2023 STEM VGC Winners!

Congratulations to all the 2023 finalists, the games based on this year's theme of 'Construction / Destruction' were fantastic. Some of the categories came down to a one point difference! The 2023 STEM Video Game Challenge winners are:

Year 4-6: Scratch

Harvest Haven by St Ems Innov8tors (Alicia, Charlene, Kyleigh, Jessica from St Emilie’s Catholic Primary School, Canning Vale WA)

Year 4-6: OPEN Platform

Chicken Rampage by Rampaging Chickens (Shaun, Penny, Bella, Sofia from St Anthony’s School, Wanneroo WA)

Year 7-9: GODOT Engine

Elementary by Echidna (Dee from Victoria)

Year 7-9: OPEN Platform

Oracular by Firbank Grammar (Issy F from Firbank Grammar School, Victoria)

Year 10-12: Unity and Unreal Engine

Remora by Callie K (Callie from Hobart College, Tasmania)

Year 10-12: OPEN Platform

Battle of Batone by Conglomerate Squad (Mathieson, Michael, Sonny and Isla from Mungallala, Queensland)* 2022 and 2023 Winners!

For details on the winning entries, check out our discover article. Well done to our winners and to everyone that entered. 

We hope you enjoyed participating in this year's challenge. We will release the 2024 theme in early October.

Submission window open!

The submission window for games and Game Design Documents (GDD) is open until 11:59pm (AEST) Monday, 7 August 2022.

How to submit:

Click on our 'Competition Portal' in the left menu. Register as a mentor, enter your team details and submit your entries.

You will need to provide your team's GDD in PDF format and game as a link.

Tips:

Don't leave entering until the last minute! Allow yourself troubleshooting time in case things don't go according to plan.

Remember to ensure you've adhered to the Guidelines so that all games conform to the entry requirements. 

Be sure to include everything in a single GDD document, in PDF format (including images, appendices, storyboard charts, etc), as you can only enter one document as part of your team's entry. 

Please check that game links work. If a link doesn't work, the judges will not be able to assess and play the game – which may mean we cannot move it through to the next phase of judging. 

Any queries, please email the project team at contact@stemgames.org.au and we will respond to your query as quickly as possible.

Good luck! 

Key dates for 2023

• Team registrations will be open from 1 February - 7 August, 2023.
• Submission window for game entry will run from Monday, 24 July - Monday, 7 August, 2023.
• Judging rounds from Wednesday, 9 August  - Monday, 11 September, 2023.
  • Mentors will get judge's feedback immediately though our new submission system!
• PAX will be held in Melbourne over three days 6-8 October, 2023.

Call for judges!

Want to win a 3-day PAX Aus pass? All you have to do is play games...

We are looking to recruit as many volunteer judges as possible. You don't have to be an expert, you just have to love games. All judges will be provided with judging criteria and handbook to assist. 

Judging takes place in three rounds between 9 August to 11 September 2023, with final winners announced on 14 September 2023. Judging can be done in your own time in the comfort of your home. We try not to overload you: judges usually get between 5 and 10 games to play and assess, including the Game Design Document.

    Round 1 - Does it play? (No experience necessary)
    Round 2 - Main judging round (Judging criteria provided - it's not as hard as it sounds)
    Round 3 - Final Judging round (Judging rubric provided - industry experience highly regarded)

All judges that complete their judging will go into the draw to win a 3-day pass for PAX 2023!  

If you are interested in coming along for the ride and helping us to encourage and inspire the next generation of game developers, please register using this link.

2023 PAX dates announced

PAX 2023 will be held on October 6-8.

PAX Aus is a celebration of gaming and gaming culture featuring thought-provoking panels, an expo hall filled with publishers and independent studios, game demos, musical performances, tournaments, and an experience unlike any other.

Held across three full days and all under one roof, PAX offers the community the opportunity to meet with old friends, make new ones, interact with game developers, publishers and brands, and get hands-on with everything they love about gaming.

Winners of the STEM VGC will receive 3-Day passes to PAX, so they can see their game on the big screens in the STEM VGC stand! They will also particpate in a panel at PAX where they will present their game to an audience of family, friends and industry folk. It is a truly amazing experience!

Team registration open!

We're excited for you to register your team in our new Competition Portal! 

Use the red 'Competition Portal' button found in the site menu to create a mentor account and register your team. We will send notifications throughout the challenge period to help keep your team motivated and on track. Let's get gaming!

