Games For Health CompetitionWorld Wide WebMay 2007Deadline: April 1, 2007
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is hosting a nationwide contest to promote the development of computer and videogames that improve peoples health and help them get the care they need.
The Games for Health Competition will award prizes totaling $30,000 to entrants who develop game concepts or prototypes aimed at improving aspects of health and health care.
RWJF, the nations largest philanthropy dedicated to health and health care, is the lead competition sponsor. Support for Games for Health and this contest is provided through RWJFs Pioneer Portfolio, which supports innovative projects that may lead to breakthrough improvements in health and health care. Additional prize support has been provided by HopeLab, Inc., a nonprofit organization that combines rigorous research with innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illnesses.
The contest will accept entries until April 1, 2007, and winners will be announced in May 2007. Three prizes will be awarded one for a working prototype and two for storyboard/design treatments.
Entrants in the storyboard/treatment competition will design a game that identifies a specific problem faced by health care providers (such as training staff to counsel family members or raising awareness about bone marrow donations) or address a significant health issue and offer potential strategies for addressing the problem. The design documents should be three to five pages long and include three to four relevant visuals.
Participants in the prototype competition will develop working prototypes of a health-related game in a playable form. The games may be about any health or healthcare topic and could help with training, health education, disease management, prevention or building general awareness and understanding.
The competition is open to people over the age of 18, including independent and collegiate developers, casual gamers and organizations that are not commercial game publishers. Health and health care organizations are invited to enter, including schools of public health, health care non-profits and hospitals. Entrants are encouraged to involve representatives from a health care organization, patient population or other health-related audiences that would benefit from the game it designs in the concept development and execution.
For more information about the Games for Health Competition, visit www.gamesforhealth.org/competition.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
