etro Remakes – a website entirely dedicated to promoting and showcasing re-envisioned versions of classic video-game titles – recently announced details about their Retro Remakes 2008 Competition. The competition is broken down into six categories – one being branded “A Game for Helen.”

The goal for this specific portion of the competition is to create an accessible arcade experience for kids and young adults in a prominent U.K. hospice – the Helen and Douglas House. Because of the diversity of Helen and Douglas House residents, the competition is aimed at bringing games to those who can’t play them as-is because of sickness or disability.

The Retro Remakes competition is also tied to a greater project being hosted by SpecialEffect.org. Special Effect is currently in the process of putting together a team of professionals to set up and support a new game suite at the Helen and Douglas House. The project will begin in November, and will run until April 2010 to ensure that the hospice staff is sufficiently trained in on the new equipment. You can read more about the project here.

Entrants in the Retro Remakes competition have a large spectrum of influences to draw from. The goal is “to create accessible updated counterparts of real or imagined arcade games from the 1920's to date.” This means that the entry can be mechanical, electro-mechanical or a video game. It can range from pinball to a fortune telling machine, bowling game, pachinko, PC title and more. Hopes are that the final products will include eye-tracking technology or one-switch compatibility to optimize accessibility.

The only real condition is that it provides safe, age-appropriate and accessible amusement for the Hospice residents. While the resulting game is being designed with the Helen and Douglas House in mind, it will be free to share with anyone once the competition has officially ended. The winner will receive an assortment of prizes by affiliated sponsors, but it is generally understood that biggest incentive to enter the competition is to brighten the day of terminally ill children. If interested, check out the prize list here.

For more information about the competition, and instructions on how to enter a product, visit the official site.