A video game design challenge from Gaming Against Violence® about toxic masculinity, toxic relationships, & toxic behavior.
This is the 19th annual Life.Love Game Design Challenge: toxify. To participate, game studios submit a game pitch to considered to become a Finalist. Finalist teams have 4 months to create a working digital game based on their idea. Qualifying games will be critiqued and scored by a panel of experts. All qualifying entries receive $100. Winning teams or studios will share a prize pool of a minimum of $10,000.
A challenge to (human) artists, designers, and visionaries to create a non-violent video game about toxicity and its impacts.
This provocative challenge is presented by the award-winning Gaming Against Violence program and is from the 19th Annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge. Previous game design challenge topics include consent, resilience, and healthy relationships. For the 2026 Life.Love. Game Design Challenge, studios and teams are challenged to imagine a compelling trauma-informed game which will engage and empower its players.
Entrants will submit a game pitch about their toxify game idea. Finalists which are selected from the game pitches will have four months to create their game. A panel of experts will score and critique the completed games. Winning games will be announced at the 20th Annual Fundraiser for Jennifer Ann's Group in El Paso, Texas.
All qualifying Finalist teams receive a minimum of $100 USD. At least one $3,000 USD prize will be given to a qualifying team. The games remain the property of the teams.
Make a game and make a difference.
Submit your game pitch by March 23, 2026. Read the rules for more information.
Contest launch: February 28, 2026
Registration deadline: March 23, 2026
Finalists announced: March 28, 2026
Completed game due: July 28, 2026
Judging begins: August 1, 2026
Winners announced: October 24, 2026
toxify entrants have until March 23rd to submit their game pitches for consideration. Finalists will be notified on March 28th and will then have until July 28th to fully develop their toxify game and submit it. A panel of judges, experts in game design and/or trauma-informed practices, will score and critique all qualifying game entries. The winning games will be announced on October 24, 2026 at the 20th Annual Benefit for Jennifer Ann's Group in El Paso, Texas.
Finalists receive critiques of their submitted games
All qualifying Finalists will receive at least $100 USD
At least one qualifying Finalist will receive at least $3,000 USD
In No Feelings Allowed, players control a character living in a society where everybody is taught that you cannot succeed in life if you display any emotions. As the game progresses, the protagonist learns that the only way to proceed in the game, or through life, is by embracing their emotions. Society celebrates their success and others learn to embrace and show their emotions.
In BadFolks, Incorporated, players navigate a virtual social media platform, BadFolks, where algorithms amplify toxic views, pulling players into a deep cycle of outrage. The protagonist notices how their friends are affected by BadFolks and decides to explore it in order to better understand its impact. While exploring, they learn that BadFolks is deliberately promoting toxic misinformation designed to erode trust and manipulate communities.
To protect their friends from BadFolks' effects, the protagonist hacks into its servers and uploads a new algorithm which promotes prosocial values. As the new algorithm takes effect, communities around the world begin to realize that they have been manipulated. BadFolks Corporation and its owners are exiled to the moon.
Cat society is in an uproar! A mysterious cabal of wealthy cats have taken to the airwaves, convincing cats everywhere that the only good life for a cat is one in which they wear harnesses and are ridden by hamsters. The hamster-riding-cat craze soon sweeps the planet. In Unburdened Kittens, the player is a friendly hamster who is determined to assist a small group of brave kittens who refuse to wear harnesses and be ridden by hamsters.
In Empty Grifters, players take on a deceptive influencer selling an on-line course which preys on the insecurities of young people to promise fame and quick wealth. Rather than being surrounded by the promised fame or wealth, purchasers of this course are instead increasingly finding themselves isolated by their friends, families, and communities. The player is a student who hopes to become an investigative journalist someday and sees that this could be an important story. Can you guide them along the right path using their burgeoning journalistic skills to expose how these grifters have trapped young people in cycles of self-doubt and financial ruin?
Does media shape our cultural norms and values?
Or do our cultural norms and values shape our media?
Or do they shape one another?
This collection of images and sayings is primarily from Western culture, past and present. Some might see these as a reflection of our culture and others might regard them as shaping our culture.
Trauma-informed digital games are the ideal platform for exploring these important and complex questions.
