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Health Games Challenge on May 21-23

 

The Albany Chapter is setting up a host location for the Health Games Challenge - a national game jam for creating games to promote healthy lifestyle in children. This event is in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture and in support of the Apps for Healthy Kids competition which was announced by Michelle Obama during GDC 2010.

 

The Health Games Challenge will be going on in 7 other cities during that weekend. Games created during the event will be on display at the sixth annual Games for Health Conference which is Boston the following weekend and are eligible for submission to the Apps for Health Kids competition.

 

Full rules for games to qualify for submission can be found on the Apps for Healthy Kids website. You can download a cleaned up version of the required USDA dataset here.

 

The format for this event will be similar to the Global Game Jam. If you have never participated in a Game Jam - this FAQ from the GGJ gives a good overview of how a game jam works and what skills are required from the participants.

 

This event is free to participate in and food will be provided free of charge. I is open to all ages but anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

 

Schedule

  • Friday 6 PM - 11 PM: Intro & Group Forming/Brainstorming.
    • Dinner will be provided.
  • Saturday 10 AM - 11 PM: Work hours all day.
    • Light Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner will be provided.
  • Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM: W0rk hours will be until 3 PM when the games must be ready to submit.
    • There will be demo and awards from 3 - 4 PM. $500 in prizes will be awarded to the top 3 games created.
    • Light Breakfast & Lunch will be provided.

The site has a computer lab with 10 PCs and another room with space for 50 participants to setup laptops and desktops. The computer lab will have game maker and other free development programs that don't require advanced 3D acceleration. The entire site has wifi access. We will also be bringing in sample health related games like Wii Fit.

 

SIGN UP: Signing up for this event is free, however we encourage pre-registration so we can get a head count and because space is limited.  To signup - please send an email to albanyigda@gmail.com with your name and 'Health Games RSVP' in the subject line.

If you have any questions about the event or are interested in volunteering you can also send an email to that address.

Where: 

We are hosting this event at the Troy Boys & Girls Club, 1700 Seventh Ave, Troy, NY 12180. The Boys & Girls Club has a free parking lot which can be entered at the back of the building along 6th Street.

When: 
2010/05/21 - 18:00 - 2010/05/23 - 13:00
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