Microsoft is putting a lot of its eggs in the indie development basket, announcing during its February keynote at the Game Developers Conference that it will allow games created using its XNA Game Studio development program to be shared with (and sold to) other gamers via Xbox Live. We’ve already seen part of that program in action, via the seven trial games temporarily released following the keynote (while a recently-launched private beta test of the XNA Creators Club is in progress), but Microsoft is also encouraging use of XNA Game Studio with student developers via the newly established Game Development track in its annual Imagine Cup technology competition.

Though otherwise allowed to go in any direction with their games, the student development teams were bound by one highly specific guideline: the games must promote the message of creating a sustainable environment. Following several months of competition (the contest began last September), the list of participants was whittled down to just six finalists: Team BAAM! from Germany, Team Drunk Puppy from Belgium, Team ECOThink from France, Team Gomz from Korea, Team Mother Gaia Studio from Brazil, and Team SiSS from Germany. The winner will be announced at the Imagine Cup finals, which is being held in Paris, France from July 2-9.

Microsoft showed off the six finalists’ games earlier this week at the Expo Night at the Games for Change Festival in New York City on Tuesday, June 3. We caught up with Chris Satchell (shown below during the GDC keynote), chief XNA architect and general manager of the XNA group, via phone prior to the expo to talk about the Games for Change event, the future of “serious games,” and when (and how) we might see these environmentally conscious games via digital distribution.