Back in December 2020, Microsoft’s Xbox and Warner Brothers partnered to announce the Xbox Space Jam: A New Legacy competition. The international competition sought fans and enthusiasts of the iconic 1996 semi-animated movie Space Jam to submit ideas for an Xbox game based on the new Space Jam: A New Legacy movie that was released in July this year. The company recently announced the winners and one of them is a 15-year-old from India whose idea was taken up by Microsoft to develop the new Space Jam: A New Legacy title.
The 15-year-old boy from Kerala, India, named Narayan Karthikeyan was one of the two winners of the Xbox Space Jam contest. He had submitted an idea that was chosen by Microsoft and Warner Bros Pictures to develop the new Xbox title.
Xbox and the production house worked together to integrate the game mechanics suggested by the youth-competition winner Karthikeyan along with the gameplay idea submitted by Ricky from the USA, who is the winner of the same contest in the adult age group.
As per reports, when Xbox announced the competition last year, Karthikeyan was preparing for his exams. However, being a hardcore fan of the original Space Jam movie, he decided to submit his idea for the contest. “I submitted it so casually, I didn’t even save a copy of my entry,” the 15-year-old said in a statement.
Although Karthikeyan says that he submitted his idea casually and it took him just half an hour to jot it down on the competition website, his idea was actually adopted by Microsoft. As a result, the Keralite became the winner of the Xbox Space Jam competition, with his name appearing on the end credits of the game. “My parents too were happy. They’ve always been supportive”, he further added.
Moreover, he has received various other prizes for his contribution, including a custom Xbox One S console with his name written on it and an annual subscription for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Furthermore, he received movie merch and LeBron James-signed memorabilia to add to his collection. He is yet to receive a hometown screening of Space Jam: A New Legacy and virtual coding workshop from Microsoft.
Being a storyteller at heart, Karthikeyan says that his idea for the game mechanics was inspired by the arcade games of the 80s and 90s. Moreover, he says that the gaming industry in India has huge potential and he would love to be a part of it in the future.
Coming to the Space Jam: A New Legacy game, it is available as a free perk for all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members on Xbox consoles, Xbox app on Windows, and the Xbox Mobile app. However, non-members will need to purchase a digital copy of the title on their Xbox console to enjoy it on their PCs.
