While Iowa State University is home to anti-videogame researchers Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile, the school is also about to launch a videogame development competition for its students.
Armed with a $50,000 grant from the Motorola Foundation, faculty members Anson Call, an Associate Professor of Integrated Studio Arts, and Chris Johnson, a Lecturer in Computer Science, are running the competition, which will feature teams of three compete in a trio of categories: serious games, PC/console games and mobile games. The makeup of teams will consist of one designer, one programmer and one business major.
The Ames Tribune reports that $40,000 of the grant money will be used for nine prizes, with each of three first prize winners receiving $10,000, $2,000 allotted for second place finishers and $1,000 for third. The competition launches in September and will conclude with judging, by a professional game developer, taking place at the end of the spring semester.
Call commented on the creation of teams with three diverse members, saying, “We want to make students realize that game-making is a team experience.”
