Intel® University Games Showcase 2017

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2017 is fast approaching along with one of the year’s most anticipated events: the Intel® University Games Showcase.

The Intel University Games Showcase provides an opportunity for students from top university programs in computer entertainment, design, and engineering all across the country to show their very best work and compete for $40,000 in prizes. In its fourth year, the Intel University Games Showcase has become one of the most exciting showcases for new and innovative gaming ideas. This year is no exception.

Following are overviews of this year’s entries. They will all be competing for first-, second-, and third-place prizes in the following categories:

• Best Gameplay
• Best Visual Quality
• And new this year, a special prize for innovation

Enjoy this preview of what you will see at the Intel University Games Showcase 2017, and then be sure to check them out yourself at this year’s GDC. More details for the entry of each university will be online shortly.

Carnegie Mellon University

Beatstep Cowboys

The faculty selected this game from last year's student projects. An important selection criteria was innovative gameplay.

The Game:

You are in the duel of your life. You have four beats to decide what moves to make. Your opponent is making their move. What do you do?

This is the life of the Beatstep Cowboys.

Beatstep Cowboys is a quirky Wild West duel that combines quick real-time strategy and rhythm-based gameplay. Players each control a cowboy, choose a sequence of moves to make, and try to shoot the other player before they are shot. But unlike other strategy games, players select their moves at the same time, to the beat of the soundtrack. Beatstep Cowboys is all about creating close calls and the element of surprise. The result is a competitive game that is easy enough for a little kid to pick up, but provides advanced players the opportunity to stretch the limits of their logical and predictive thinking.

DigiPen Institute of Technology

Magnolia

To select this game for the showcase, a panel of DigiPen instructors nominated different projects, and then they voted to determine the top pick. This year’s winner is "Magnolia."

The Game:

"Magnolia" is an interactive story dedicated to the memory of a 3-year-old girl of the same name. The player experiences things the girl loved in her real life as she follows a path to reach a Magnolia tree planted by her father. This experience comes to life with dialogue narrated by Magnolia's father and her sister. The team worked to personalizing the game as much as possible. The environment in the game revolves around places, object, and colors Magnolia loved in real life. The team recreated her bedroom and other art assets with the help of pictures provided by her family. To develop this game, the team had to get to know the character. They had several meetings with Magnolia's father because it was a very delicate subject and the team wanted to be true to Magnolia’s memory. Making this game come to life was an emotional rollercoaster. Every small detail in the game has a story behind it.

Drexel University

Sole

Drexel is proud to be invited to the Intel University Games Showcase since the beginning. It’s a great opportunity for Drexel students to have their work recognized on a national stage. Holding it at the premier game development industry conference makes it a great practical exercise in promoting their projects, as well as a strong networking opportunity, regardless of the competition outcome.

Drexel’s Digital Media program produces many student projects every year, so when they open their internal competition, they get student teams applying from different years (sophomores through PhD candidates), courses, and programs under the DIGM umbrella. They hold their own competition using a format similar to the actual event, modeling their judging process on the the Intel University Games Showcase rules, and adding the overall quality of the presentation to the gameplay and visual quality categories. With energetic discussions among the faculty, they choose from their 6-8 participating teams the one team that will represent Drexel.

It’s an exciting process that becomes a goal for the students, especially after Drexel’s first-place win for gameplay last year. Opportunities like the Intel University Games Showcase inspire students to stay focused on their projects as goals beyond just grades and portfolios.

The Game:

Sole is an abstract, aesthetic-driven adventure game where you play as a tiny ball of light in a world shrouded in darkness. The game is a quiet journey through desolate environments where you’ll explore the remnants of great cities to uncover the history of an ancient civilization. Paint the land with light as you explore an abandoned world with a mysterious past.

Sole is a game about exploring a world without light. As you move through the environment and discover your surroundings, you’ll leave a permanent trail of light wherever you go. Free from combat or death, Sole invites players of all skill levels to explore at their own pace. With no explicit instructions, players are left to discover their objective as they soak up the somber ambiance.

New York University

Consume Me

This game was an easy choice for the NYU Game Center. It’s a thoughtful, fun, and aesthetically unique game that is personal, smart, and clearly an artist's passion project.

The Game:

"Consume Me" puts the player into the mind of the dieter. These prototypes explore a three-way dynamic between the player, the character, and the fact that this character is based on Jenny, the author. What does it mean to push and prod the character into certain eating behaviors when the player doesn’t get full control of the character’s thoughts and internal state? The player is put in an awkward position of performing as the character, but only in a limited sense. These prototypes embrace an intimate and confessional mood and present a goal-oriented relationship with food using simple, but distressing mechanics. Cramming Tetris-shaped pieces of food on a plate to hit a calorie target, putting a flopping avatar through a fat-burning workout, and showing the protagonist’s distress as she tries on a crop top are mechanics which place the powerful feelings of self-consciousness and anxiety front and center, with a discomforting undercurrent of humor. Is it okay to "play"– or have fun – with someone else’s pain? By giving you permission to poke fun at her suffering, the mechanics of Jenny’s game attempt to bring humor and vulnerability to this serious and uncomfortable subject matter.

