NEW YORK CITY

THE GAMES FOR CHANGE CHALLENGE INVITES STUDENTS TO MAKE VIDEO GAMES ABOUT REAL-WORLD ISSUES IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITIES.

The Games for Change Student Challenge is a citywide competition that encourages NYC middle and high school students to create games about issues impacting their communities. Winning games are celebrated at an awards ceremony where students receive recognition, awesome prizes and career-oriented experiential opportunities.
DESIGN GAMES ABOUT CONSERVATION, MEDIA LITERACY & KINDNESS
PARTICIPATE IN GAME JAMS & MEET PRO GAME DESIGNERS
ENGAGE WITH CIVIC ISSUES & BUILD 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
LEARN THE POWER OF GAME-BASED LEARNING

2018 STUDENT CHALLENGE THEMES IN NYC

NYC students are invited to create digital games about four Student Challenge themes: News Literacy, Kindness & Empathy, Wildlife Conservation: Pollinators and Connected Cities. Select a topic to access the theme page and dive into a library of multimedia, information and resources relating to the theme topic.

NewsLiteracy
NEWS LITERACY
Kindness
KINDNESS & EMPATHY
Monarch_Butterfly_low
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION: POLLINATORS
ConnectedCities_Cover
CONNECTED CITIES

CHALLENGE TIMELINE

JULY 2017

TEACHER RECRUITMENT BEGINS

Application form open for NYC teachers to apply for professional development in game design.

AUGUST 2017

SELECTION OF TEACHERS

20 teachers selected for program. Teachers will be notified last week of August.

SEPTEMBER 2017

TEACHER TRAINING & CHALLENGE LAUNCH

Teachers receive two days of training on September 14–15, 2017. 20-week game design courses launch in schools.

FEBRUARY 2018

SUBMISSION PORTAL OPENS

Students have two months to submit their games to the competition (Deadline of May 14th, 2018 @ 11:59 PM ET).

MAY 2018

CHALLENGE DEADLINE & JURY PROCESS

Submissions evaluated by jury on gameplay, creativity, and content.

JUNE 2018

AWARDS CEREMONY & PRIZES

Prizes awarded to winning students at ceremony and public arcade of students’ games.

PARTNERS

ANCHOR PARTNER

GAMES FOR CHANGE

PROGRAM PARTNERS

MOUSE
iop
BIGGLESWORTH FAMILY FOUNDATION
NEA
UNITY EDUCATION
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE
NYC DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
GENERAL MOTORS

THEME PARTNERS

NWF_Logo
iThrive Logo & Tagline Large
NOMA
LOGO-Common_Sense_Education-RGB
BTW_Logo_Stacked

20 SCHOOLS ACROSS NYC RUNNING GAME DESIGN COURSES

Teachers from all five NYC boroughs were selected to receive training to run game design courses at their schools. Students in the courses are learning how to use Scratch and Unity through the Mouse Serious Game Design curriculum. Professional game designers provide mentorship to students and conduct classroom visits throughout the school year.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PARTNER?

Games for Change is expanding the Challenge program for 2018 – 2019 and seeking both national and local partnerships. For information on how to get involved, email [email protected].