The Digital Games Malta working group is launching Gamezing 2011, a digital game development competition for students sponsored by the University of Malta, the Malta Council of Science and Technology, Malta Enterprise and St Martin’s Institute of IT.

The competition entails the development of a digital game that can be played on a web browser, and is open to individual students or groups of students.

Participants must be registered students currently enrolled at a secondary, post-secondary or tertiary level educational institution, or attending a certificate programme.

The games should be developed using a game development platform such as XNA or Unity, and must be suitable for a general audience or players aged 12 and over (PEGI 12 rating according to the Pan European Game Information guidelines). A panel of independent judges will assess the games which will be evaluated based upon four criteria: innovation, fun factor, production quality and presentation.

Registration for Gamezing 2011 will open this month, and teams will have up until November 2011 to complete their game. A registration fee of €10 will be charged per participating team. An information session is planned for July 20, during which interested participants will receive further details about the competition.

The award ceremony will be held in January. The winning teams will receive awards worth €1000 for first place, €600 for second Place and €400 for the third place.

Other teams deserving special mention for some aspect or other of their game may also be awarded a prize.