Winning game: Sloppy Ice Credit: Photo by Gary Miller

Game Design Competition/Casual Games

Sunday, March 15, 3:30-4:30pm, Room 6

Game Design Competition/AAA

Sunday, March 15, 5-6pm, Room 6

The inaugural South by Southwest Game Design Competition was American Idol for video games. Amateur game designers, ranging from a mother with a unique idea to the game-design student with a polished PowerPoint presentation, were whittled down to eight finalists in two categories and given 10 minutes each to pitch their game idea. But instead of a crowd of fawning preteens, there were the dwindling attention spans of Interactive Fest-goers who had laptops ready for blogging and iPhones ready to molest if a presenter didn’t wow them. The chances of a first-timer selling a game are slim to none, so the experience of presenting a would-be video game in front of a constructive panel and the judging eyes of a “seen-it-all” crowd is invaluable.

The casual game category consisted of four bite-sized games perfect for your computer’s browser or your hand-held device. Jerry Paffendorf started the evening with an endearing presentation of his slightly convoluted game called Blorst, which combined elements of typing instruction and Web browsing to make a learning tool combined with a creativity instigator. Anders Howard of the Art Institute of California presented a marketable and easy-to-learn puzzle game involving balloon animals that needed to get to a goal without popping. Full Moon Manor was another puzzle game revolving around three goth protagonists trying to escape a haunted house. What ended up winning over the crowd was the clever art design, cute story, and action of Sloppy Ice (www.sloppyice.com), revolving around Sip, a drop of water who fell from a cloud and just wants to make it back home. To get there, Sip must utilize the three states of himself (solid, liquid, and gas) to help battle those who would hinder his return.

The AAA category (where the production dollars are infinite) had four presenters with grand ideas that bent the typical gaming genres. Cover Up is an updated version of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? with a Da Vinci Code undercurrent. Marketing the game to college students was the pitch’s main hurdle. ManorMeta was a grand-scale encompassing of technology and creativity that left the judges confused about the specifics of the gameplay. Project Z.E.U.S. pulled elements from SimCity and Metal Gear Solid together to make an action title that envisioned a world in an ice age due to pollution. The goal is to create an ecologically stable environment while fending off mutants. The idea for Ringmaster came from Jill Taffet’s desire to create a multiplayer circus game for her kids that could help children live the dream of running away with the circus. Seth Smith’s Project Z.E.U.S. took home the audience award (and a limited-edition Xbox).

What ultimately set the winners above the rest was a tangible sense of fun and playability. And isn’t that the point?

This article appears in March 20 • 2009.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.