Rochester Institute of Technology

Gibraltar

MAGIC Spell Studios LLC at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) looks forward to the the Intel University Games Showcase each year. This is an incredible opportunity to experience what the most talented students in nationally ranked programs (by the Princeton Review) are creating. The future of our industry is in great hands with the talented, passionate visionaries who showcase their work at this event. Choosing John Miller to represent RIT was an easy decision to make. We were first introduced to John last spring following his participation in the Imagine Cup finals. John has all of the skills necessary to succeed and be a leader in this industry. His work ethic, passion, and talent are impressive and he is a terrific example of the caliber of students that we can offer to game development companies.

The Game:

"Gibraltar" is a quick, turn-based strategy game in which two players send armies of adorable robots into battle for control of the game board. The more territory the player controls on the board, the more they can move their robots on their turn. This means that players are free to craft their own strategies and game play is very fluid. A match of Gibraltar usually lasts between 5 and 10 minutes, so you can fit a match in anywhere. Gibraltar is meant to be played between two players, sitting at the same screen. That kind of head-to-head competitive experience is something John always enjoyed. The player has four cute robot types to choose from when setting up their army, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. You only get to spawn your army once, so choose its composition carefully! The synergy between the different pieces allows unique gameplay and endless strategies and is simple enough for everyone to pick up. Players can also use special abilities that can change the course of the game but they are expendable and cost action points to play. Gibraltar features a story mode to help introduce players to the game and includes a fun cast of characters. The game ships a built-in map editor for players to design their own maps and play them with their friends.

Savannah College of Art and Design

Kyon

The Savannah College of Art and Design participated in the the Intel University Games Showcase 2016 competition and found that it was a great experience for the students, giving them an opportunity to present their work in front of judges. This year, SCAD sent out a department-wide call for entries. Faculty members evaluated entries based on a balance of game design, aesthetics, and overall product polish. "Kyon" was chosen as the best among its peers after the students produced an interesting playable version in their first 10 weeks of development.

The Game:

Kyon is a top-down third-person adventure game where the player assumes the role of a sheepdog named Kyon in mythological Ancient Greece. Kyon is sent by his master, Polyphemus, to find lost sheep and bring the herd home. The player must guide the herd with physical movement and special bark commands through dangerous environments filled with AI threats. All art assets are made using a PBR workflow, and the art team utilized advanced software for realistic effects such as Neofur and Speedtree. Level streaming allows an entire playthrough with no loading screens to interrupt gameplay.

SMU Guildhall

Mouse Playhouse

SMU Guildhall was asked to participate in the inaugural University Games Showcase in 2014 and proudly participated with "Kraven Manor." The 2014 event was a great experience for both the students and the university, resulting in an invitation they look forward to annually. The team's selection process is the same every year. There is a small panel of three that reviews the capstone games developed over the school year. The panel members are: Gary Brubaker – Director of Guildhall; Mark Nausha – Deputy Director Game Lab: and Steve Stringer – Capstone Faculty. This panel uses three very high but simple measures: 1) quality in game play and visuals; 2) does the game demonstrate the team game pillars of the program?; and; 3) are the students excellent ambassadors of their game and the university? Guildhall has quite a few games and students that exceed the panel’s expectations, making their job very difficult in choosing only one team.

The Game:

"Mouse Playhouse" is a light-hearted VR puzzle game in which you manipulate objects to solve puzzles and guide your pet mice towards the cheese. In Mouse Playhouse, you can also throw objects around, play basketball, darts, and even play the xylophone. There are a total of 15 levels in the game and each one presents a different challenge. Players must use the blue objects to guide the mice away from trouble and towards the cheese. During development, the level designers created clever solutions that enabled them to record mixed reality using Unreal Engine. During development, Unreal Engine did not have support for more than two Vive controllers and mixed reality recording. So the level designers used various tools such as the Unreal Sequencer to "fake" mixed reality in the engine. This allowed the team to record gameplay and live footage on a green screen for their trailer.

University of California Santa Cruz

Project Perfect Citizen

The "Project Perfect Citizen" ("PPC") team was a part of the undergraduate Computer Science: Computer Game Design program. This year about 90 students produced a total of 19 games as a part of that program. At the end of the school year, the university held a ceremony called "The Sammy Awards" (the UCSC mascot is a banana slug named Sammy Slug) to celebrate the games from both the undergrad and masters programs. PPC won the grand prize, and UCSC has been helping show the game at various events.

