Healthy Game Idea Contest
As a big gaming enthusiast and hobbyist game designer, I was excited to learn that I would be managing the Humana Games for Health “InsertCoin” game idea competition. That project title is a lot to swallow! The reality is easier. Basically, our goal was to create a contest that would inform gamers and students about our games for health initiative and get them to think about wellness and exercise in the context of digital entertainment. I should also mention that the top three winners would receive cash prizes and a chance to have their idea prototyped for commercialization.
Quick background story on the contest name, “InsertCoin.” The team and I love 8-bit gaming and classic arcades. From that, we took a combination of words to come up with the contest name. The word “insert” came from inserting a coin or token into an arcade machine, which represents inserting or submitting your idea. “Coin” is receiving cash or prize money, in this case some major coinage for the winning ideas.
[Insert sound of record being stopped.] And now back to the story. To promote the contest, we leveraged our
- InsertCoin Video Shoot
very own Naimul Huq to create three distinct and creative promotional videos. The common thread running through all of the videos was classic 8-bit gaming. My favorite piece was “Link, The Later Years,” in which Link from Zelda goes to work for corporate America. This particular video was picked up by many popular blogging and gaming sites, including joystiq.com and ign.com’s “Best of the Web,” to name a few. You should check ‘em out.
The judges and I were all very impressed with the caliber of concepts that were submitted to the contest. Ben Sawyer, co-founder of Games for Health Project, was our guest judge for the contest. He put it clearly when he said, “The winners are representative of three major themes that came out among all the entrants. Those were: we want some dance games that aren’t as metaphorical, we want some active games with more storyline, and we want games that we can take out into the world not just in our living room.”
Without further ado, here are the winners of the InsertCoin contest. Shelly Warmuth from Green Bay, Wis., won first place with her concept called “Dance Class,” where players are taught to dance by virtual dance instructors. John Green from Brooklyn, N.Y., placed second with his concept “Camp Awesome,” a summer camp simulator where players get the full action-packed experience of a summer camp with all the food and fun. Finally, Kevin Ray from Salt Lake City placed third with his “Jungle Mayhem” concept of social-based gaming meets activity on consoles. Again, congrats to our winners and all those who took the time to enter the contest. Internally, we are now bringing these concepts to our meetings and identifying which of these we might be able to prototype for future products.
About Humana Games for Health
Video games can be more than just fun and entertaining – they can serve as a catalyst to healthier lifestyles. The HG4H team – part of Humana’s Innovation Center – creates ways for people of all ages to reach new levels of health and well-being through the use of game technology. The games can be used to combat obesity, provide entertaining physical therapy and battle age-related physical and mental decline. http://www.humanagames.com/
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