2023 Resources Ready

Find everything you need for this year's challenge in the Quicklinks at the bottom of the site menu.

Team registrations open at 9:00am (AEST) Wednesday, 1 February 2023. We can't wait to see what your teams create!

Changes for 2023!

We are making changes to the submission categories for 2023 and we're pretty excited!

We are now inviting entries from students in year 4, something we get asked about a lot. We have also added an age category so there are now three age groupings. We have done this to balance the age range and highlight the expected progression in skill level of entries. We have maintained the Open platform category in each age group as we know it is an important catch all to ensure everyone can get involved using whatever platform works for them – as long as it’s free or free for education, of course. Here is the new breakdown:

Years 4-6 Playable Games

• Scratch
• Open Platform

Years 7-9 Playable Games

• Godot Engine
• Open Platform

Years 10-12 Playable Games

• Unity and Unreal Engine
• Open Platform

Why the change?

We have noticed over the last few years that the Godot Engine category in both age groups has been under utilised. This got us thinking and reflecting on why Godot has its own category in the STEM VGC. It must be pretty great, right? Well, yeah. Here's how they describe themselves.

Godot Engine is a feature-packed, cross-platform game engine to create 2D and 3D games from a unified interface. It provides a comprehensive set of common tools, so users can focus on making games without having to reinvent the wheel. Games can be exported in one click to a number of platforms, including the major desktop platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows) as well as mobile (Android, iOS) and web-based (HTML5) platforms.

Godot is completely free and open source under the permissive MIT license. No strings attached, no royalties, nothing. Users' games are theirs, down to the last line of engine code. Godot's development is fully independent and community-driven, empowering users to help shape their engine to match their expectations. It is supported by the Software Freedom Conservancy not-for-profit.

If you haven't used Godot Engine before we really encourage you to take some time to explore it. It is an excellent step up from Scratch without being as intense as Unity and Unreal Engine, making it a great option for students in Years 7-9. This progression is the reason we decided to restructure the STEM VGC age categories for 2023. 

The Godot Engine website has a comprehensive guide to getting started and lots of tutorials. Here are a few links to help you and your team get started:

Introduction to Godot

As the name suggests, this is a written introduction of the essential elements of Godot with well labelled screenshots. It is a good place to start.

Step by Step

This series builds upon the Introduction to Godot and will get you started with the editor and the engine. You will learn more about nodes and scenes, code your first classes with GDScript, use signals to make nodes communicate with one another, and more.

Your first 2D game and Your first 3D game

In these step-by-step tutorial series, you will create your first complete 2D or 3D game with Godot. By the end of the series, you will have a simple yet finished project of your own.

Take a look at the 2022 Showcase Reel of desktop games for inspiration.

Still not convinced? That's cool. We know there many great options for kids to work with so you can still use your preferred platform and enter through the Open platform category, as long as it’s free or free for education.

Next year's theme, Construction/Destruction is up on the website. We're working on updating the handbooks with the new submission categories. We'll let you know when they are ready.

As always, please reach out to us if you have any question. 

2023 theme announced!

The STEM Video Game Challenge 2023 theme is Construction and Destruction.

"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction." - Pablo Picasso

Your challenge is to build a game that involves construction and destruction! Check out the 2023 theme sheet to get your creative juices flowing.

2022 STEM VGC Winners!

Congratulations to all the 2022 finalists, the games based on this years theme of 'Networks' were of a very high standard. Some of the categories were very close and this year we even have a draw in one of our categories. The 2022 STEM Video Game Challenge winners are:

Year 5-8: Playable game - OPEN CATEGORY

968E71AD - Undefeated by The Ums (Oliver S, Eli E and Daniel S from MidCoast Christian College, NSW)

Year 5-8: Playable game in GODOT

9B571A3F - Hex Meltdown by HexMeltdown (Hamish N and Matias O from Saint Andrews Anglican College, QLD)

Year 5-8: Playable game in SCRATCH

B4BF4F25 – Martian Multiplier: The Alien Infection by Tehnophile (Rian from West End State School, QLD)

Year 9-12: Playable game - OPEN CATEGORY

6784E04D – Stack by Stack (Stuart V from Pembroke School, SA)* winner in 2018!

