Boy needs votes for chance at $10K
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Michael Corace

SPOTSWOOD - Eight-year-old Michael Corace has been selected as a semifinalist in a national contest after coming up with an idea for a new video game.

With a chance to take the top prize, which includes a $10,000 scholarship, Michael and his family are asking for the help of their local community, who can vote for his game online.

Michael's parents entered him into the Chief V.Flash Officer (CVO) Challenge, sponsored by VTech Industries Inc., a Hong Kong-based company with a division of electronic learning products in Arlington Heights, Ill. VTech selected Michael to be a member of the V.Flash Team as part of a national search for a VTech CVO.

Michael's mother, Kristyn, said she and her husband, Frank, are very happy their son was recognized as a finalist.

"It is all very exciting," Kristyn said. "We are trying to spread the word to vote for Michael."

She noted that her son's recent accomplishment was not such a surprise.

"Since he started walking at 9 months old, he always played with Legos, solved mazes and math problems. He was also an early reader," she said. The third-grade student at Appleby School is also a first-degree black belt in taekwondo and part of his school's gifted and talented program.

VTech selected Michael as one of five finalists among a nationwide group of children ages 6 to 10 years old. He was also chosen as one of 25 children named to the V.Flash Team by demonstrating the job qualifications required of a VTech CVO.

Michael then completed the CVO challenge, which included testing the new V.Flash Home Edutainment System, which features educational games. He also had to derive an idea for the next V.Flash game.

Michael's idea made him a Top 5 finalist. The game ideas can be found on Channel 18 of the V.Flash Web site, www.vflashtv.com. Those who visit the site can vote for their favorite contestant until Oct. 13.

Michael called his game "Earth Voyage," in which the player rides an airplane and faces various challenges in different countries. Each challenge offers the winner a piece of what will eventually make a rocket ship that blasts the player into space.

Michael said he enjoys testing VTech's learning products and making up games, but he also has other goals planned for the future.

"I like it, but it is not my favorite," Michael said. "I [also] want to be a pro baseball player for the New York Yankees."

VTech will announce the winner of the contest a week after the last votes are accepted Oct. 13.

The contestant who gets the most votes will receive the grand prize, a $10,000 college scholarship and a trip to VTech headquarters in Chicago with three family members. As the new CVO, the winner will also provide input on V.Flash and V.Discs throughout the following year.

Michael is excited about the prospect of having an idea he came up with made into a video game.

"That would be very cool," Michael said, "because then I would get to play it and my friends could see what I always wanted to make."