Source: Microsoft / Space Jam: A New Legacy

LeBron James’ new film, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Microsoft are teaming up for a pretty dope cause that will help usher in the next generation of young video game developers.

Announced today (Dec.14), Microsoft Corp. and Warner Bros. will celebrate the 2021 release of James’, not a sequel Space Jam film with an exciting new contest. The campaign will see Xbox, NBA champion and global icon LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, and the rest of the Tune Squad to jump-start young gamer’s game development dreams by amplifying coding education by creating an original Xbox arcade-style video game inspired by the forthcoming film.

The contest aligns perfectly with Space Jam: A New Legacy film.

Official synopsis:

Welcome to the Jam!  Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter.  This transformational journey is a manic mash-up of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom (who dreams of becoming a video game developer) are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny, and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of NBA and WNBA stars as you’ve never seen them before.  It’s Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.

The contest wills see LeBron and Bugs Bunny search for the best fan-submitted video game ideas. Officially tipping off December 14 through December 30, fans ages 14 and up can go to the official contest website and view the official rules to submit their game ideas. When fans enter the contest, they will be asked to choose the game genre by selecting a key image and then will describe it in 500 words or less.

Source: Microsoft / Space Jam: A New Legacy

Two winners will see their game ideas be brought to life in a Space Jam: A New Legacy arcade-style video game, which will be available as the newest Perk for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in June 2021. That’s not all either; the winners will also see their names featured in the game credits,  a personalized Xbox Series S console, signed and authenticated LeBron James memorabilia, Space Jam: A New Legacy merchandise and Nike VIP packs,  a private friends and family screening of the film; and a virtual Microsoft coding workshop for their local community.

Microsoft also announced it would continue to help coders of all ages” jump-start their creativity” with “free one-of-a-kind Space Jam: A New Legacy-theme virtual workshops on video game creation. The workshops will see students build a playable prototype of a video game using block-based coding on the MakeCode Arcade platform to teach them about professional skills and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) careers related to video game design.

More experienced coders, older teens, high school and college-aged students, and adults can partake in two film-themed Microsoft Learn lessons teaching them how to use  player stats to make real-time decisions in the middle of a game.

“The first lesson includes predicting efficiency ratings with machine learning and Visual Studio Code, using data from human and Tune Squad basketball players. The second lesson includes building a web app that uses additional machine learning models in real-time to help a coach decide who needs a water break and who should be put in the game to yield the highest likelihood of winning.”

The upcoming video game contest coding workshops and lessons are all a part of Microsoft’s greater skills initiative to help 25 million people, especially those in underrepresented populations, acquire new digital skills and apply them to their passions.

Space Jam: A New Legacy arrives July 16, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max.

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Photo: Microsoft / Space Jam: A New Legacy

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