95DDCC62 – Cyber Shock by Computer Nerds Corporation (CNC) (Isaac P, Lucy M, Soleil O from Southern River College, WA)

Year 9-12: Playable game in GODOT

123387D8 – Satellite Jump by Conglomerate Squad (Mathieson W, Michael W, Otto P, Sonny W from Whittmore Homeschool, QLD)

Year 9-12: Playable game in UNITY & UNREAL

9AD4FB89 - Tenebris by Perspective Studios (Henry N, Kurt T, Matthias L and Naman D from North Sydney Boys High School, NSW)

Well done to our winners and to everyone that entered. You can learn more about the games on our media release https://www.acer.org/au/discover/article/STEM-video-game-challenge-2022-winners.

We hope that you all learned lots and will be back again in 2023.  The 2023 theme will be advertised and posted on the website by the end of October. Feedback and certificates from this year's challenge will be sent out to all schools throughout October.

Round 3 Teams 2022

Our judges have finished the judging for Round 2, and Round 3 is underway.

A big congratulations to all that entered this year’s competition, the games have been outstanding and the judges have had a tough job.

The following teams have made it through Round 2 and have moved into Round 3 of judging.

Mentor and judge registrations have closed

Mentor and judge registrations have closed for this year. Sign up to receive an alert for when registrations open next year.

Sign up ›

2022 theme announced!

The STEM Video Game challenge 2022 theme is Networks.

“We are now all connected by the internet, like neurons in a giant brain. “ Stephen Hawking

Your challenge is to build a game that involves a network in some way. Check out the 2022 theme sheet to get your creative juices flowing.

2021 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge winners

Round 3 of judging saw some very close contests between games of very high standards as 45 teams competed across six categories. Congratulations to the winning teams:

The winning games are available to download and play via the links above.

Thank you to all the teams who entered this year. Certificates and feedback will be sent out to all participants via their mentors throughout November.

To our Year 12 participants, we wish you all the best for your final exams. We hope to see everyone else again in 2022 with exciting new games. We'll announce the theme for next year shortly.

Round 1 judging complete

Our judges have been busy testing and scoring all the wonderful games for this year's challenge, and are impressed with your submissions. If your mentor has not received an email from us, your game has made it through to Round 2!

If you were unsuccessful, take comfort in knowing that completing and submitting your game is a significant achievement in itself. We hope that you keep using your game design skills.

Submission window now open!

The submission window for games and game design documents (GDDs) runs from  22 July through to 5 August 2021.

How to submit:

Mentors upload the game and GDD via their Mentor Login on the Stemgames Portal.

You will see a table showing team names on the left and a link to upload GDD.  When you click the GDD link, you will see a submission form.  If you are putting an online link to a game, then you can add the URL here.  Once you've completed this step, there is a link to upload the game file in .zip format.  Please note that if you have put an online link within the GDD section, you will not need to upload a game.

Tips:

Remember to ensure you've adhered to the Guidelines so that all games conform to the entry requirements. We are aware there were conflicting instructions on whether to include student names within the GDD.  We would prefer no names, however GDD with names will also be accepted and this will not affect the submission or judging.

Check carefully to make sure everything (including online links) is present and correct. Be sure to include everything you want to (including images, appendices, storyboard charts, etc) in the single GDD document, in PDF or Word format, as there is no option to go back and add further documentation.  If an online link doesn't work, the judges will not be able to assess and play the game – which may mean we cannot move it through to the next phase of judging. 

Any queries, please email the project team at contact@stemgames.org.au and we will respond to your query as quickly as possible.

Good luck! 

Winning games to be showcased at PAX

We are excited to announce that the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will be showcasing this year's winning games at PAX Aus - Australia's biggest gaming expo! PAX Aus is scheduled to take place in Melbourne from 8-10 October, subject to government restrictions.

Want your game to be played by hundreds of gamers? It's not too late to join this year's Challenge: assemble your team of 1-4 students and register by 22 July. And if you need some inspiration, check out this short video from Behind the News about the 2018 winners in the Year 5-8 open category, St Anthony's School, Western Australia.

2021 Challenge now open

Mentor registration is now open for the 2021 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, on the theme 'Scale'. Register your teams of 1-4 students and help them engage with science, technology, engineering and mathematics while learning vital skills for the future through designing and building their own video game.

