Meet the
GMG x Unity Game Design Contest Winners!
In December 2022, we partnered with Unity to launch a Game Design contest, open to girls and nb kids all over the world. We receive some incredible entries and our panel of judges had the hardest time picking winners!
We wish we could have featured all the amazing creations sent to us, but for now, please join us in congratulating the winners of the contest - Bella, Isabel, Sonia and Madi! There’s also an Honorable Mention to Catie :)
You can view their game concepts below.
Teen category winners will receive a special mentorship package, where they get to build their game under the guidance of a GMG mentor. Jr. category winners will receive a special prize package in snail mail!
Huge thanks to our partner Unity Technologies for supporting GMG and making this contest happen!
Teen Category
Winner Name: Bella
Game Title: After earth
About the Game:
The story takes place 100 years after humans abandoned planet earth and froze themselves on a specialized space craft until they were able to find a new home. This all happens due to the planets corruption and it becoming inhabitable to live on. Our protagonist is a young girl who wakes up in one of these tubes finds herself locked within and upon attempting to escape her tube is launched into space, leaving her hurtling through the solar system. She eventually wakes up on earth and when she sees how bad humans left it, with pollution and destruction she becomes inspired to fix it and restore the planet back to what it once was.
Inspiration:
The main inspirations for the game were simply based on what's happening to the world currently and the thought just struck me that what if there was a game out there that pushed for the player to explore a desolate earth that's been completely destroyed through human actions in which they will have to take the extra steps in trying to restore it back to what it once was and its here that I managed to come up with my game idea and with also constructing it bit by bit i knew I also wanted the protagonist to be a girl and also be of color, growing up there wasn't many video game characters that looked like me and female leads in video games despite being something that's rarely seen i wanted to represent at much as i could in my game idea.
Game Story:
In the year 2024, the corrupt tech company named Terra Tech emerged from thin air, captivating their consumers with their alluring innovations that promised a cleaner, simpler life. But beneath the surface of their company lurked a dark secret: Terra Tech had been destroying the planet through their manufacturing processes. Despite being aware of the devastation they were causing, the company's executives saw only dollar signs and continued to profit from their actions. Unbeknownst to the public, Terra Tech had a secret project, called "Project Eve," that aimed to destroy all necessary living conditions on Earth and establish a technologically advanced utopia on a new planet, entirely under the control of the company.
Artwork for “After Earth” created by Bella
Teen Category
Winner Name: isabel
Game Title: serendipity
About the Game:
After her mother's unexpected passing, Luna, a normally bubbly teenage girl, shuts everyone out and escapes for the summer. From solving mysteries to forming new friendships, Luna might realize her stay at Bluebell Shores is a little bit serendipitous.
Inspiration:
My mother, Lin-Chuan Huang, passed away in October. It was very difficult to process my grief; I felt like there were not a lot of resources out there that talk about the grieving process, especially going through it as a teenager. I wanted to create a video game that could talk about grief in a respectful and approachable manner, while still offering a meaningful gameplay for people that have and have not experienced grief. If I could describe this game in three words, it would be bittersweet, witty, and story-driven! It was important for me to weave parts of my life and my identity into this video game. I am lucky to be apart of and feel the love of strong female communities. Thus, I wanted a female protagonist and a female-centered story. I am Taiwanese American and am passionate about having more representation of the Asian American identity. Thus, the main character in my video game, Luna, is of Taiwanese American descent. My video game is called Serendipity, which means "the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance." I like to think the title relates back to the theme of the grief journey, and relishing small moments of joy and remembrance.
Game Story:
I have always liked the idea of how certain earthly influences affect one another, like how the moon's gravitational pull can cause tides in the ocean. Since the video game takes place on a coastal town called Bluebell Shores, it made sense for me to name my main character Luna, which means moon in Latin. At Bluebell Shores, Luna forms a closer relationship with her Ama, which is what we Taiwanese people affectionately call our grandmothers. There are other characters that shape the story - Luna's mother, in the form of flashbacks, the town mayor (who may be up to no good...but shhh!! that's for Luna to discover later), and Apollo, one of the friends Luna makes.
