When LEGO drops teasers for new product, game, or media, we do our best to guess what they’re planning. Sometimes we hit the nail on the head; other times our theories go wide. But hypothesizing on advance hints by LEGO is fun too. Take for example their recent teaser about a collaborative effort with Unity. We believed that meant a LEGO Ninjago-themed microgame using the Unity game engine, much favored by indie game-devs. A reasonable guess, to be sure; but what LEGO finally unveiled threw our theory off. They’re not making the microgame. LEGO Ideas members will, in a contest.
Heck, we have the official LEGO Ideas Contest page for it. “The LEGO Ninjago 1-Button Game Challenge” pretty much sums up what interested participants are in for. If they have game coding potential they can download the Unity game engine, and their LEGO microgame template, free. The objective: to create a microgame (short, simple videogame) with only one button as input. Think perhaps of a basic “endless runner” app and you’d get the idea. It can be themed after Ninjago or an original idea. Naturally LEGO Ideas won’t allow third-party IPs for this. Designers can then show off their microgames on the LEGO Ideas contest page via trailers or screenshots.
The contest will award one winner for each of three categories: Ninjago-themed, original, and Unity behavior-bricks. And look at these prizes for the lucky ones:
- Nintendo Entertainment System (71374)
- Super Mario Starter Course (71360)
- Minecraft Abandoned Mine (21166)
- Unity Pro subscription, valid for one year
- $200 in Unity Asset Store Credits
- The important thing of all: Your microgame could be featured on LEGO Retail stores.
Other things
Check out the contest page for links to download Unity’s LEGO microgame for development. The Ninjago Add-On pack also went live on Unity’s Asset Store for participants planning to theme their game after Ninjago. Entries must be in no later than November 4. The Top 15 will be subjected to a fan vote on November 18, with the three Grand Winners announced on December 2.