CEO Victoria Van Voorhis' Second Avenue Software makes games that send rocket ships through mazes and archeologists through virtual dungeons - ­all in the name of science education. These products end up in museums, on web sites, and in the back of textbooks.

But now she and her year-old Pittsford company are about to try to break new ground. She and some of her development team are off to the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. They'll be meeting with Nintendo, Microsoft, Disney's Buena Vista Software, Sega, and others next week. Their goal is to land contracts as third-party developers for more "traditional" computer games, in addition to the educational and training markets Second Avenue already works with. That's a daunting challenge, but not for the reasons you'd think.

It's not the age of the company, but the reputation and state of educational games. Educational and edutainment software is often contracted out to companies without a background in education and without much interaction with the experts who devised the scientific content. The result?

"Kids can smell ‘educational software' a mile away, and they'll either walk away from it or spend their time trying to break it," says Van Voorhis.

This has led to a game industry wary of the "E" word. Until recently, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft's X-box division wouldn't have been likely to meet with an educational developer trying to break into the traditional game market. A little more than six months ago, though, Nintendo had a runaway bestseller for its Handheld DS with "Brain Age," a mental jungle gym of a program that is little more than various types of high-speed mental drills with some Sudoku thrown in.

Now the traditional entertainment-only game market is more open to games with educational content, or even educational games. Second Avenue has taken the first steps to becoming an approved developer for Nintendo. And it may actually have a shot.

They're trying to use their expertise to give their entertainment packages some educational underpinnings. "We like to get a biologist paired with an interactive or game developer to discuss subject content," says Van Voorhis, "and come up with a way to make mastering scientific and technical material a game."

Second Avenue has been able to take advantage of some of Rochester's talent pool. "Most of my technical staff are graduates and interns from RIT's new-media, medical-illustration, and computer-science programs," she says, "as well as some from the U of R. They all want to make games."

That Van Voorhis and company are joining the annual pilgrimage to video-game Mecca doesn't mean the company is turning its back on its historical clients. They'll be meeting with a potential biotech client as well while on the left coast. They will continue to work with and try to expand their traditional textbook, museums, and training clients.

But their additional focus could lead to another successful video-game company in Rochester, joining Ambrosia. With the UR's research into computer games and RIT's emerging game-development MS and BS degrees, more companies developing games here could help stem the youthful brain drain Rochester's leadership is so concerned about.

If traditional game companies are willing to explore a "Second Avenue" for computer-game development in Western New York, Van Voorhis and company may find themselves in the fast lane.

You can check out Second Avenue Software at its website.