Artwork for Serendipity, created by Isabel
Jr. Category
Winner Name: Sonia
Game Title: For the love of food!
About the Game:
The main purpose of my game is to teach players how to cook, and about the culture and diversity that food plays an important role in. When the player logs in, they will create an account to save their progress. On the home screen, there is a pinwheel on both sides of the screen. The one on the left shows different countries you can get recipes from. The one on the right shows the food categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, and the “try again”. There will be a button to press, and it will say “Press Me!”. When you press the button, it will spin both wheels. Out of the various possibilities, the wheel may land on Poland…maybe, and the other will land on dessert…maybe. Then you will get a series of recipes and one of these will be randomly selected and presented to you.
Inspiration:
My inspiration was my love of cooking. I was baking one day, and thinking about what to do for my game, and decided "Why not combine cooking and video games!" and the rest is history.
Game Story:
When the player first opens up the game, they will see a kitchen with two spinners on either side. Once you press play the game will start with your character stumbling across a small, rundown, cafe. The character decides to buy the cafe, and remodel it. Then, the game begins. First, there will be a small pop up screen that asks if you want instructions or not. When you start the gameplay, there is a spin me button. When the player presses it, the two spinners on the sides will start spinning. One will land on a country, and one will land on a time of eating. i.e: I spin the spinner and get the United Kingdom and Breakfast. A series of cards will show up on the screen. One will be randomly selected, and show the recipe as shown on the document attached below. Then, the player will go to a little store, and search for the dish ingredients. Once all ingredients are located, the player will head back to the kitchen, and cook. The player will learn how to cook the food, and get a sense of time management and multitasking. When the dish is done, the player will receive a score. The points that are rewarded are based on time management, if anything burned, or if there were not the correct ingredients, etc. Then, after getting all the points, you will move up on the leaderboard. After that, a small pop up will come on the screen, and talk a little bit about the place the dish is from. The player will also get a chance to level up their kitchen and avatar using the points they score.
Artwork for For the Love of Food, created by Sonia
Jr. Category
Winner Name: mady
Game Title: not alone
About the Game:
Each person has a good and bad side in themselves. People always strive to overcome the negative part of them and become a better person. “Not Alone” is a game about how emotions can affect your life (and 2 parallel universes) in positive or negative ways. You play as Petal, a shy and innocent Bud (flower girl, kind of) who hasn’t lifted her petals yet. In order to blossom, she needs to be accepting of herself but at the same time to save several universes from so-called Midknight (the evil counterpart of herself). Without an intention, she might become the future Matriarch (truthful leader) of the Cartoon Kingdom, after completing all the quest, helping others in need in dealing with emotions and gaining the trust of the communities.
Inspiration:
The main character of the game is similar to my behavior. When I was little, I was very shy, but now I'm becoming stronger and more confident.
Game Story:
The main character is Petal - a shy and innocent bud who strives to understand and cope with her emotions by passing several worlds (to find her counter part) from a parallel universe. In order to blossom, she needs to be accepting of herself but at the same time to save several universes from so-called Midknight, a second mirror character, representing evil part of Petal from the MIRROR UNIVERSE.
Artwork for Not Alone, created by Madi
Honorable Mention
Winner Name: Cate
Game Title: perfect thrift
About the Game:
"Perfect Thrift" is a simulation role-playing game that revolves around the topic of thrifting. In each level, there is a different character, who has an event they have to attend. These events hold a specific dress code that the character will have to thrift clothing pieces to fit.
Inspiration:
My friends and I often go thrifting together as a weekend activity or just to find some cute clothes. We always talk about how thrifting is much like a game. You have to search for things that are fashionable but are also your size. Finding the right time to go is also crucial because at a certain point in the day, all the good things are gone.
Game Story:
There are different characters in each level that vary in gender, size, sexuality, and race. However, they all shop at the same thrift store "World Thrift." Players will be able to see how all the characters they have played as connect when certain characters donate their clothes to the thrift store and they are bought by other characters.
Artwork for For the World Thrift, created by Catie