Aimed at students in Years 5-12, the Challenge is aligned with the Australian school curriculum in every state and territory, enabling teachers to implement a fun and practical project in the classroom. Our teaching resources includes links to free game development platforms including new addition for 2021, MicroStudio. Games will be judged in the following categories:

• Years 5-8: Playable Game developed in Scratch
• Years 5-8: Playable Game developed in GODOT
• Years 5-8: Playable Game developed in any other free, or free for education, game development platform
• Years 9-12: Playable Game developed in GODOT
• Years 9-12: Playable Game developed in Unity3D or Unreal Engine
• Years 9-12: Playable Game developed in any other free, or free for education, game development platform

Due to the cancellation of last year’s Challenge, students who were enrolled in Year 12 in 2020 may also enter the Years 9-12 category in 2021. Registration will remain open until 22 July, with game submissions due by Thursday 5 August. Winners will be announced on 21 September. Be in it to win it: register today!

2020 Challenge cancelled

The 2020 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge has been cancelled in response to the impact of COVID-19.

For those of you already involved in creating projects we encourage you to keep going and finish what you have started – the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is about learning, challenging yourselves and creating something amazing!

We will keep the current theme for next year, so any work you do this year is not lost and can be used in 2021.

The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge team wish you a happy and healthy year ahead. We will see you again in 2021.

Awards shine a spotlight on Indigenous STEM superstars

Rae Johnston is a multi-award-winning STEM journalist, Wiradjuri woman, mother, broadcaster, voice actor and MC.

Since 2016, the CSIRO Indigenous STEM Awards have been highlighting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander STEM professionals, students, teachers and mentors. The extraordinary work of 12 individuals and one school was celebrated at 2019 CSIRO Indigenous STEM Awards.

Read more  

Pictures from PAX 2019

2019 STEM Video Game Challenge winners

Congratulations to all the 2019 finalists, the games were of a very high standard and some of the categories were very close. However, we can only have a single winner in each category and the 2019 STEM Video Game Challenge winners are:

Year 5-8: Playable game - OPEN CATEGORY

46EA249E - Locked Up (St Anthony's School, WA)

Year 5-8: Playable game in GODOT

F644A1FE - Sheep Doggo (Brentwood Secondary School, VIC)

Year 5-8: Playable game in SCRATCH

BA0A6711 – Gamesaver (Balmain Public School, NSW)

Year 9-12: Playable game - OPEN CATEGORY

2801F931 – Speciation (Arndell Anglican College, NSW)

Year 9-12: Playable game in GODOT

E04B31E1 – Roomscape (Wirreanda Secondary School, SA)

Year 9-12: Playable game in UNITY & UNREAL

49E67256 - Poly city (St. Patrick's College, QLD)

Well done to our winners and to everyone that entered. We hope that you all learned lots and will be back again in 2020.  The 2020 theme will be advertised and posted on the website by the end of October.

Feedback and certificates will be sent out to all schools throughout November.

Round 2 Results

Well done to all teams that made it into Round 2. The games have been lots of fun to play and we thank you for your time and effort.  Our judges have completed their assessments and the following teams are moving through to Round 3.

331FB999, 46EA249E,  38B865F7,  BE1FD69E,  B7C80DDD,  BAFAE5CF,  F644A1FE,

CBB87226, 97A06E43, 006D8B27, 43177286, 28F3124A, 7A6E46A6, BA0A6711,

D0A2E346, 0D96A35C, 1CAA108A, 2801F931, 6F64A95B, AC0EAC6E, ECCBE5E5,

D7A2B38E, E04B31E1, 6DCD2584, 7895FB84, 320DC3BF, 1E953BA8, 49E67256, 766ABF9B,

D4EA188C, A21E40A5, 3C1A5D51, 762E982B

Round 1 Results

Well done to all teams that managed to submit their game for this year’s competition, we know this requires monumental effort.

Unfortunately the following teams have been eliminated in Round 1:

Team Code

Changes to the game categories for 2019

Due to the cost associated with using Gamemaker it is no longer a competition category.  It has been replaced by Godot a 2D and 3D cross-platform compatible game engine released as open source software under a license from MIT.  The website has great supporting information and tutorials for those new to GODOT and game development.

https://godotengine.org/

In 2019 Students may enter in one of six (6) categories:

1. Year 5-8: Playable Game developed in Scratch
2. Year 5-8: Playable Game developed in GODOT
3. Year 5-8: Playable Game developed in any other free, or free for education, game development platform.
4. Year 9-12: Playable Game developed in GODOT
5. Year 9-12: Playable Game developed in Unity3D or Unreal Engine
6. Year 9-12: Playable Game developed in any other free, or free for education, game development platform.

