Home » Competitions » Game Design

Game Design Details

Who says saving the world isn't fun? First, it's thrilling to make a difference, and with the power of gaming, people can have fun while fighting global issues. Blow us away! Build a full game from scratch. Make it something that is truly outside the box. Think of this competition as an important step in your budding career either as a game developer or an entrepreneur in the game business.

The 2012 Imagine Cup theme is: “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.” When coming up with game ideas, get inspired and educated by reviewing the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The competition pushes you to use your creativity and drive to make it to the United States Finals. And don't forget—you can also enter your project in the 2012 Worldwide Imagine Cup to compete for a chance to make it to the Worldwide Finals in Syndney Australia!

Okay, here's how it works:

STEP 1:	Sign in and create a team of up to four people, 16 years or older, including yourself. Oh, and here’s a tip — ask a teacher or business professional to mentor your team.
STEP 2:	Register your team for the competition. New this year, you can chose from two Game Design Tracks — Xbox/Windows and Phone. You can compete in the Fall or Spring competitions, or both! For Web (Silverlight) submissions, you can enter the Imagine Cup Worldwide competition
STEP 3:	Get to work on the storyboard for your game for Round 1. We'll review your entry, and everyone is automatically included in Round 2 of the competition.
STEP 4:	From Round 2 entries, we'll judge your game demo, play instructions, and playable game (at least one level).
STEP 5:	Twelve finalists (six teams from the fall and six from the spring) will move on to the United States Finals in the spring. (If you compete in the fall but don't make the finals, you can keep working on your project and re-enter in the spring!) These twelve finalists will compete for first place!

What you'll need to submit.

Fall/Spring Round 1

Storyboard

Fall/Spring Round 2

Playable game application, with at least one (1) playable level that illustrates the game play and features of the final Game that you would like to develop; final graphics are not required. Judges must be able to play the Game.
Game summary
Game play instructions
3–7 minute game video (no more than 200 MB in one of the following formats: .avi, .wmv, .mpeg, .mp4) that introduces each member of the team and depicts the functionality of the game’s features
The video must include the Imagine Cup Intro and Outro Clips

US Finals

Playable game
Game summary
Three (3) game screenshots
Game play instructions
3–7 minute game video (no more than 200 MB in one of the following formats: .avi, .wmv, .mpeg, .mp4) that introduces each member of the team and depicts the functionality of the game’s features

A few things you should know:

Your entry must address a social cause connected to the Imagine Cup 2012 theme: "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems"
All games must have been developed either using Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 or later, Visual Studio, HTML 4.0 or greater, or Silverlight. Be sure to check out the U.S. Imagine Cup Game Design Competition Official Rules for details.
The content of the Game must be equivalent to an Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating of "E" for Everyone. (See http://www.esrb.org for details).
All entry materials must be submitted and presented in the English language.