January 30, 2007 -
Last year, mtvU sought to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan by holding a contest for a viral, web-based game design. The winning entry, Darfur is Dying, has been played by over a million people and has generated enormous publicity for the suffering in the region.
For 2007 mtvU is partnering with the Kaiser Family Foundation in a similar competition. Announced Thursday, the Change the Course of HIV Challenge ask college students across the United States to come up with an idea for a viral, web-based game that will help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among 15-24 year olds in the U.S. The game must also address methods of AIDS prevention and risk reduction.
Of the 2007 challenge, mtvU general manager Stephen Friedman said:
No undergrad in school today has known a world without HIV/AIDS and a new young person someplace in the world is infected every 15 seconds. Through this challenge, we hope to inspire college students to use the power of online gaming to engage their peers, re-awaken them to the magnitude of this deadly virus and effect prevention.
In addition to a prize of five grand, the winning individual or team will work with the contest sponsors to see their idea realized. $75,000 has been committed to the eventual development and marketing of the game.
Tina Hoff, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Vice President and Director of Entertainment Media Partnerships, adds:
The competition is designed to help us reach young people in a different and engaging way to help inform them about HIV/AIDS and spur action. As HIV remains the great public health challenge of this generation, it’s essential to find new and creative ways to engage and inform young people about the epidemic.
Applicants can learn more about the contest and submit their ideas right here.
-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen
Comments
Use additional features on the one's that are currently,highly rated games.
For example:-Grand Theft Auto (sanandreas)
This game,though enhanced, is said to have similarity with real life.
When CJ is out on a date or picking prostitutes there should be additional
features such as wether or not he should trust his date or if he should use a condom and if fails to do so the result would be to first show some REAL short footages of hiv victims and after the footage the player slowly dies by loosing his energy as well as mobility.
Essentially they bring a shitty channel into college cafeterias that distracts me from reading the paper in the morning while eating a quick breakfast because they insist on turning up all 5 tvs as loud as possible.
Great, I think i just got a little more cynical.
@Neoelasticman
Good luck, I sincerely hope you succeed.
MTVu (MTV has a university?) announces that they are holding a contest to come up with an online video game to teach young people about HIV/AIDS. Called the Change the Course of HIV Challenge, the competition is for the best...