Could this be you in 2019?

Check out this inspiring video from Behind the News of the 2018 winners in the Year 5-8 Playable game, Open category, St Anthony's School (WA). Could this be you in 2019?

2018 Winners!

Well done to all our 2018 finalists. The standard of games was very high but there can be only one winner in each category.

The winners of the 2018 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge are announced below. If you do not see your team code and game name here, you have been eliminated from this year’s competition. We thank you for entering and hope that we will see you again in 2019 with even bigger and better games.

Certificates and feedback will be sent out to all mentors throughout November.

Keep your eye out for next year’s theme which will be on our website in the first week of November.

And the winners are...

Round 2 results

Well done to all teams that entered the STEM Challenge this year.  Round 2 was tough for our judges.  It is very clear that so many of you have put a lot of work into your games and GDD’s and you should give yourselves a pat on the back, the competition has been of a high standard this year.

Certificates and a small gift from us will be sent out to all Mentors throughout November.  Don’t forget to keep your eye out for next year’s theme that will be announced at PAX and will be up on our website in the first week of November – maybe you can get planning early for next year’s STEM Challenge!

Show full article for round 2 results

Phase I Judging 2018 is now complete!

Congratulations to all the teams that submitted games this year.  Our Judges have worked very hard over the last few weeks playing your games and checking your GDD's and we can now release the results for Round One.

If you do not find your team code and name below then you have moved on to Round 2 - Congratulations!  

Show full article for round 1 results

2017 winners announced!

The winners of the 2017 STEM Video Game Challenge have been announced.

View 2017 winners

Phase 3 Judging Update

Thank you to all our entrants and mentors for your continued patience. Phase III judging is almost complete. Our judges are working very hard and are nearing the end. Winners will be announced very soon.

Good luck to our Stem 2017 finalists!

Results Update for Unity 9-12 Category

Further to our announcement yesterday, we are pleased to announce the Top 5 for this category are:

7FDEBD7E
3CDE25CC
A44040CA
21C2BDFD
E5637727

Congratulations to the above teams, who are now STEM Finalists and proceed to Phase 3 of the judging.

Well done to all teams who entered - the standard was so high this year!

Best wishes

STEM Project Team

12th October 2017

STEM Category 9-12 Unity - Update

This is the last category to be judged and we are waiting on one final score.  I can confirm that the following teams formed the top four:

3CDE25CC

A44040CA

21C2BDFD

7FDEBD7E

We are just waiting to see which other team joins them as the Top 5!

We will update this ASAP, but congratulations to the teams named above - you will proceed as STEM Finalists into Phase 3!

Best wishes

The STEM Project Team

11th October 2017

Phase 2 Results for Category Scratch 5-8

Hi Everyone

First of all, thank you for your continued patience.  This has been the largest category, and the one which experienced the most complexities with a number of disqualifications, judge illness, etc.  So thanks again.  But the results are now in!

The top 6 teams (there was a tie between 5th and 6th) who will proceed as STEM finalists to Phase 3, in no particular order, are:

• F8591DC0
• 85BDA1DE
• AC009E75
• 6706ABF4
• 299A1A16

• F75B5458

Almost 100 teams competed in the Scratch category within Phase 2 - it was a highly competitive category and we wanted to thank all of you for entering STEM this year.  If you leave the competition at this stage, you can hold your heads high.  You have done yourselves and your school exceedingly proud.  As with the other categories, we will be posting a feedback scoring spreadsheet up, on the website, as a link, so you can download this and see your individual scores and also any textual commentary made by the judges.

For those of you who have been successful in proceeding to Phase 3, bear with us, and we hope to post the results next week, announcing the overall winner in this category!

Well done!

The STEM Project Team

Phase 2 Judging - Results Update

Hello All

Thank you for your patience.  We have Phase 2 results for four of the six categories, and all teams listed below, in no particular order, will be progressing to Phase 3 as STEM finalists:

Category 5-8 Gamemaker:

26CB0F81; 4FE385B3; 6EF16741; 72ED8F0B; 26E8E4F9 & 45CBB88A (six finalists in this category as two scores were tied - this was close!)

