PAX East Press: MassDiGI in the News
PAX East 2013 may be over but you can still read/watch all about through the selected links below – all of which feature comments from MassDiGI.
NECN Morning Show (VIDEO)
WBZ/CBS Radio (AUDIO)
NECN: CEO Corner – VIDEO
NECN’s Peter Howe talks games and entrepreneurship with 2013 MassDiGI Game Challenge winners Erik Asmussen of 82 Apps, maker of PWN, Zoe Quinn of Depression Quest and Tim Loew of MassDiGI. Watch the three video segments below or click here.
MassDiGI: 2013 Game Challenge Winners Announced
MassDiGI is pleased to announce the 2013 Game Challenge winners! Below are links to various media stories as well as the official press release.
Media links: Boston.com, Boston Business Journal, Boston Globe, Gamasutra, Indie DB, NECN (Video) and the Worcester Business Journal.
Official Press Release:
BEST IN PLAY:
MASSDIGI NAMES 82 APPS OF CAMBRIDGE
AS 2013 GAME CHALLENGE GRAND PRIZE WINNER!
Some 250 “indie” game developers and students from across New England
battled to win over $25,000 in prizes
March 2, 2013 (Cambridge, Mass.) – The Massachusetts Digital Games Institute announces 82 Apps, a Cambridge-based independent game development studio, has won Grand Prize honors for PWN, its fast, fun and futuristic game about competitive hacking in the 2nd Annual MassDiGI Game Challenge.
“MassDiGI did an amazing job organizing the event and bringing so many great developers, mentors, and speakers together. The feedback and experience I got during the Game Challenge was extremely valuable, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is making a game and wants it to succeed,” said Erik Asmussen of 82 Apps. “The Game Challenge was a perfect way to develop and sharpen a game pitch, which is critical for any kind of outreach efforts.”
The Game Challenge, a pitch contest, helps indie and student game development entrepreneurs hone their ideas and products for launch. Forty-four teams consisting of indie game developers and student teams from around New England competed in a sold-out event from March 1-2 at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center showcasing the rapidly expanding game industry cluster in the region. A panel of videogame industry veterans served as judges for the competition.
As the Grand Prize Winner and Best Indie Entertainment Game Winner, 82 Apps receives $2,250; Adobe Creative Cloud licenses; a legal services package from Morse-Barnes, Brown & Pendleton; customized mentor and PR/marketing packages; a Penny Arcade Expo “mini-session”; Blackberry PlayBooks; a trophy and certificates.
“The MassDiGI Game Challenge is unlike any other competition held in Massachusetts and the wider game industry as a whole,” said Elliott Mitchell, Game Challenge mentor and founder of Vermont Digital Arts. “It has been thrilling to see and meet with all of the teams, many of which have presented truly groundbreaking ideas showcasing the strength of the game development community around Boston.”
Other Boston area top indie winners include Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey and Isaac Schankler for their creative interactive fiction game Depression Quest, which took home Best Indie Serious Game Winner honors.
“Our first Game Challenge in 2012 was a big success, but 2013 has really blown last year’s event out of the water – in more ways than one,” said Monty Sharma, MassDiGI’s managing director. “With over 40 passionate, creative teams competing this year and over 30 VIP mentors and speakers participating, along with a stellar line-up of game industry judges, the 2013 Game Challenge exceeded our expectations. The talent we have seen in this competition promises a bright future for game development in the region!”
In addition, the Overdriver.com Best Online Game Winner and Best Indie Entertainment Game Runner-up, Pathogen, a turn-based strategy game by Vermont-based studio Birnam Wood Games, received $1,500 as well as a legal services package from Greenberg Traurig and other prizes.
The Overdriver.com Best Online Game Runner-up was a serious game by Zeebi Lab, a team from Harvard Medical School.
Indie serious and entertainment runners-up and honorable mentions went to Neocolonialism by Subaltern Games and Captain Astronaut’s Last Hurrah by Popcannibal, two local developers.
The Best Student Entertainment Game Winner went to Play Nimbus, a team from Becker College, for its well-conceived game Wobbles. The Best Student Serious Game Winner was earned by UMass Medical School for Small Victims. Student runners-up and honorable mentions went to teams from Champlain College, Becker and WPI.