1950's husband jokingly tells his wife he looks forward to the day when he will punch her in her face so hard her body soars to the moon.
"I think it’s a nasty little song, really rather evil. It’s about jealousy and surveillance and ownership."
Folks without empathy say it is a weakness.
A bad dad tells Danny not to cry about his dead mother because 'brave boys' should repress their feelings.
A coffee ad kidding with women of the sexy consequences if they don't buy He-Man Woman-Haters coffee.
With that attitude they certainly will.
"Your job is to make a boy very much aware that he is a man--not to make him too much aware you are a girl."
Zuckerberg wants folks to celebrate aggression more.
Netflix romanticizes stalking behavior in its show You.
Bloomingdale's ad suggesting that consent was optional.
Admitting to a mistake is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Corporations care more about money than your well-being.
Toxic beliefs are negative thoughts that can harm self esteem and well-being. Toxic behaviors are harmful actions, like dishonesty or manipulation, that harm relationships. Toxic masculinity refers to harmful cultural norms and beliefs associated with traditional masculinity which are harmful to men, women, and society. Toxic relationships are relationships where one or more individuals in the relationship engage in harmful behavior which has a negative impact on the emotional or physical health of the other.
Here are a selection of links to articles, research, and programs which explore toxic beliefs, behaviors, actions and the impact that this toxicity has on individuals, relationships, communities, and society. These resources include strategies to identify, avoid, and overcome the many harms created by toxic beliefs and toxic people.
While love is undeniably significant, it should never overshadow the other (just as important) factors such as communication, respect, and trust. Seven signs of a toxic relationship.
[Thought Catalog]
News outlets frequently tell us that social media is bad for us, though these claims are not always supported by research. A review of the impacts of social media on public health.
[Missouri Medicine]
Can you diagnose a toxic person? Key signs and advice on setting boundaries or cutting ties for your mental health. Warning signs for a toxic person, toxic person traits, and more.
[WebMD]
"Instagram is peddling a false narrative that the platform is simply a reflection of its users’ interests and experiences, without distortion or manipulation by the platform." A discussion about Facebook's knowledge of the impact of Instagram on teens' mental health.
[Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]
In this empirically grounded challenge to our stereotypes about boys and men, Niobe Way reveals the intense intimacy among teenage boys especially during early and middle adolescence. Yet as boys become men, they become distrustful, lose these friendships, and feel isolated and alone.
[Harvard University Press book review]
A new survey found nearly half of younger Trump voters believe American culture needs "more masculinity". Gen Z and millenial Trump voters were also more open to political violence, a sentiment also shared with young non-Trump voters.
[USA Today]
Good News: Study Shows That Most Men Are Not Toxic. A new study of more than 15,000 men investigated eight markers of toxic masculinity. Here's what it found.
[Psychology Today]
Toxic beliefs can harm relationships by affecting our perceptions and actions. Common relationship beliefs that are toxic, according to experts.
[Bustle]
The loose digital ecosystem of influencers and communities - often called 'The Manosphere' - stretches from self-help gurus and dating coaches to anti-feminist forums.
[RTÉ]
It's not that there were scenes of sexual harassment or assault or blatant sexism or racism in [these] films. It's that they were trivialized as part of the comedy.
[Upworth]
Analyzing Masculine Speech in Gaming Culture. [The goals of the study is to] identify what aspects of speech qualify as masculine, give context of gamer culture as well as insight into the online gaming community, and identify the role masculinity plays within modern gamer culture.
[CLA Journal]
Toxicity in online social interactions is a growing and significant concern. One framework to highlight key differences between online and face-to-face communications is the Disembodiment, Anonymity, and lack of Disinhibition (DAD) framework.
[Caltech]
This is the 19th annual Life.Love Game Design Challenge.
To participate, game studios submit their game pitch for a chance to be selected as a Finalist. Finalist teams have 4 months to create a working video game based on their idea.
Qualifying video games will be critiqued and scored by a panel of experts.
All qualifying entries receive at least $100.
The winning game studios will share a prize pool of at least $10,000.
Are you ready to register?
Make sure to read the rules for information about the contest and submitting your game pitch before registering.
When you're ready to register, click on the 'Register to Enter' button below to be directed to the online form to register.
Registration deadline: March 23, 2026
