Team Animus, composed of BS-Information Systems (BS-IS) students Charlene Ho, Patricia Alonzo, Flerizza Sanidad, and Miguel Maningo, was crowned as national champions of the games category in the Microsoft Imagine Cup Philippines Finals 2014 held in Casa Blanca in Intramuros, Manila last April 24.
Their winning entry, “FitPals”, is a game designed to address children’s health and fitness concerns through an adventure game that can be played via Xbox Kinect.
“We’re not required to finish it naman. All throughout the contest we just [needed] to show them basically what the game is going to be about,” according to Alonzo.
This idea-pitching contest, now on its 12th year, required contestants to communicate their envisioned project, along with a prototype application.
Each year, Microsoft announces specific topics that will serve as the theme for the contest. According to their press conference, this year’s contest included disaster management, education, and environment.
“The idea of the contest is that if you win, you get to make your dream come true. you get to build your app. they [will] fund your idea,” said Ho.
Team Animus was rewarded with a P50,000 cash prize, free Microsoft products, and the privilege to represent their respective countries at the Imagine Cup 2014 Worldwide Finals this July in Seattle, Washington.
After winning the national cup, cable TV show “Future Perfect”, which airs via ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), featured Charlene Ho along with winners from other categories.
