Chicago Student Game Developers Win Top Prize at Washington D.C. Summit
First Lady Michelle Obama awards students from Tribeca Flashpoint
Academy and Northwestern University, developers of groundbreaking new
smartphone game, Jungo.
CHICAGO—This weekend, the student game developers of
Chicago-based tech start-up JiveHealth are returning from an amazing spring
break. But instead of sun burns as souvenirs, they’re bringing home $10,000, a
ton of expert business advice, and the First Lady’s enthusiastic blessing of
their new smartphone game aimed at fighting childhood obesity.
This week, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy students Nathan
Wangler and Hailey Schmidt and Northwestern University student Dennis Ai attended
the Building a Healthier Future Summit in Washington D.C., where they treated a
panel of judges and Mrs. Obama herself to a demonstration of their new game,
Jungo.
“The game is all about augmentation, and it’s all about
changing childhood [eating] behaviors in small ways,” said game designer
Wangler. “Some items, like apples, only exist in the real world. To get this
upgrade, your child will have to go to the supermarket or refrigerator, find an
apple, and take a picture of it. Our game’s algorithm digitalizes their photo
into a virtual apple which she then is able to upgrade her character with.”
Jungo took home first place for its ability to get kids
thinking about healthy snacks in the real world. As grand prize winners, the
team will receive guidance and expert advice from marketing expert Mark Hass
(Edelman US), business strategist Vivian Riefberg (McKinsey & Company), and
entrepreneur Steve Krein (StartUp Health); plus $10,000 to help them get their
new business off the ground.
“To have this opportunity is more than I could have ever
asked for,” said Schmidt, the game’s artist. “To work on something that I
actually really wanted to work on from the start of even considering to be a game
artist is absolutely incredible.”
About Tribeca
Flashpoint Academy
A venture with Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy is one of the nation’s most well-respected digital and media arts colleges—offering a progressive training model that erases the boundaries between education and the professional world by exposing students to real-world, industry experiences and state-of-the-art software and equipment beginning their first semester on campus.
A venture with Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy is one of the nation’s most well-respected digital and media arts colleges—offering a progressive training model that erases the boundaries between education and the professional world by exposing students to real-world, industry experiences and state-of-the-art software and equipment beginning their first semester on campus.
http://www.tfa.edu
About Jive Health
At JiveHealth, we are designing
games (for iOS, Android, and Windows) to engage kids and help them build
healthy eating habits through experiential learning. Our first game will be
released in Summer 2013.http://www.jivehealth.com/
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Student game developers to present anti-obesity game at Washington DC summit
The smartphone game is designed to combat childhood obesity by teaching healthy eating habits. Jungo has two components: a shooter that uses slingshot loaded up with healthy snacks, as well as upgradable characters. Children can upgrade their character by taking pictures of healthy foods in the real world.
JiveHealth designer Nathan Wangler and artist Hailey Schmidt hail from Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, while founder Dennis Ai is a student at Northwestern University. The trio entered the game in the End Childhood Obesity Innovation Challenge, which is part of First Lady Michele Obama's initiative to raise awareness about childhood obesity.
You can see their pitch and the game in action in the video above.
