NEW YORK, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On March 11, Parsons The New School for Design will present its second annual 24-hour game design jam, "Mobile Game Mosh," in partnership with Atari, Inc. and Glu Mobile. Teams of students from New York-area colleges and universities will compete to see if they have what it takes to design multiplayer mobile games for the cell phone. The resulting games will be judged in the categories of top overall game, most innovative game design, best sound, and best visuals, with the winners to be considered for publication as original Atari and Glu titles to be distributed and marketed by Glu Mobile.
"Parsons' game design jam provides students with the opportunity to test their creativity and design skills while creating a sense of community," said Katie Salen, the director of the MFA Design and Technology Program at Parsons and a professional game designer. "By bringing together students from the leading university game design programs in the New York area, the event showcases the tremendous talent to be found in the region."
New York is home to a vibrant game design community, including industry leaders Atari and several educational institutions offering programs in game development including New York University (ITP), Renssaeler Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn Polytechnic University, and Columbia University. Approximately 10 teams of five to six students each from these schools will participate in the game jam.
Last year, Parsons partnered with Atari to hold its first game jam, which challenged students to design games based on Atari 2600 technology, which gave rise to such classic games as Asteroids(R), Missile Command(R), Pong(R) and Centipede(R). "Our ongoing partnership with Parsons underscores Atari's commitment to inspiring and supporting future game designers," said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution, Atari. "Game design is the fastest-growing sector in the new media industry, and through educational programs such as those offered by Parsons, students receive the training and support they need to succeed in this exciting field."
This year, the game jam steps out of the past and looks toward the future by having students design multiplayer games for cell phones. For the event, phones will be provided by Nokia, cell phone service by Cingular Wireless, and the software by Adobe Systems, Inc. The winning games selected for publication will be marketed and published by Glu Mobile, a leading developer and global publisher of mobile entertainment.
"Our involvement with this year's Mobile Game Mosh is part of an ongoing effort by Glu to reach out to educational institutions around the country to inspire students to focus on the exciting and innovative world of mobile gaming," said Robert Nashak, chief creative officer, Glu Mobile. "We fully expect the students to generate fresh new ideas to bring to the global mobile marketplace."
The games will be judged by a panel composed of Bruno Bonnell, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Atari, Inc.; Eric Zimmerman, CEO, gameLab; Carl Goodman, Deputy Director, Digital Media at the Museum of the Moving Image; and Deanna Garcia, Director, Developer Program, Cingular Wireless.
Located in the heart of New York City, Parsons offers graduate and now undergraduate studies in game design through its Design and Technology programs. As part of The New School, Parsons students are encouraged to identify new forms of games that go beyond the traditional entertainment sector, collaborating with other divisions and institutes of the university to design games with learning outcomes and ideological agendas. Emerging technologies and practices related to physical interfaces, motion capture, mobile technology, and micro-controllers provide a context for research on games that take advantage of connections between social technologies, community practices, and public space.
"At Parsons, students learn to think critically about the role technology plays in the design, production, dissemination, and use of games," said Colleen Macklin, Chair of the Design and Technology Program at Parsons. "The tremendous success of our MFA-level concentration in game design made it clear to us that there was a demand for academic training at the undergraduate level as well. To meet this demand, we launching a game design concentration at the BFA level this past fall."
For more information about Mobile Game Mosh, visit http://www.parsons.newschool.edu/mobilegamemosh.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard- core, genre-defining franchises such as DRIVER(TM), The Matrix(TM) (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo), Stuntman(TM) and Test Drive(R); and mass- market and children's franchises such as Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues(TM) and Dora the Explorer(TM), and Dragon Ball Z(R). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR- 0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit http://www.atari.com/.
About Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile (formerly Sorrent, Inc. and Macrospace Ltd.) is a leading developer and global publisher of mobile entertainment. Glu's portfolio of games, ring tones, wallpapers and information applications include both original titles and entertainment based on major brands including Atari, Cartoon Network, FOX Sports, PopCap Games, Twentieth Century Fox and Celador International. Based in San Mateo, California with offices in London and Hong Kong, Glu is funded by top venture firms NEA, BA Venture Partners, Granite Global Ventures, Sienna Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners, and by Time Warner Investments. Consumers can find fresh entertainment created exclusively for their mobile phones wherever they see the 'g' character logo or at http://www.glu.com/.
GLU MOBILE, GLU, and the 'g' character logo are trademarks of Glu Mobile.
About Parsons The New School for Design
Located in the heart of New York City, Parsons The New School for Design is one of the largest and most prestigious degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation, with approximately 3,500 students in degree programs from all 50 states and approximately 60 countries. Parsons has been a forerunner in the field of art and design since its founding in 1896. Parsons' rigorous programs and distinguished faculty embrace curricular innovation, pioneer new uses of technology, and instill in students a global perspective in design. For more information, visit http://www.parsons.newschool.edu/.
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FCMN Contact: ryan.barr@atari.com
