Dig-It! Games Rewards Kids' Creativity in Mayan Mysteries Character Contest
Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) November 19, 2013 -- Will you create the next character in Mayan Mysteries? Dig-It! Games, an independent developer of educational, interactive games founded by a former archaeologist and middle school teacher, today launched the Mayan Mysteries Character Drawing Contest. Kids ages 9 to 15 have the chance to develop a new character that will be added to the latest edition of Mayan Mysteries, coming in early 2014.
Mayan Mysteries, first introduced in October 2012, is a one-of-a-kind puzzle-based game that takes kids on an exciting journey through history to learn about the ancient Maya civilization. Players are turned into archaeologists as they embark upon an expedition with “Team Q” and gather clues hidden across ancient sites in order to catch the secretive thief, Ladrone. The new character will join the adventure as an archaeological assistant, excited to learn about the Maya culture and willing to get their hands dirty.
“Mayan Mysteries currently engages players through narrative and common-core aligned learning games that test reading comprehension, geographical knowledge, spatial reasoning, and science and math proficiencies, but the Mayan Mysteries Character Drawing Contest takes this one step further,” said Suzi Wilczynski, president and founder of Dig-It! Games. “It gives kids the opportunity to exercise their creativity and conceive their own character, including personal and physical attributes, for the chance to actually enter the animated, exciting world of Mayan Mysteries.”
Since its release, Mayan Mysteries has been highly recognized for seamlessly and effectively blending fun and learning inside and outside of the classroom, earning the Academics’ Choice Mind Spring Award, The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, About.com Readers’ Choice Award, Parents’ Choice Foundation Recommendation, and ComputED Gazette BESSIE Award.
To enter the contest, individuals must submit their character drawing between November 19 and December 15, 2013, with an accompanying job application, available at http://www.dig-itgames.com/contest or http://www.facebook.com/dig-itgames. Entries will be judged by a panel of artists and designers who created Mayan Mysteries based on the following criteria:
1. The originality of character design (10 points)
2. The quality of character’s backstory (who your character is) (5 points)
3. The rationale for why your character should be part of the team (10 points)
4. The presentation of argument (5 points)
The three finalists' entries will be reposted to http://www.facebook.com/dig-itgames where Facebook fans and friends (ages 13+) cast a vote when they "Like" a sketch. Voting takes place from December 19, 2013 to January 8, 2014. The winner will be officially notified on January 9, 2014 by Dig-It! Games.
In addition to having his/her character sketch featured as a character in the latest edition of Mayan Mysteries, the grand prize winner will also be added to the game’s credits, and will be featured as the Timeline graphic for the Dig-It! Games Facebook page for one week. The grand prize winner will also receive one (1) 16GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi.
Three (3) Finalist Prizes: All finalists will receive a free Single-User online license of Mayan Mysteries Part 2 within 30 days of the contest period closing date. Finalists who are not Grand Prize winners will also receive one (1) 16GB iPod Touch.
For a complete list of rules and contest details, please visit http://www.dig-itgames.com/contest.
About Dig-It! Games©
Dig-It! Games is an independent game developer dedicated to encouraging kids to explore the world around them. The company designs and develops age-appropriate games specifically for the important middle school demographic to ensure engaging and educational experiences for children in grades 5 and above. At Dig-It! Games, we know that fun and learning can, and should, go hand in hand.
To learn more about Dig-It! Games, please visit http://dig-itgames.com. For media inquiries, please contact Eric Schulman at Stanton Communications at (410) 727‐6855 or eschulman(at)stantoncomm(dot)com.
Eric Schulman, Dig-It! Games, http://www.dig-itgames.com, +1 (410) 727-6855, [email protected]
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