日前，摩托罗拉基金会及创新一代组织（Innovation Generation program）宣布支持爱荷华州立大学（Iowa State University ，简称ISU）原创游戏大赛，并为该活动赞助5万美元奖金，鼓励高校学生自创电子游戏、教育培训应用软件等活动。

Motorola Foundation logo

据悉，该活动由ISU综合艺术工作室副教授安森.科尔（Anson Call），以及计算机科学讲师克里斯.约翰逊（Chris Johnson）组织举办，要求学生三人一组联合参赛，每组分工明确，均由一名设计师、一名程序员和一名业务经理组成。

每个参赛小组都必须完成三项游戏创作，即严肃游戏（即传统意义上不以娱乐为主要目的游戏，例如《模拟城市》、《虚拟领导》等作品）、个人计算机/掌机游戏、手机游戏。这三种游戏的单项比赛，分别由一名专业的游戏开发者担任评委并为作品打分，单项游戏获胜小组将赢得1万美元奖金。

为帮助这些尚无成熟经验的学生顺利完成比赛任务，该活动的另一赞助者Caspian Learning公司将为参赛者提供先进的3D游戏设计工具Thinking Worlds，参赛者在活动期间可以通过Thinkingworlds官方网站下载该设计工具的30天免费试用版，不过这些参赛学生还可以通过与副教授安森.科尔联系再获优惠，免费延期使用该设计工具。

3D games design tool---- thinkingworlds

Caspian Learning公司的市场总监李.拉什沃思（Lee Rushworth）表示，“这项比赛对游戏设计新手来说是一次很好的实践机会，我们很荣幸自己的软件可以助这些学生一臂之力……”

大赛组织者安森.科尔则表示，“现在已经有不少高校学生利用课余时间自己动手设计游戏，不为学分，不为学术荣誉，纯粹是出于自己的兴趣，我们应该给这些学生一些创新的机会，创新一代所提供的赞助正是一个绝好的渠道。”

据了解，该活动始于9月8日，并将于IUS明年春季学期末宣布竞赛结果，并进行作品公开展览。

September 13, 2010 – The Motorola Foundation, in association with the Innovation Generation program, has awarded a $50,000 grant to Iowa State University to fund a games development competition that encourages students to create video games and educational training applications.

Headed by ISU associate professor of integrated studio arts Anson Call and computer science lecturer Chris Johnson, the contest requires students to form teams of three members. Each team must include a designer, a programmer, and a business manager.

Each team will battle it out in one of three categories: serious games, PC/console games, and mobile games. The winning entries in each category, as judged by a guest professional game developer,will receive a top prize of $10,000.

To help support those students who want to get involved but perhaps don’t have the technical skills necessary, the company behind the award-winning Thinking Worlds rapid 3D games design tool,Caspian Learning, has announced their support for the competition by offering students at ISU free, extended trial licences to Thinking Worlds for the duration of the competition.

Caspian Learning’s Marketing Executive, Lee Rushworth said “the competition is a fantastic opportunity for budding game developers to get some real experience in games design with some real rewards and if our software can help more students get involved in this then we are absolutely delighted with that.”

Anson Call, Professor of Integrated Studio Arts and organizer of the competition said “Students are already doing game design in their spare time and not earning academic credit for it. The interest is there. We just need to provide the opportunity and the Innovation Generation grant is a perfect way to do that.”

The competition officially began on September 8th and final judging and a public exhibition of the finalists’ games will be held at the end of ISU’s spring semester.Anyone can download a free 30 day trial of Thinking Worlds from http://www.thinkingworlds.com but students of the ISU taking part in the competition are asked to make contact with Professor Call to claim their free, extended licence.（source：I-Newswire）

声明：本文中文为游戏邦翻译，英文原文采用I-Newswire，转载请保留版权信息，谢谢！