NEW YORK (December 1, 2022) — Today, Games for Change (G4C) announced the themes and partners for the 2022-2023 G4C Student Challenge, a national game design program and competition that bridges students’ passion for video games with civic engagement and digital storytelling. Now in its 8th year, the Student Challenge reaches thousands of middle and high school students across the country through hands-on, virtual game design courses, game jams, and a national game design competition.
The G4C Student Challenge empowers students to see themselves as agents of change in the world and create games focused on timely social impact themes. There are a number of ways for students to participate in the program, through school-based programs and partnerships, downloadable curriculum available for free online, and special events including game jams and professional development for educators.
Games for Change is thrilled to partner with cause-focused organizations for this year’s themes focused on climate change, building peace, and positive play. Themes and partners for the 2022-2023 program include:
- Climate Action Heroes: Games that propose ways to address climate change and actions each of us can take every day at home, in school, at work and in our community.
- Give Peace a Chance (in partnership with the Nobel Peace Center): Games that explore how Nobel Peace Laureates advocated for a more peaceful and just world where students can demonstrate ways they, too, can build peace, end conflict, and stand up for human rights.
- Positive Play: Designing Inclusive Virtual Worlds (in partnership with Hasbro): For the first time, the Student Challenge will include a theme based on a G4C initiative, Raising Good Gamers. To create a positive culture within online gaming, students will design games to promote diverse, safe, and inclusive gaming communities.
“At Hasbro, we use our business as a force for good, and we are incredibly proud to support Games for Change in their mission to promote the ability of games and immersive media to drive social good,” said Kathrin Belliveau, Chief Purpose Officer, Hasbro. “It’s important to empower the next generation of gamers with the tools they need to foster inclusive communities where participants can connect, share ideas, support one another and create lasting friendships.”
Last year, almost 8,000 students participated in Student Challenge programming, a 14% increase from the year before. G4C received almost 1,000 games and written entries, and saw submissions from 93 cities in 23 states. G4C is excited to expand the Challenge this year with a focus on reaching new schools, students, and cities across the country.
To support educators in bringing the Student Challenge to their schools, G4C provides 7 hours of professional development for participating public middle and high school educators nationwide, with a focus on diverse and historically underserved schools. Students from anywhere in the U.S. are invited to enter the competition and participate in the program through the free game design curriculum available on the Student Challenge website, which includes modules for students, teachers, museum educators, and parents. Students who enter the national competition have a chance to win prizes — including a $10,000 scholarship generously provided by Take-Two Interactive.
Students can also win special awards, including the brand new Character Design Award, in partnership with FunPlus. Students with an interest in art and design will be challenged to design a game character with support from G4C and character design industry experts.
"We are honored to be a part of the incredible work that Games for Change is spearheading,'' said Chris Petrovic, Chief Business Officer at FunPlus. “We can't wait to see the creativity and talent among the students who will participate in the FunPlus Character Design Award, and we're convinced that the Student Challenge as a whole will give many the inspiration and opportunity to pursue a future career in the video game industry."
Students also have an opportunity to win the Game Accessibility Award. In partnership with AbleGamers, this award highlights students who introduce one or more accessibility features to their game experience for players with different visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive learning abilities.
“In my 18 years of pushing accessibility forward, AbleGamers went from begging for a single feature in a game to working with all the top studios to craft accessible player experiences,” said AbleGamers Executive Director and Founder Mark Barlet. “G4C is pushing the next generation to think early and often about their disabled peers. I know the lessons learned through the Game Accessibility Challenge will live on and pay dividends for people with disabilities in the future.”
As G4C’s flagship learning program, the Student Challenge is part of a growing set of G4C Learn offerings for educators and youth that uses games and game design to promote computer science, STEAM skills, and social-emotional learning. Other G4C Learn programs include Game Plan, a program that empowers museum educators to bring game design into youth programs, and Game Exchange, a virtual international exchange program that reimagines cross-cultural connections with game design.
“Every year, the Games for Change Student Challenge shows thousands of students that it’s possible to have fun, develop in-demand skills, and make the world a better place at the same time,” said Arana Shapiro, Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer at Games for Change. “This is a one-of-a-kind learning program with real-world impact, and we’re so grateful for all of the partners, educators, and families that come together to empower students and make this impact possible.”
The 2022-2023 G4C Student Challenge is generously funded by: General Motors, Take-Two Interactive, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, Verizon, Bigglesworth Family Foundation, Bill Recker, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Best Buy, the Grable Foundation, Unity Charitable Fund, Richard King Mellon Foundation and Omidyar Network. Partners of the Student Challenge include: Hasbro, the Nobel Peace Center, AbleGamers, the New York Videogame Critics Circle, Unity, and FunPlus.
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About Games For Change
Since 2004, Games For Change (G4C) has empowered game creators and innovators to
drive real-world change — using games and immersive media to help people learn, improve
their communities, and make the world a better place. G4C partners with technology and gaming companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies to run world-class events, public arcades, design challenges, and youth programs. G4C supports a global community of game developers working on using games to tackle real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education.
About Hasbro
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global branded entertainment leader whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and the exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers engaging brand experiences for global audiences through gaming, consumer products and entertainment, with a portfolio of iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands.
Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50. For more information, visit www.corporate.hasbro.com.
About Nobel Peace Center
The Nobel Peace Center is the public face of the Nobel Peace Prize, situated in Oslo, Norway. It tells the stories of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates and their work through exhibitions, educational programmes, guided tours and digital content. The center is also a meeting place for topical events and conferences related to peace, dialogue, and human rights. Since 1901 the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 102 times, to 134 different laureates: 91 men, 18 women and 25 organizations. The Nobel Peace Center is located in an old train station from 1872, close to the Oslo City Hall and overlooking the harbour.
About FunPlus
FunPlus is a world-class, independent game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with offices and operations in China, Japan, Singapore, Spain, and the United States. Founded in 2010, FunPlus is an organization that fosters top creative talent with more than 2,000 team members worldwide. Ranked #1 Global Publisher in Strategy Games (2019 & 2020), FunPlus is home to KingsGroup studio who develops hugely popular mobile strategy titles including State of Survival, King of Avalon and Guns of Glory. FunPlus has also positioned itself in the RPG puzzle genre with Call of Antia. In 2021 FunPlus acquired Imagendary Studios working on its first original AAA development. The company is also the founder of FPX（FunPlus Phoenix), one of the world's most successful esports organizations, and the 2019 League of Legends World Champions.
About AbleGamers
The AbleGamers Charity is a 501(c)3 charity that continually strives to create opportunities to enable play in order to foster inclusive communities, combat social isolation, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Through received support and donations, AbleGamers provides disabled gamers with assistive technologies (including their Expansion Pack program) that allow those with limited real-world mobility to experience what it is like to walk, run, climb, drive and even fly – in a virtual world. AbleGamers additionally advises developers and publishers on how to best incorporate accessibility options so that their video game titles may reach and appeal to the widest and most diverse audience possible. To read AbleGamers articles, or to find out how your support or donations can help them positively impact an even greater number of individuals with disabilities, please visit www.ablegamers.org.