ABC TV, Screen Australia Announce Serious Games Initiative

Australian public broadcaster ABC TV and local film and television agency Screen Australia announced the Serious Games Initiative at the Australian International Documentary Conference held this week in Adelaide. The program challenges local development teams to create serious games projects for consideration in an upcoming contest, where a chosen game ideas will be funded and produced by ABC TV. ABC TV and Screen Australia encourage affiliated filmmakers to team up with games developers and web designers toward the creation of new serious games. Three assembled teams will be chosen to attend a sponsored development workshop, with funding provided by both organizations. After an evaluation period, one of the three teams will be selected to create a full serious game project. After completion, the game will be uploaded to ABC TV's website, where it will be playable to the public. The game will also be eligible for entry in an international multiplatform partnership currently under consideration among ABC TV, the BBC in the UK, and the CBC in Canada. "Games are about play, stories, participation and cleverness," said Courtney Gibson, ABC TV's Executive Head of Content Creation. "Adding 'serious' to the mix allows us to explore contemporary real-world issues in an interactive and social way. This will make a fantastic learning opportunity, not just for players, but for local program makers to collaborate with local game developers as they create unique game play experiences." ABC TV is currently accepting serious game concept proposals for consideration in the upcoming program. Development teams must assemble and submit an application to ABC TV by April 24th, 2009.