Students will be able to login to the submission system using their username and password (created at registration) using a button in the banner bar of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge website.
To be eligible for judging, all games must be submitted by 5.00pm on Friday 19 August, 2016, unless prior arrangements have been made.
Game Design Documents (GDD)
All games entered into the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge need to be accompanied by a Game Design Document (GDD). The GDD outlines the development process undertaken by students when creating their game, and is a vital piece of evidence that documents how the final game came to be.
Games submitted without an accompanying GDD will not be given consideration by the judges.
Classification Guidelines
Please ensure that any game submitted for the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge complies with the Classification Guidelines for this year's competition.
Download Classification Guidelines
Judging Criteria
Games and Game Design Documents submitted for judging in this year's Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will be judged according to the assessment rubrics provided in the official judging criteria.
Rules
Before proceeding with your game submission, remember to ensure that your game adheres to the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge Rules
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is a national competition open to all Australian students in Years 5-12.
The Challenge is completely free to enter, and represents a great opportunity for upper primary and secondary students to engage in learning about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in a fun and challenging way.
Students are encouraged to work collaboratively to design and build an original video game based on STEM concepts or themes. Entries can be from individuals or from teams of up to four.
Entrants have an opportunity to earn recognition and great prizes for themselves and their school. The games will be played by industry professionals as part of the judging and the winners will be recognised at a national level, and by international bodies within the global gaming industry.
If you’re an Australian student, in Years 5-12, and you’ve got a great idea for a game – join the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge and share it with the world!
The first Australian STEM Video Game Challenge was held in 2014. The development of the Challenge was inspired by the National STEM Video Game Challenge which has been run annually in the United States since 2010 and now attracts approximately 4000 entries annually.
The ACER Foundation would like to recognise the generous assistance and encouragement of the Joan Ganz Cooney Centre at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media, which have made the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge possible.
Head over to the Previous Challenges page to check out the previous winners and their games.
Our game development resource library contains a variety of videos, websites and tutorials to inspire young game designers from concept and planning all the way through to final production.
The submission period for the 2016 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge officially opens at 9.00am on Sunday 7 August 2016. Students that have registered to enter this year's competition will be able to log in (using their username and password) and submit their game for judging any time after the submission period opens, until the submission period ends at 5.00pm on Friday 19 August 2016.
We're excited to announce that specialist educators in games, animation and visual effects, the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) have officially signed on as major partner of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge! AIE have years of experience in producing top quality game designers, developers and digital artists and will bring a large network of resources and support to the students and teachers participating in the competition.
GameMaker Studio: Professional - FREE for STEM VGC schools
The team at Yoyo Games have made the education version of GameMaker Studio: Professional free for schools participating in the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge.
To claim this offer, students and teachers on behalf of schools need to visit the YoYo Games contact page, and request the software, stating that they are using it to build games for the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge.
To help educators begin using game development in the classroom, the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge team have launched Teacher Learning Pack V1.0 - an introductory resource designed to inform and equip educators with game development basics.
Dowload Teacher Learning Pack V1.0
Dowload Teacher Learning Pack V1.1*
*Please note you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for this version
Help promote the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge in your classroom or school community!
Download A4 Flyer Download A3 Poster
Teacher Perspective: Mill Park Secondary College
Jaclyn Curnow, a Year 7 teacher of Information Technology at Mill Park Secondary College, shares some insights about her students and learning through game development
Read More
Insights previous winners: Josh and Liam
Participating in the inaugural Australian STEM Video Game Challenge has opened doors into the game industry for two resourceful students.
Read More
Learning through game design - insights from research: Dr Chad Habel
Logic, problem solving, self-efficacy, confidence and risk management are all skills that can be learned and developed through the process of desiging and building a video game, writes Dr Chad Habel from Adelaide University
Read More
Insights from previous winners: Tessa and Rhys
Winners of the 2014 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, Tessa and Rhys, have some great advice for this year's entrants about the value of online resources
Read More
After an intense judging process and an official awards ceremony at PAX Australia, the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is proud to present the winners of this year's competition!
View 2015 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge Winners
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge ran for the first time in 2014, and had more than 550 students register to participate.
The winners of the inaugural competition were treated to an official awards ceremony at the acclaimed gaming convention, PAX Australia, in Melbourne where they were each presented with a HP Pavilion laptop and $1000 in prize money for their school (or a chosen charity), and had the games they created available for play on the PAX exhibition floor.
Two of the winners also received a mentorship experience program with PwC as part of the PwC People’s Choice Award, and are set to release a commercial version of their game sometime in 2015!
For more information about previous years, or to view examples of previous winning games, please visit the pages below.
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is facilitated by the ACER Foundation, a charitable organisation underwritten by the Australian Council for Educational Research. The ACER Foundation engages with many external organisations including our major partner PwC to help make the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge possible, and would like to publicly thank and acknowledge the support of:
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge team loves talking to people about education, STEM, video games and how all three things can work together.
We are always on the lookout for new partners and organisations that can support our goal of making STEM learning fun and interactive.
You can reach us using the details below:
Email contact@stemgames.org.au
Phone 03 9277 5468
Twitter @STEMGamesAus
Downloadable Media
Help promote the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge in your classroom or school community!
