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Game on for the Purple Mash Games Design Competition 2022

Jan. 25, 2022

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This year, Safer Internet Day takes place on Tuesday 8th February with the theme All Fun and Games? Exploring Respect and Relationships Online. This got us thinking. What better way is there to learn about online safety than designing and sharing your very own online computer game, all about online safety? And so, to coincide with Safer Internet Day 2022 we’ve teamed up with our partners at Childnet and Amazon Web Services to bring you the Purple Mash Games Design Competition 2022.

In Brief:

Objective: Teams of 6 children design a 2-level game about online safety using 2DIY 3D.

Ages: The competition is aimed at 9–11-year-olds, but younger children are welcome to enter.

Prizes: Prizes include 6 Amazon Fire tablets, a 1-year subscription to Purple Mash, 2Simple goodies and more.

First Round: Schools submit only one game to their regional Display Board. Display Boards are open to submissions from 31st January to 5pm GMT on 1st April. Regional winners will be contacted by the beginning of May.

Grand Final: Regional winners pitch their games to a panel of industry experts and gamers. Takes place during the second half of the Summer Term in England (mid-June) at Amazon Web Services’ London office. Those unable to attend will be able to dial in or submit video entries.

Overview

The Purple Mash Games Design Competition will give children the opportunity to explore games creation in a safe environment using Purple Mash games design tool 2DIY 3D as well as creating their own graphics and music using complementary tools such as 2Beat and 2Paint.

With a Safer Internet Day theme, children will not only be learning about online safety themselves, but they will be educating others about the topic as well. Working in groups of up to six, the competition will also help them develop vital life skills such as teamwork and communication as they work together to interpret the brief, develop their idea, and transform it into a reality.

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Create your own characters or use one of the templates, like the charming red ghost here.

Winners of regional heats spanning the UK and the rest of the world will be invited to pitch their games to a panel of industry experts, either online or in-person at Amazon Web Services’ offices in London.

Prizes

There are a variety of prizes on offer, including:

  • 6 Amazon Fire HD 10 tablets for the winning school
  • A free 1-year extension to Purple Mash
  • Swag bags packed full of goodies from Amazon and 2Simple

How it works

There are two rounds, regional heats and a Grand Final event.

The first round:

Opens: 31st January

Closes: 1st April at 5pm GMT

Winners notified: by the beginning of May

Teams of six children from across the world should work together to design a computer game using Purple Mash game design tool 2DIY 3D. The game should be based around the theme of online safety and have two levels. We’ve aimed the competition at 9–11-year-olds, but younger children are welcome to enter.

Once design teams are happy with their game, they should submit it to their teacher for approval.

Schools can only submit one game each, but we encourage you to involve as many children as possible. They might be Digital Leaders, members of a code club, or any children with an interest in digital technology. You might like to form multiple design teams, then hold an internal competition within your school to choose the best game, which you can then submit to your regional Display Board.

To help you get the most out of the competition, we’re hosting a live webinar on Tuesday 1st February at 12:30pm covering all the key aspects of designing games using Purple Mash. The recording will be made available shortly afterwards in the Games Design Competition area, where you can also find a video guide to game design. Click the button to register for the webinar.

The Grand Final:

We're working hard to confirm a date but expect the The Grand Final will take place around mid-June.

After playing all your games, the judges will choose one winner from each region. These winning teams will all be invited to Amazon HQ in London, where they will pitch their game to a panel of industry experts and gamers, covering who their game is aimed at, how they would develop their game further and how they would market it to their target audience. It will then be up to the judges to decide who will be crowned Purple Mash Games Design Champion 2022.

Schools that are invited to the Grand Final will be subsidised £300 each for travel to the event. Any teams who are unable to travel to London on the day will be able to pitch their game via video conference or video recording if they prefer.

The Games Design Competition area

To support children in the design of their games we’ve created a series of resources for the teams to use, as well as a simple slideshow to talk through the games design process on whiteboards. These can all be found in the Classroom Resources folder within the Games Design Competition area. This is where you can also find everything else you need to know about the competition.

The Competition area also includes example games, the Display Boards where you can submit your school’s entry as well as play other games, help videos and user guides.

Try Purple Mash to enter

This competition requires a subscription to Purple Mash to enter. If you're not a current subscriber and would like to take part, find out more about Purple Mash and register for a free trial here. Once registered, you'll be able to access all of the tools and resources needed to enter the competition. Who knows? You may even win!

Happy gaming and good luck!

The terms and conditions

  • The competition is open for entries from 31st January - 1st April 2022. Display Boards will close to new entries at 5pm (GMT) on 1st April 2022.
  • Each team must consist of a maximum of 6 children.
  • Each game must include no more than 2 levels, but children can plan for more should they be chosen as finalists.
  • Each school should only submit one entry. This should be submitted to the Display Board for their region, which can be found using the Region Finder.
  • New entries can only be submitted during the first round, which runs from 31st January to 1st April 2022.
  • The first round closes at 5pm (GMT) on 1st April 2022 and we will not accept any new entries after the closing time.
  • Winners from each region will be notified by the 1st May 2022 via email, when they will be invited to attend the Grand Final event in London to pitch their game to a panel of experts. These pitches can be in-person, via video call, or via pre-recorded video.
  • The date of the Grand Final is yet to be finalised, but we expect it to take place during the second half of the Summer term in England (mid-June)
  • Finalists will be subsidised travel of up to £300 per school to be used to attend the Grand Final event in London. This will be rewarded after we receive receipts for travel.
  • The panel of experts will choose the winner and announce it on the day. Their decision is final.
  • Prizes for the winning team's school include 6 Amazon Fire HD tablets and a 1-year extension to their Purple Mash licence which will be awarded as soon as possible after the Grand Final.
  • Prizes for the winning team include goody bags, which include prizes from Amazon and 2Simple. These will be awarded on the day of the Grand Final.
  • If you have any questions, please email Megan@2simple.co.za