Introduction
The video games mental health charity Safe In Our World is launching the first Mental Health Game Dev Champions event, aimed at empowering gamers and developers to create intimate and personal video games based on real lived-in experiences.
Game Dev Champions is a worldwide event, encouraging entries from a variety of ages, skills, and diverse backgrounds.
Games are an amazing vehicle to express the difficult and often emotional mental health journey, that people face almost on a daily basis. Through this initiative, and by sharing these experiences, it ensures the creators that their voice is being heard; and for the players, to sample the journey that many people go through, more than often silently.
The event will be judged by an esteemed panel, and winners will receive a selection of prizes provided by our sponsors, that will help gamers develop a career or deeper interest in video game development.
Who is Mental Health Game Dev Champions 2024 for?
The Mental Health Game Dev Champions 2024 is a worldwide event, encouraging entries from a variety of ages, skills, and diverse backgrounds. Solo entries are allowed, or team up with friends for a group category. The only restriction is that you are over 18, and you are aspiring developers, not an existing development team.
When and what is happening?
You have until the 1st June to register for the Game Dev Champions. At that point the event officially starts and no further entries will be allowed. The development window is open for 5 months, and at the end of October will close to allow a month for judging. A special live show is planned to announce the winners, in December, hosted by Julia Hardy and Doug Cockle.
Theme for the Game Dev Champions 2024
As we know now, the charity was launched on the eve of a pandemic which was pretty good timing to offer support for gamers. There were many dark days during that time and the true impact will ever be known, BUT if there is one legacy that covid has left, its that perhaps people are now talking more about their mental health. So, that is the theme of this competition, to continue this vital conversation and we encourage people to express what they went through and how they felt by making a game that means something to them.
The Categories
The Judges and Hosts
The judging panel will include esteemed industry folk, game developers, indie publishers, and clinicians. This list is non-comprehensive!
During December the Safe In Our World Mental Health Game Dev Championship 2024 Winners will be announced via a Live Stream hosted by the renowned Julia Hardy and Doug Cockle
The Prizes
The Rules
- All games must be produced within the time frame of the challenge, games made before 1st June are not permitted
- A 'Small Team' must be a team of people who do NOT normally work together on projects, and must be a maximum of 6 people.
- The Game Dev challenge is for people just starting their carrier in the games industry, to qualify you must not work within the industry or have only done so for 2 years or less.
- If any member of your team is over 24, you are no longer eligible for the 18-24 category and must instead submit for 25+.
- The Safe In Our World standard guidelines on conduct apply to all aspects of the competition
- The Games may be created using any games engine you wish as long as it is accessible to the judges.
- Games using AI generated art or music are not permitted.
- All Games must include the theme in some way, make it special to your journey
- All games must be complete and in a full working order
- You may enter multiple games if you wish, as long as they are all created during the given time.
- Submissions must include the engine project file as well as the executable file.
More comprehensive rules will be updated shortly.
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