Indie Game Challenge awards scholarship to masters degree candidate

Indie Game Challenge awards scholarship to masters degree candidate

In an effort to promote higher education in the gaming industry, the Indie Game Challenge has awarded a scholarship that will help one student earn a masters degree in video game development.

The annual contest challenges developers to submit original game designs and allows them to compete in professional and non-professional events for more than $350,000 in cash and prizes. The competition was created through a collaboration between the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, GameStop and The Guidhall at Southern Methodist University.

A total of two grand prizes of $100,000 were awarded in the inaugural competition. In addition, student competitors can go head-to-head for a $50,000 scholarship to the Guidhall, which is one of the most prominent video game development graduate schools in the country.

Competition officials recently opened the application process for the second annual event, which has been expanded to include international professionals in the field and amateur video game designers. October 1 is the deadline for qualified individuals to submit their work.

Peter Raad, one of the competition's co-founders, said that the contest is intended "to help launch the careers of independent game developers [and] cultivate next-generation video game developers and leaders who will shape the landscape of the industry as it continues to evolve."

By Stefanie Hughes