Press release
Activate! to be translated to Mandarin and deployed at not-for-profit intranet at Dandelion Middle School in Beijing this summer
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -6/3/2010
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the launch of Activate!, an interactive Web site primarily targeted for children ages 13-15 that enables kids to easily design and program video games. Activate! was created by PETLab and funded by a $77,000 AMD Foundation grant in support of AMD Changing the Game. AMD Changing the Game helps strengthen programs that improve children's critical science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills and encourages kids to become more globally conscious citizens by developing digital video games with social content.
The Activate! Web site is currently being translated into Mandarin and also will be deployed on the intranet of the not-for-profit Dandelion Middle School in Beijing later this summer. A month-long game development workshop held at the school is expected to reach an estimated 475 students.
"In its short two-year history, AMD Changing the Game has supported several leading-edge partners and programs that help expand the use of digital game development as an educational tool. With Activate!, teens far and wide will have access to the tools they need to create their own games," said Allyson Peerman, President, AMD Foundation. "Our goal is to help today's youth grow into technically adept, critical thinkers and responsible citizens in order to thrive in our digital world."
PETLab is a joint project of Games for Change and Parsons The New School for Design. It is a game design research lab that connects scholars and designers in the field of digital media, practitioners working in the spheres of education and social issues, and people of all ages at play.
"As we see a stronger focus placed on the importance of gaming and education, it is important that youth develop a literacy about games themselves and the potential to address social and global issues through game design," said Colleen Macklin, Associate Professor, the Director of PETLab and an Associate Professor at Parsons The New School for Design. "The Activate! Web site is about active and fun learning through design and we believe students will feel a great sense of achievement when they complete the challenges and activities."
Activate! contains tutorials for making games, example games for users to play, and will feature a gallery of user-generated games. Activate! leverages the publicly available Game Maker software program to help create the games. Depending on local laws, users will also be able to upload their completed games to the Activate! site.
The Activate! online activities are designed and presented in the form of "challenges" rather than traditional lessons. Each challenge corresponds with a current socially-conscious theme and some challenges may link to special global and social events. The Activate! challenge modules will measurably enhance the following competencies among youth participants:
- Familiarity with game design elements, such as graphics, sound, narrative, rules, programming and play
- Familiarity using specialized design and programming software such as Game Maker
- Ability to engage in design-based processes, including problem-solving, sketching, prototyping, testing and modifying
- Understanding of cause-and-effect relationships within different gaming environments
- Experience applying programming and procedural logic to game structures and behavior, and applying mathematics to character movement
- Teamwork and collaboration skills within a creative atmosphere
- Awareness about the pressing social issues embedded in various game-based activities
AMD Changing the Game
AMD Changing the Game is designed to take gaming beyond entertainment by inspiring teens to create digital games on important social issues, such as energy or the environment. As a result, they enrich their educational experience by learning critical science, technology, education and math (STEM) and life skills. The initiative is rooted in AMD's commitment to and experience in supporting education, and the company's passion and expertise in the graphics processor and gaming industries.
Since its launch in June 2008, AMD Changing the Game has funded 18 programs by organizations that enable youth game development, including:
- Funded the development of a youth game development curriculum with PETLab and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).
- Funded the development of the World Wide Workshop Foundation's Globaloria game-design program for the Southwest Key's East Austin College Prep Academy in 2009 and 2010.
- Co-sponsored the Malaysian Cybergames Festival 2010, including the "Dare to Create" digital game design and development workshop
- Funded the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers new video game design category for the 2010 and 2011 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
- Funded Schmahl Science Workshop's program to develop a sustainable fishing video game to communicate "the danger of over fishing to long-term human survival
- Co-sponsored the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Games for Change Festival. The 2010 sponsorship includes a day-long workshop the AMD Foundation is sponsoring to teach educators about the various tools available for youth game development.
About the AMD Foundation
The AMD Foundation connects and empowers individuals with knowledge, thereby opening doors to opportunity. The Foundation's signature program, AMD Changing the Game, supports initiatives designed to help youth harness the power of digital games with social content, while learning critical Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills and life skills. The Foundation also funds the AMD Employee Giving Program which supports AMD employees' community interests by matching their personal donations of time and money to local organizations and schools.
Supporting Resources
About PETLab
PETLab is a joint project of Games for Change and Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. It is a place for testing prototyping methods and the process of collaborative design with organizations interested in using games as a form of public interest engagement. Through its work, PETLab connects with scholars and designers in the field of digital media, practitioners working in the spheres of education and social issues, and people of all ages at play. For more information, please visit http://petlab.parsons.edu/.
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.
