation," said President Barack Obama. "I applaud partners in the National STEM Video Game Challenge for lending their resources, expertise, and their enthusiasm to the task of strengthening America's leadership in the 21st century by improving education in science, technology, engineering and math."

The National STEM Video Game Challenge features two competitions:

1. The youth prize aims to engage middle school students, grades 5 through 8, in STEM learning by challenging them to design original video games. The Challenge will be open to students from any U.S. school with a special emphasis on reaching students in underserved urban and rural communities. The total prize pool will be $50,000.

The winners will receive AMD-based laptops, game design books, and other tools to support their skill development. Cash prizes and educational software will also be awarded to the winning students' sponsoring organization with additional prize money for underserved communities.

2. The developer prize challenges emerging and experienced game developers to design original games for students from prekindergarten through fourth grade, that teach key concepts of science, technology, engineering and math. The challenge will feature a special prize for developers actively enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in the United States.

Special emphasis will be placed on technologies that have high potential to reach underserved communities, such as games built for basic mobile phones that address urgent educational needs among at-risk youth. Developers will be competing for a grand prize of $50,000. Two prizes of $25,000 each will be awarded to the top entry submitted on the collegiate level, as well as the top entry for reaching underserved communities.

The National STEM Video Game Challenge will accept entries from Oct. 12, through Jan. 5, 2011. Complete guidelines and details on how to enter are available at www.cooneycenterprizes.org and at www.stemchallenge.org/youthprize.

The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Expo, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.