Dates
Submission period is March 15th - June 21st.
Winners will be announced August 1st.
Description
The Art Institutes/Macromedia Student Contest rewards outstanding web and game design using Macromedia tools and is open to students at all of the Art Institutes schools. All entries must be built exclusively with one or more Macromedia products. Entrants must also provide a designer's statement that describes their design goals, production process, and the Macromedia tools used. For Game Design entries, the designer’s statement should include the genre of the game as well as the game platform (see notes below).
All entries must be appropriate in theme and content. Entries which are deemed vulgar or offensive will be disqualified. If you have a question as to whether your entry may deemed as such, please send an e-mail to ai_contest@macromedia.com.
Entries must be created exclusively with Macromedia tools. Exceptions are limited to entries in the Game Design category, where students are encouraged to use 3D Studio Max and/or the Havok Physics Engine solely in conjunction with Director. Use of SoundEdit16 is encouraged for sound processing, though any sound editor/processor is acceptable.
Categories and Criteria
Web Design Category
We are seeking web designs that demonstrate an overall visual concept, an intuitive navigation scheme, and a high quality of execution. Each website will be judged based on the following criteria:
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Creativity and Ingenuity
Is the entry creative, unique, and inventive? Does the entry employ interesting interactive or user interface techniques?
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Design and Functionality
Does the entry achieve its goals? Is the entry intuitive to use? Does the entry allow the user to do something? Can the user give and receive information?
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Theme and Content
Is there a consistent graphic identity scheme? Does the entry effectively use space and movement? Does the content fit the design?
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Technical Achievement
Does the entry maximize or extend the use of the Macromedia tool? Does the entry make use of multiple media types and promote user interactivity?
Game Design Category
We are seeking game designs that employ innovative use of Macromedia products. Each game design will be judged based on the following criteria:
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Creativity and Ingenuity
Is the entry creative, unique and inventive? Are the characters distinct and the premise original? Is the story or background compelling and engaging?
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Design and Functionality
Design and Functionality: Does the design easily communicate the game's premise? We will also look at perspective, animation, anatomy and gesture. Is game play intuitive and natural? Where innovative design requires a player to learn the game interface, are the instructions well documented?
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Theme and Content
Is there a consistent theme? Does the entry effectively use color, space and movement, lighting and scene setup? Do the score/dialog/sound effects enhance the player’s experience?
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Technical Achievement
Does the entry maximize or extend the use of the Macromedia tool(s)? Does the entry make use of multiple media types and promote user interactivity? Does the game take advantage of the latest player (Flash 6 player, Director Shockwave 8.5.1 or higher)? Is game play smooth, responsive, predictable? To what degree is the game control customizable to a user’s preferences?
Game Design Notes:
Game genres (entries may fall into more than one genre):
- 3 Dimensional
- 1st person
- 3rd person (isometric, top-down)
- Action
- Adventure
- Arcade style
- Single screen
- Side Scrolling
- Board/card/dice game
- Educational
- Multiplayer
- Puzzle
- Racing
- Role Playing
- Simulation
- Single screen
- Side Scrolling
- Sports
- Strategy
Platforms include:
- Web only through browser (indicate Flash or Shockwave player and version number required).
- Is offline play available? If so, is the game self-running through an executable?
Prizes
Each school will have two winners, one in each category. (To be determined by that school). All the school winners in the Web Design category will receive the Macromedia Studio MX and all of the school winners in the Game Design category will receive Macromedia Director MX and Macromedia Studio MX.
All of the school winners will be entered into the running for the Grand Prize or Runner-up Prize in their respective categories. The prize distribution will break down as follows:
Game Design Grand Prize
- HP dual processor performance workstation
- The Apple iPod
- Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX Personal Edition
- Macromedia Studio MX
- Macromedia Director MX
Web Design Grand Prize
- HP Pavilion laptop or Tablet PC †
- The Apple iPod
- Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX Personal Edition
- Macromedia Studio MX
- Macromedia Director MX
Runner-Up (Both Categories)
- The Apple iPod
- Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX Personal Edition
How to Enter
Entries should be submitted to the Campus Contact as indicated on the poster, or contact your school's Director of Public Relations.
Download the entry form:
macromedia_contest_entry.doc (44KB)