Games shine light on teen dating violence

The sixth annual Life. Love. Game Design Challenge, aimed at increasing awareness of teen dating violence, has announced its winning entries.

Overall winner is Love in the Dumpster by Jean Hehn of Belgium, followed by Janie's Sketchbook by Guts Rodsavas and Piti Yindee of GPTouch in Thailand. In third place is YourSpace by Paul McGee, Sam Gross, Lyndsey Moulds, Ross McWilliam and Kayfaraday in Ireland followed by What Kind of Monster is your Boyfriend? by 99Uno in Argentina.

The game-makers were all challenged to answer the question; 'can you design a game about teen dating violence without using violence itself?' The contest is run by Jennifer Ann's Group, a non-profit organization that educates families, teachers and young adults about dangerous relationships.

"It's an honor that so many talented creative developers have applied their considerable skills to this issue and we're so pleased that we have the opportunity to share their fantastic efforts," said contest organizer Drew Crecente. "It's especially exciting to see the international reach of our competition, with entries this year coming from nine different countries on four continents."

Full disclosure: News Editor Brian Crecente is the brother of the event's organizer, Drew Crecente.