Games for Health Competition Winners Announced

Officials representing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have announced the winners of the first annual Games for Health competition, which challenged parties to submit game-based solutions to address specific health issues. The competition, which ran from October 19, 2006 through April 1, 2007, consisted of three main categories, including working game prototypes, general storyboard/design treatments, and student storyboard/design submissions. The storyboard categories required a detailed game description and rationale, while the prototype category required the submission of a functional video game and rationale. The winning submissions included Neuromatrix by Morphonix, which was awarded $20,000 for its game designed to teach and keep adolescents ages 11-14 interested in learning about the brain through a series of short movies and games. Other winners included Erin Hoffman, who took home $5000 and the award for Open Storyboard for Food Finder, an action game envisioned for the Nintendo DS designed to show children how to make healthy eating choices; and to Indiana University's Team Fun, which also won $5000 for its Student Storyboard exercise game submission called Bizarro Olympics for the Nintendo Wii. "We had many strong submissions to the competition in its first year and it was amazing to see the variety of ideas and health applications," said Chinwe Onyekere, program officer for the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Whether it's developing an innovative way for training people in providing medical care or inspiring people to exercise, we're enthused by the creativity of groups and individuals who are bringing together the best of both the gaming and health care worlds."