The Game:

"PPC" is a surveillance story-telling game. It puts the player in the shoes of a pseudo-NSA surveillance officer. Their job is to investigate suspected cyber criminals by accessing their computers, reading through their files and emails, and using that information to determine if the suspect has committed a crime. Each game level is a series of puzzles immersed in a narrative, and players will have to understand the character's story if they want to complete the level. At the same time, players will be encouraged to question if their actions are justified, if the government should have the power to conduct such intensive surveillance, and whether or not the people they are investigating deserve to be punished, regardless of their guilt. All of this is presented in a simulated Windows* 95-era operating system to achieve a "hacker" aesthetic and retro feel.

University of Central Florida

The Channeler

FIEA's decision to participate was an easy one. In their view, the Intel University Games Showcase has turned into a great celebration and showcase of student games at GDC and they love competing with peer programs. "The Channeler" was a great game for them to pick because it has a mix of innovation, gameplay, and beautiful art. Also, because it uses eye-tracking (through a partnership with the Tobii Eye Tracker) as its main controller, they believe it will really stand out from the rest of the field.

The Game:

"The Channeler" takes place in a kooky city of spirits, where the denizens are plagued by mysterious disappearances. Fortunately, you are a Channeler. Gifted with the "Third Eye," you possess a supernatural ability to affect the world around you with merely your sight. Explore the spooky night market and solve innovative puzzles to find the missing spirits! Innovation is what really sets The Channeler apart from other games; not many games out there use eye-tracking as a main mechanic. Whether it’s trying to beat a seedy ghost in a shuffling shell game, tracing an ancient rune with your gaze, or confronting possessed statues that rush toward you with every blink—our game utilizes eye movement, blinking, and winking mechanics that provide only a sample of the vast possibilities for eye-tracking games.

University of Southern California

Arkology

The USC GamePipe Laboratory has participated in the the Intel University Games Showcase since it was created.

The GamePipe Laboratory faculty looks at the games being built in its Advanced Games course and other games shown at its Showcase, and then they agree on which game is the best. That game is the one that goes to the Intel University Games Showcase, and this year it is "Arkology."

The Game:

In "Arkology," the player has been chosen as the commander of Ark, a massive space-faring arcology designed to preserve humanity's continued prosperity and survival. The player can control the game using simple and intuitive motion control. From the Operations Room in the heart of the Ark, the player must strategize, command, and lead his forces to preserve what may be the last of humanity. The game can be described as a real-time tabletop war game where players need to control their miniature game pieces to fight the opposing force. A player's goal is to achieve the mission objective ranging from defending a valuable target to annihilating the enemy force.

Thematically, we want our players to feel like military commanders making strategic decisions and seeing their plans come to life. We want the players to feel like generals in World War II movies drafting their invasion plans over the map of Europe. We want to let the players live the scenes from the movie "Ender's Game" where the commander's will and orders get carried out by his officers.

Our focus for this project is in exploring novel virtual reality interactions to best utilize the fact that players have access to a three-dimension world. We are developing a series of virtual gears that will help a player better command an army and survey the battlefield. Some examples of what we have or are working on:

• Adaptable controller for the player to quickly change the functionality for the situation at hand.
• Augmented vision goggle to let the player see or hide additional game stats and information.
• A utility-belt for players to store and access game elements.
• Customizable battlefield camera and screen for players to monitor the battlefield.

University of Utah

Wrecked: Get Your Ship Together

In UU’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering program, all students working on their capstone projects and all masters student projects, are automatically entered into a university event where faculty not involved in the actual game projects review all entries. They select four finalists. A subcommittee of three faculty members chooses the finalist. This year, "Wrecked" was chosen.

The Game:

"Wrecked: Get Your Ship Together" is the living-room party game for VR! One player is on the Vive while everyone else in the room plays on their mobile phones. Together, they must repair their ship to escape the planet on time. The Vive player must navigate a foreign planet, both on foot and by hover ship, to scavenge parts and repair the team’s mothership. The mobile players command helpful drones which follow the player and give aid. Specifically, the mobile players can give directional guidance, or they can obtain speed boosts for their captain by successfully executing orders."

Another problem specific to VR is that of traveling world-scale environments in a room-scale experience, a living room is generally a bit smaller than the world of Skyrim. The development team’s solution is to give the player a hover ship. This means their actual physical chair is part of the play space. When they sit, they can fly around world-scale. When they stand up, they can experience the full joys of room-scale.

The development team feels both the mobile integration with VR and the physical augmentation of the game are compelling, and they are excited to be exploring this new space.