April 21, 2005: Here Comes The Judge!

Wednesday night I got to do something fun and interesting. I had the privilege of acting as a judge for the STS Game Court at the University of Texas. Four teams competed. The goals were:

Create a game concept that defies the violent and sexist themes that stereotype many popular digital games. The winning team will be the one that presents a digital game concept that incorporates blue-sky thinking, changes the rules of play, is fun, and yet, is socially redeeming (e.g. involves art, education, exercise, music, humor, relationships, etc.).

Your presentation should include the following: Introduction, Background, Description, Key Features, Genre, Platform(s), Concept Art, Market Analysis, Technical Analysis, Legal Analysis, Resource Analysis, Cost and Revenue Projections. But exclude gratuitous violence, sex, sexual stereotypes, nudity, and profanity."

I was somewhat cynical about the odds of anyone coming up with something that was playable, marketable, and sufficiently socially redeeming and politically correct. I was pleasantly surprised, and had a great time listening to the presentations and talking to the other judges, drawn from the Austin game community and the UT faculty.
-- Steve Jackson

Share this post!