“It’s an exciting time to be a game developer,” said Timothy Loew, executive director of MassDiGI, “And the Game Challenge shines a spotlight on that excitement.”
By entering, all Game Challenge game concepts are also eligible for the 2013 MassDiGI Summer Innovation Program, a $20,000 value, to help develop their game for launch.
Students entering their second year of college looking to break into the interactive entertainment industry are welcome to apply for the 2013 MassDiGI Summer Innovation Program. Accepted applicants will work full-time alongside a team of students under the guidance of industry mentors over 11 weeks on the campus of Becker College in Worcester, Mass. Students accepted into the program will receive free housing over the summer, as well as a stipend. To apply, visit www.MassDiGI.org. The deadline for applications is April 5.
The 2013 Game Challenge was made possible through the support of sponsors including Microsoft; GSN Digital; Becker College; The Innovation Institute; Greenberg Traurig; Muzzy Lane Software; Turbine; PAX East; Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton; Overdriver.com; Stomp Games; Adyen; Roadhouse Interactive and Adobe.
Boston Globe & UMassMedNow: Medical training game awarded Best in Show
A game developed by UMass Medical School, the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute and Becker College was voted Best in Show at the Serious Games and Virtual Environments Showcase at the 2013 SSIH International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare in Orlando, Fla.
For the complete story from the Boston Globe, please click here and from UMMS, please click here.
Links to other related stories: Serious Games Market, Clinical Playground, Game Politics, Becker College, Worcester Telegram – Business Briefs, Worcester Telegram – College Town and Worcester Magazine.
The Hive at Boston.com: With a Little Help from My Friends – A Day in the life of a Game Developer
“The game development community here in Massachusetts has really taken off in recent years, with new studios popping up everywhere. I’m fortunate enough to be the co-founder The Tap Lab, and I wanted to share what daily life was like in the industry.” Read the full story on the MassDiGI Blog on The Hive at Boston.com here.
The Hive at Boston.com: I was a Teenage Congressman
How do you inspire a new generation of Capitol Hill dealmakers while educating youth about the political process? Through video games, of course. Chris Parsons of Muzzy Lane Software explains how they took a tough subject and made it engaging. The full post can be found here on The Hive at Boston.com and comes courtesy of MassDiGI.
Microsoft: Top 12 events at NERD in 2012
The 2012 MassDiGI Game Challenge was voted one of top 12 events of 2012 at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center. Read the complete story here. For information on the 2013 MassDiGI Game Challenge, please click here.
The Hive at Boston.com: The big payoff when video games are free
Here’s one way a video game company can get gamers to try a new release: Make it free.
A number of game studios, including several based in Massachusetts, have embraced the free-to-play model for new game products. That includes some of the big boys. According to a Bloomberg News report early this fall, giant video game maker “Electronic Arts Inc., whose ‘Command & Conquer’ is ranked by researcher NPD among the top-five best-selling PC franchises of all time with more than 30 million copies sold since 1995, will make the game free online next year.”
Read the full story by MassDiGI’s Monty Sharma by clicking here.
The Hive at Boston.com – MassDiGI announces upcoming Game Challenge
There’s a new opportunity for those dreaming of creating the next Call of Duty or Angry Birds: The second annual MassDiGI Game Challenge invites high school, college, and indie developers to participate in a weekend competition. Click here to read the full story from The Hive at Boston.com or here to read MassDiGI’s press release.
The Hive at Boston.com: Making a game of “Game of Thrones”
What does it take to turn the bleak, epic world of Game of Thrones into a social Facebook game? A willingness to embrace the fantasy world’s most anti-social elements: Greed, betrayal, and maybe just a bit of old fashioned war. In this guest post,Jon Radoff, chief executive and founder of Cambridge game studio Disruptor Beam, talks about how his team is working with George R. R. Martin to make the world come to life.—M.M.
Click here to read the complete post on The Hive at Boston.com
This post, the first of its kind, comes courtesy of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI), a statewide center housed at Becker College and aimed at promoting economic development within the Massachusetts video and digital games industry.
