Student games recognized for achievements in accessibility and innovation.
Students in the joint Niagara College and Brock University Game Design and Game Programming programs earned high scores at the Level Up Showcase in Toronto on April 19 including two first-place wins and placements in three of the five awards categories.
The event to celebrate student talent featured 150 games made by students from colleges and universities across the province.
“Level Up is an amazing student gaming event, truly unique in nature and scope,” said Rick Goertz, professor in Niagara College’s School of Media. “Bringing together passionate students, industry professionals and gaming enthusiasts in a convention-style networking event is a tremendous experience for all involved. Congratulations to all the students in the joint GAME program and the NC Game Development program for such strong exhibition of their talents.”
Reverex placed third for Innovating Technology, and Cosmic Justice earned first place in a new Accessibility category. Two fourth-year Brock/NC capstone projects – Dead on Arrival and Unnatural Selection – earned first and second place in the People’s Choice category.
Third place for Innovating Technology
The Reverex team accepting their third place win.
Third year student Dante Bell of Niagara-on-the-Lake and his team placed third in the Innovating Technology category for their game Reverex, a two-player asymmetric co-op game with a unique spin on a classic genre.
Bell and team are currently completing their third year of the joint NC and Brock program, of which Reverex was their NC capstone project.
Donning custom-made lab coats and ID badges at Level Up, Bell and the Reverex team embodied their game in which players become lab technicians on a wild adventure through a patient’s dreams to wake them from a coma.
Bell’s team perfected their game by listening to feedback from various playtests and events over the term.
“We designed the game to be played asymmetrically, meaning both players would have completely different experiences and roles within the co-op experience,” said Bell. “A guiding principle through our development was to continually innovate and attempt to set a new standard for student projects. We wanted to have almost every aspect of the game contain something novel and difficult to pull off.”
Bell says the team integrated gravity mechanics to allow players to feel their characters movements as they walk, run, and jump off walls, ceilings and true-to-life objects expertly crafted by the art team. To create a world that felt alive, the team used a cutting-edge graphics technology called Gaussian Splatting to take images and videos of objects from all angles for a realistic 3D experience.
“Competing at Level Up was a great networking opportunity,” said Bell, who met industry folks from Ubisoft, Zynga, AMD and startups at the event.
“As we look towards graduation at Brock and Niagara College after next year’s capstone project, we feel optimistic about entering the industry post-graduation,” said Bell. “We feel confident that this year has taught us not just about developing quality products, but also about innovating and pushing boundaries in the game development world.”
First place for Achievement in Accessibility
Final year Game Design student and competition veteran Evan Sawatsky and his team placed first for Achievement in Accessibility for their retro-inspired, science-fantasy game Cosmic Justice. The stylized, interactive story game transports players into an intergalactic courtroom where they take the place of the galaxy’s top judge presiding over three outrageous court cases.
Evan Sawatsky at the Skills Canada National Competition in Winnipeg in 2023. Sawatsky earned a silver medal while an NC student.
The award category, sponsored by Sledgehammer Games, was new to Level Up this year.
“While accessibility in games has become a hot topic recently, it’s always been important,” said Sawatsky of St. Catharines who, while studying at NC in 2023, earned gold and silver medals at the provincial and national Skills competitions. “With Cosmic Justice, we hoped to make a game anyone could enjoy, whether they’re a hardcore gamer or just enjoy a charming story… the more people who can enjoy games, the better.”
The win at Level Up marks a return for Sawatsky whose team placed second in 2023 in the People’s Choice category for their game Calico Cat-Fe.
Bringing lessons learned from 2023 like a focused project scope and sleek brand, Sawatsky and team designed Cosmic Justice with a breadth of accessibility features. They include a text-to-speech mode for visually impaired players, three-colour blind modes for those with colour-blindness, and hyper-legible font mode for players with dyslexia. The game can be played using a mouse and keyboard, game controller, custom control rebinding, and a version is available via internet browser for the less technically inclined.
Sawatsky says his team was “honoured” to be recognized, and hopes to inspire aspiring game designers to prioritize accessibility features in their designs.
“Encouraging students to think about the ways they can make their games accessible to more players early in their careers can only be a good thing for the industry at large,” said Sawatsky.
First and Second place for People’s Choice
First: Dead on Arrival
Second: Unnatural Selection
