Bradley students’ game showcased at world gaming convention
Chronicle Media — June 10, 2017A team of Bradley University game design students will get the chance to put their game on one of the world’s largest gaming stages.
During the 2016-17 school year a senior game design capstone team created a game called “Starcats”. It placed in the top 5 of the E3 Collegiate Competition, sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association. By doing so, the team has been invited to LA for the convention June 13-15 to exhibit and share the game with thousands of attendees from around the world.
Bradley’s Department of Interactive Media Chairman, Ethan Ham, says E3 is the premier conference for the video game industry and is commonly said to be the world’s largest gaming convention. “It is really a big deal. This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to show the world the amazing work they have done. It reconfirms that Bradley University is home to a world-class education in video game development.”
Starcats is a 4 player, co-operative/competitive game, where players have crash landed onto a planet and they are trying to fuel their ship so that they can survive and escape the planet. The twist is that players are free to behave how they choose, whether that means playing selfishly or cooperatively, and any number of players can “win”, rather than having a clear cut winner.
Game producer, Quentin Young, says he’s still in shock because being invited to E3 to showcase is a game developer’s dream. “I grew up watching E3, glued to the TV as I watched Microsoft and Sony change the industry by unveiling hardware like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It usually takes years for this to happen. Anyone can buy a ticket to the show, but to be a Top 5 finalist from a field of more than 400 colleges? I’m still in disbelief.”
The team is comprised of:
Quentin Young, Producer – Groveland Ill.
Jacob Gruener, Programmer – Bristol, Wisc.
Ryan Hughes, 3D Modeler/Animator and Technical Artist – *5th year, Elgin
Rhianna Guptill, Lead Artist – Darien
Aidan Kennell, Programmer – Roanoke
Joe Sorgea, Lead Programmer – St. Louis
Luke Grebe, Programmer – East Peoria
Brien Jackson, UI/UX Artist – Chicago
Matt Kolakowski, UI/UX Artist – Chicago
Brian Rodgers, Programmer – Warrenville
Matt Heerdegen, Sound Design – Lake Zurich
Caleb Sams, Programmer – Forsyth
Gage Melton, Lead Designer and Technical Artist –Stevensville, Mich.
Samantha Concklin, Composer – *Junior, Western Springs
— Bradley students’ game showcased world gaming convention —