Kodu Cup Video Game Competition for Kids
Microsoft Corp. has announced the full availability of Microsoft Kodu Game Lab for the PC and the launch of the Microsoft Kodu Cup 2011 competition.
Kodu Cup invites students, ages 9 to 17, to design, build and submit their own video games using the Kodu Game Lab software— no previous programming experience necessary!
Starting today, March 16, kids can enter the competition, read the official rules and learn more at http://koducup.us.
Showing its increasing interest in the emerging gaming market, Microsoft has also announced Dream.Build.Play 2011 Challenge, a contest sponsored by Microsoft to encourage independent game developers to create fun and innovative games using XNA Game Studio. (Read: Dream Build Play Challenge from Microsoft)
Microsoft Kodu Game Lab, available at http://fuse.microsoft.com/kodu, is a free game design tool that enables kids to build their own video games for the PC within minutes by dragging and dropping images and simple icons, rather than using complex programming languages.
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The tool builds real-world skills by encouraging kids to analyze a problem and develop a solution. They do this by building virtual cartoon characters and the worlds in which those characters live.
The full release of Kodu Game Lab for the PC includes new features, such as an interactive system that guides users through each step of making games — creating terrain, adding characters and programming them.
[ Also Read: Saving Kids from the Dangers of Social Networks ] [ Also Read: Katie Catches Blacky in Peace Forest ]It also includes a community feature that allows users to share games with other PC-based Kodu Game Lab users.
Here are some details about Kodu Cup competition:
- Submissions will be accepted through May 10, with winners announced in late May.
- The competition will be broken into two age groups — 9 to 12 years old and 13 to 17 years old — with a grand prize winner and first and second runners-up from each group.
- The grand prize winners receive $5,000 for themselves and their respective schools, as well as a trip to the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals in New York.
- All entrants under the age of 13 must have a parent or guardian’s consent to participate in the competition.
- Quick tips on gaming are available at http://GetGameSmart.com.
Photo courtesy: Microsoft