Category 5-8 Open:

2FE10CE8; 122FC273; C16E2F03; DE2A54FD & ED743254.

Category 9-12 Gamemaker:

F877A781; F3849427; DB5448CC; 2012B77D; DB6EE86E, & EEB3FE1E (six finalists in this category too!)

Category 9-12 Open:

8BE7DC75; 90FBAFB2; B8064FA1; F47D37B0 & C8BA25BC.

Results for the remaining two categories (5-8 Scratch - waiting on final 6 scores from judges, and 9-12 Unity, waiting on final score) will be posted ASAP.

Congratulations to all Phase 3 finalists on reaching the final round of judging.  And a big well done to all other entrants who are leaving the competition at Phase 2.  The standard of submissions this year was very high, and you have all done so well.

Once all judging scores are in at Phase 2, we will be posting a link to the judging scoresheet, which shows the breakdown of the scores out of the total 500, with any textual commentary that the judges provided at Phase 2, which will hopefully provide some useful feedback to all teams who made it through to Phase 2.

Thank you again for your continued patience.

Best wishes

The STEM Project Team

11th October 2017

Phase 2 Judging Update

Dear Entrants

I'm sure some of you are becoming impatient to know the scores from Phase 2 judging.  We have had a number of issues this week, including several disqualifications that we are currently dealing with, and so we ask you to bear with us, whilst we double check the final scores and make sure everything is right before we announce those who have been successful at Phase 2.

It is hoped that we will be able to update this website later today with some of the categories and then early next week with others. 

Thank you for your continued patience.

Best wishes,

STEM Project Team

06/10/2017

Phase 2 Judging - Update

Dear Participants

We are sure those who have proceeded to Phase II of the judging rounds are waiting impatiently to find out if they've got through to Phase III.

We had hoped to be publishing the results this week of Phase II, but unfortunately we have encountered some delays on the way, and it is now probably going to be early next week before we can publish anything about Phase II, and then we hope to have a quick turnaround for the final round.

The standard of entries within the competition as a whole has been exceedingly high and there has been a lot of stiff competition, particularly in the Scratch Years 5-8 category, where some very high scores, including one of a perfect 500, have been attained!

We will bring you the finalised list of Phase II scores as soon as they become available in a complete list.

Thank you for your continued patience.

The STEM Challenge Team at ACER

Important Notice

Dear Participants

As you are aware, Phase II judging is now progressing and we should be able to release more information around 28th September regarding the final entries across the categories who will progress to Phase III.

However, please ensure that you do not attempt to modify your game (for those who have submitted an online link, i.e. for Scratch entries) since its initial share, which will of been prior to the end of August's submission deadline. 

This is extremely important as it may result in modified entries being removed and disqualified from the competition, which is of course the last thing we would want but we need to keep this fair to all.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Best regards,

The Project Team at ACER Foundation

Phase I Judging is now complete!

First of all, the Project Team do want to thank each and every one of you who has entered this competition.  There have been some fantastic entries, illustrating a high level of technical engagement and storytelling. Without you guys, we would not have a competition, so thank you very much for being part of the journey!

Phase I judging is now complete and entries that have passed this stage can be found on the list here. 

If your team/game name is not on the list, then unfortunately your entry will not be progressing to Phase II but well done on your submission!

We really appreciate that there will be disappointments at this stage.  It is not possible to give individual feedback on Phase I but the following list shows some of the reasons why entries did not proceed to Phase II:

• GDD missing in that a blank and/or other document submitted
• GDD incomplete/insufficient information
• Game file link not working (more common on Scratch entries than other platforms)
• Game file requiring additional software to play
• Game not loading due to missing data file (and so the game couldn't be opened)
• Game not loading in Windows (some files had MAC file extensions for example)
• Game file uploaded with incorrect file extension so unable to open and play
• Game is multiplayer game and so the judge could not play the game on their own

To quantify the above, the technical specifications for the games were very clear as follows, and the games which have not been able to proceed to Phase II have generally fallen down on one or more of the following points:

• All entries must have a complete Games Design Document
• All submitted games must run in a Microsoft Windows operating system
• All submitted games must utilise a keyboard and mouse based control system
• All submitted games must function, first and foremost, as single player games
• All submitted games must function/run independently of a need to download/install specific game development software, or additional software
• Submitted games should refrain from the use of store-bought or purchased assets

Phase II judging will use the Judging Rubric to score each of the elements against an overall mark of 500 (200 for the GDD and 300 for the Game itself).

