In an effort to recognize women in the gaming industry and encourage young girls, Google challenged teen girls to come up with their own concepts for games. Now, five teen girls’ games have been selected and launched via Google Play’s Change the Game initiative, the company announced Monday via a press release.
The Change the Game program launched back in December of last year with an admirable mission to “shed light on the female gaming industry and to promote female empowerment in gaming,” according to a press release. The program is in partnership with Girls Make Games, which worked with the girls to bring the chosen games to life.
Now, almost a year later, five young women’s games are launching on the Google Play store via early access. The games’ full releases are planned for release next month.
Christine Choi, one of the winners, said her goal was to create a game that could be challenging and enjoyed by everybody, regardless of their gender, going against the grain of gender-based game development.
“As an aspiring artist in the gaming industry, I do not want to repeat this cycle of gender-based pandering in the future,” Choi said.
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The five games are all available now on the Google Play store at the links below. Game information is courtesy of the Google Play Store descriptions:
- “Mazu” by Christine Choi, age 17
“‘Mazu’ is a side-scrolling platform game in which a young shapeshifting girl named Mazu embarks on a journey through a danger-infested forest filled with peckish predators, unfriendly terrain, and coin-hungry hunters.”
- “EcoVerse” by Dakota Goldberg, age 14
“‘EcoVerse’ is a series of mini-games to clean, plant, and bring animal life to planets as part of the GRT (Galactic Restoration Team). Restore abandoned planets across the galaxy into beautiful worlds once again thriving with life.”
- “Symphony” by Erin Alvarico, age 18
“‘Symphony’ is a platform rhythm game about Serena and her quest to retrieve her grandfather’s lost music sheets scattered throughout the land. Beat mini rhythm games to keep enemies at bay and bring color to the world around you. Join Serena as she embarks on her journey and shares the magic of music along the way.”
- “Palette” by Lauren Choi, age 17
“’Palette’ simulates the eternal struggle of every artist: finding the right color. Mix together different colors from the palette to match colors of well-known paintings. Matching all target colors reveals the famous painting and an art history fact. Palette gives artists the ability to explore mixing colors without wasting any paint!”
- “The Other Realm” by Lily Cain, age 14
“’The Other Realm’ is a puzzle adventure game about Isabelle, a young girl who has woken up in a giant tree with no memory. Solve puzzles throughout the mysterious tree and uncover memories of Isabelle’s past. Interact with creatures of the tree, the Alui, and learn of an illness that plagues over the realm. Choose your words wisely, as your interactions with the creatures determine Isabelle’s fate.”
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