What is the Life.Love. Game Design Challenge?
The Life.Love. Game Design Challenge is an annual game design contest focused on violence prevention. The contest is open to game designers and game developers around the world. Entries have been received from six continents. Designers and developers are invited to create their own prosocial games intended to engage, educate, and empower game players. This contest is from the award-winning Gaming Against Violence program presented by the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann's Group. The games are published, localized, and maintained by Life Love Publishing.
Why is Jennifer Ann's Group running this contest?
Violence is a public health issue and games are an effective approach at engaging young people about serious and complex issues. Jennifer Ann's Group is a non-profit organization that has been working to prevent violence since 2006 in memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente.
Although traditional outreach programs about violence prevention are available, many schools lack the funding to implement these programs and so Jennifer Ann's Group considered how to leverage technology to reach and help young people at no cost. Given the popularity of video games -- especially among young people -- Jennifer Ann's Group launched the first annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge in 2008, challenging video game designers to create prosocial games intended to prevent dating violence. In 2022, for the 15th annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge, the focus is on building resilience skills for all young people to help them be better equipped to manage stress and trauma.
In the years since launching the contest it has become increasingly clear that games are fantastic tools for engaging players in uniquely compelling ways. As compared to traditional methods: players more easily understand complex, nuanced issues; they become invested and engaged in the success of the game's outcome; and they can safely explore and experience difficult situations in context.
Every year since 2008 Jennifer Ann's Group has presented an annual game design competition encouraging developers to create games about selected themes intended to help young people live happier, healthier lives. Prosocial games help engage, educate, and empower young people around the world.
What else can you tell me about the games that have come from this program?
Games produced since 2008: |
More than sixty |
Game themes and topics: |
bystander awareness, consent, culture, gaslighting, healthy relationships, media literacy, power & control dynamics, teen dating violence warning signs |
Countries represented: |
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, India, Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Vanuatu |
Published marketplaces (past and present): |
Amazon App Store; Amazon Echo; Apple App Store; Blackberry World; Google Play; HTML5; Steam; Windows Phone |
Select published games: |
ADRIFT (consent) | Quinn Crossley and Andrew Connell | USA
Culture Overlord (culture, healthy relationships, media literacy) | Lucas Vially | France
Grace's Diary (teen dating violence, bystander awareness) | GP Touch | Thailand
HONEYMOON (healthy relationships) | Sandra Lara Castillo | England
Lamplight Hollow (gaslighting, bystander awareness) | Luciano Sgarbi | England
Rispek Danis (consent, healthy relationships) | Jared Sain | USA
Sea of Roses (culture, healthy relationships) | Crescent Tea Studios | Portugal
Stuck in a Dark Place (consent) | Another Kind | Belgium
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Awards and honors: |
Grace's Diary, Community Pillar Grant, Penny Arcade (2010)
Gaming Against Violence, Trailblazer, Break the Cycle (2014)
Jennifer Ann's Group, Media Mover Award finalist, TAG Digital Media & Entertainment Industry (2016)
Rispek Danis, Games for Change Awards finalist, "Most Significant Impact" (2019)
Lamplight Hollow, Jungle Jam, Dreamhack Anaheim (2020)
Jennifer Ann's Group, Torchbearer, DeKalb County, GA (2020)
Sea of Roses, GEE Educational Games Award finalist (2021)
Culture Overlord, GEE Educational Games Award finalist (2021)
Gaming Against Violence, Top 50 Nonprofit Program, Classy Awards finalist (2022)
Culture Overlord, Games for Change Awards finalist, "Best Learning Game" (2022)
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Select Media Coverage: |
The Hollywood Reporter: "Video Games Against Violence...",
AJC: "Video games created to change...",
France 24: "Consent and Sex on Screen in Post #MeToo Era",
Fast Company: "Games to Educate Teens About Dating Violence"
El Paso Herald Post: "El Paso ISD Collaborates...",
Huffington Post: "Call of Moral Duty - Making Games for Change",
Gamasutra: "Best of Indie Games",
VentureBeat: "Games Doing Good...",
Polygon: "Video games really can prevent violence"
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How do I get started?
Game pitches were due by July 5, 2022. Register for our newsletter to be notified about our next game design challenge.
Who is allowed to enter?
Anybody age 13+ at the time of entry is eligible to enter (void where prohibited). Officers, employees, and immediate family members of Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing are prohibited from entering the game design challenge.
Can I enter more than once?
Sorry, but no. Make sure and enter your best game because you only get one chance to enter each year!
What are the technical requirements?
Round One of the contest only requires submitting the text of your proposed game narrative. If you are selected as a Finalist you will receive all necessary information for Round Two, including any technical requirements for your final game entry. There are some notes in the Resilience Game Submission section that has some technical suggestions and limitations.
Our intention is to be as flexible and supportive of as many different formats as possible but we do need to be able to reliably judge the games and, in the event that it is a winning game, be able to: modify the game; make the game available through various channels; possibly translate the game into other languages; and also to provide support for game players. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask us.
What are the content requirements?
As with all of our game design challenges no violent content is permitted in the game entries. Games should be age-appropriate for those ages 11 and up.
How long do I have to enter?
Registration was from June 21, 2022 through July 5, 2022. The Finalists were notified on July 9, 2022 and had until August 21, 2022 to submit their finished game.
Do you accept group entries?
Yes - please just identify a primary contact person when you Register on the Round One submission form.
Where can I learn more about resilience?
Visit the About Resilience section for information and resources about resilience.
Judging and Selection Process
What criteria will be used for judging?
Round One of the contest will be judged based on the creativity of your proposed game pitch and the potential for that idea to be developed into a compelling video game which will help players: be more aware of the importance of resilience; be better informed about resilience building skills; have strategies to strengthen skills associated with resilience; and feel more empowered to overcome stress and trauma through resilience.
Judging details and scoring rubric for Round Two were distributed to all Finalists at the time that they were notified of their Finalist status.