Phase II Judging will take place between the 14th - 22nd September 2017.

The top 5 entries for each of the six individual categories will proceed to Phase III (so there will be 30 games judged in the final round).

Stop Press!!! Deadline Extended until Monday 28th August, at 12 Noon (AEST)!!!

It has become apparent that quite a few of you are experiencing technical issues when submitting, for example, such as the game file size being too big (you need to compress this to a .zip file), etc.

So we have decided to give you another couple of days until Monday 28th August, at 12 Noon. 

We must however reiterate that any games submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.  This is because Phase I of the Judging starts on Tuesday morning.  If your game is not submitted by Monday's deadline, your entry will be null and void.

With thanks

The Project Team

contact@stemgames.org.au

GOOD LUCK!!

The Project Team would like to wish all teams the very best of luck in the Competition.

The Judging Phases are broken down into the following:

First Phase: 30 August - 8 September - all entries assessed and complete entries proceed to Second Phase.

Second Phase: 13 - 22 September - all entries judged according to Judging Rubric and top five entries in each category proceed to Final Phase.

Third Phase: 27 September - 4 October, the top five entries are re-assessed and scores submitted.

Final results will be collated, with Winners being announced on 9th October 2017.

An Award Ceremony will take place at PAX in Melbourne, 27-29 October 2017!!

How to Submit your Game

Mentors upload the GDD and the game via their Mentor Login on the Portal.

Remember to ensure you've adhered to the Guidelines so your game conforms to requirements.

You will see a table showing team names on the left and a link to upload GDD.  When you click the GDD link, you will see a submission form.  If you are putting an online link to a game, then you can add the URL here.  Once you've completed this step, there is a link to upload the game file in .zip format.  Please note that if you have put an online link within the GDD section, you will not need to upload a game.

Be sure to include everything you want to (including images, appendices, storyboard charts, etc) in the single GDD document, in PDF format, as there is not an option to go back and add further documentation!  Also, if an online link doesn't work for example, the Judges will not be able to put you through to Phase II.  So check everything (including online links) to make sure everything is present and correct.

We were also told that there is a query on whether to include student names within the GDD as there were conflicting instructions.  The answer - either/or.  We will accept the GDD with names, and this will not affect your submission.

Any queries, please email the project team at contact@stemgames.org.au and we will try and respond to your query as quickly as possible.

Good luck!  Phase I judging starts next week!

AIE open day, Saturday 20 May

Considering a career in game development? The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) campuses in Sydney, Melbourne Canberra and Adelaide will open their doors to visitors eager to find out about full-time and part-time courses available for students in 2018. Drop in and learn from AIE teaching staff, industry experts and current students on Saturday 20 May!
Learn about AIE open day

Resource library update

The 'Resources' section of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge website has been updated to include a broader range of resources for students and teachers, and topical filtering to help you locate items of interest quickly and easily. New resources will be added regularly, helping to create an expansive library of tutorials, articles and activities for budding game developers across Australia!
Visit the new 'Resources' section

School holiday courses for budding game developers

Want to enter the 2017 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge but unsure where to start?
Good news! The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) are offering school holiday courses designed to provide an introduction to game development in Unreal or Unity3D. Intended for students aged 12+, AIE school holiday courses are taking place in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide.

Register for AIE School Holiday Courses

PAX 2017: Dates announced

PAX Australia, supporters of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge and home to our annual awards ceremony, have officially released dates for their 2017 exhibition at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. PAX Australia will run from Friday 27- Sunday 29 October 2017.

Academy of Interactive Entertainment joins STEM VGC as Major Partner

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.

Australian STEM Video Game Challenge to return in May 2017

The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will run again in 2017, with ongoing support from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE). Official dates will be announced soon, with the competition currently scheduled to run between May and September.

Teachers re-evaluate value of video games

The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is one of the first video game design and development competitions to specifically target an education-based audience here in Australia, and is among a number of technology-focussed initiatives generating a shift in the way video games are percieved by teachers, students and learning communities.
Read article (via The Age)

STEM VGC winners establish scholarship

Inaugural winners of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, Josh Caratelli and Liam McLachlan, have generously reinvested their prize money, using their winnings to establish a five year scholarship at Elwood College in Victoria.
Read article (via PC Mag Australia)