May’s Journey takes grand prize in sixth annual MassDiGI Game Challenge pitch contest
Chaima Jemmali, Small Squares with Monty Sharma, MassDiGI
Cambridge, MA – February 27, 2017 – May’s Journey by Small Squares won the grand prize in the sixth annual MassDiGI Game Challenge pitch contest this weekend.
In May’s Journey, an educational game that teaches programming through puzzle solving and storytelling, the hero, a girl named May, finds herself trapped in a broken game world. She wants to escape but in order to do so she must find her friend. There is only one way to get out; coding. May’s Journey aims to interest middle and high school aged old girls in computer science by teaching them the basics of programming through play.
Representing Small Squares at the contest was Chaima Jemmali, the game’s programmer and designer.
The game, which also won the Serious Category at the contest, will be released on PC later this year. Jemmali, a native of Tunisia and former Fulbright scholar, began working on the game in 2015 with her colleague Jonathan Yang as part of their interactive media and game development master’s degree program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Yang currently works in Shanghai, China.
“We are thrilled May’s Journey won the Game Challenge,” said Jemmali, now a Ph.D. student in computer science at Northeastern University. “Everyone with a passion for making games should go. You learn so much from the judges and other competitors.”
The MassDiGI Game Challenge helps indie, startup and student game developers and entrepreneurs shape their ideas and products for launch. This year 33 teams from across the northeast competed in front of a packed room at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center in Kendall Square.
“MassDiGI’s focus on fostering new, creative, business-savvy talent is exactly what the New England game industry needs. Game Challenge alumni have opened their own studios or found jobs at larger studios,” said contest judge Rick Cody, a past Game Challenge winner. “MassDiGIhas helped my own company, Team Future, better understand the business of game development. They’re a tremendous and evolving asset.”
Since the MassDiGI Game Challenge began six years ago, over 200 different teams from around New England and beyond have pitched games and taken home prizes valued at over $100,000. Top past winners include titles such as Intern Astronaut, PWN, Catlateral Damage, Depression Quest, Wobbles and Starlot Derby.
The annual event is a showcase for the expanding game development cluster in the region. Over the event’s two days, dozens of game industry veterans served as mentors and judges.
As the Grand Prize and Serious Game Category winners, the Small Squares team won cash and other prizes valued at about $5,000.
“This year’s contest was the closer than ever before,” said Monty Sharma, managing director of MassDiGI, “We were very impressed by all the teams. Their creativity and skills improve every year as do their games.”
Other top winners include Lawrence, MA-based BareHand which won the People’s Choice Award for its game Cede as well as the Indie Demo/Alpha Category, Best Technical Plan and Best Business Plan.
“Winning not only our category but the People’s Choice Award is amazing,” said Edwin Jack, BareHand’s founder. “We’ve come to the Game Challenge before and each time we get better and this year we hit it right with Cede.”
Cede is a 3D Action-RPG combining the best experiences of Diablo and Harvest Moon with a unique new mechanic called “combat farming”.
Cede screenshot
Salad Hunt, an arcade-shooter in a casual mobile setting, earned Best Art, Best Audio and was the runner-up in Indie Demo/Alpha Category. In the game, you play as a chef that is surprised to find that the salad ingredients have come alive as cute but mischievous characters that are ruining the kitchen.
The other top Indie winner was Kill the Old Gods by Weeping Witch Studios which won the Beta/Near Release Category.
A team of Becker College and Emerson College students won the College Beta/Near Release Category with OBIO, a game in which you guide your bots through cyberspace, solve puzzles, eliminate viruses and save the internet. OBIO will be released for iOS, Android, PC and Mac in April.
Bounce.wav, an arcade-style mobile game set to synthwave beats made by a team of WPI graduate students, won the College Demo/Alpha Category.
Winning the High School Category was Green Ninja, a team of two students from Millbury (MA) Memorial Jr./Sr. High School.
Other Category Runner-Up honors went to:
- Serious: MadUnd3ad Studios from Northeastern with Monsters and Memories.
- Indie Beta/Near Release: Witching Hour with Connexi.
- College Demo/Alpha: Sound Lemmings Studio from Northeastern and Tufts University with Node and Dog Squad from Smith College and Hampshire College with Pickup Pup.
- College Beta/Near Release: Blue Drop Games from Northeastern with Before Common Era (B.C.E.) and Jaderain Studios from Becker with Don’t Shoot Us.
Sound Lemmings Studio also earned Best Design and Balls, another game by WPI graduate students, earned Best Paper Prototype.
» Read More
May’s Journey takes grand prize in sixth annual MassDiGI Game Challenge pitch contest
Chaima Jemmali, Small Squares with Monty Sharma, MassDiGI
Cambridge, MA – February 27, 2017 – May’s Journey by Small Squares won the grand prize in the sixth annual MassDiGI Game Challenge pitch contest this weekend.
In May’s Journey, an educational game that teaches programming through puzzle solving and storytelling, the hero, a girl named May, finds herself trapped in a broken game world. She wants to escape but in order to do so she must find her friend. There is only one way to get out; coding. May’s Journey aims to interest middle and high school aged old girls in computer science by teaching them the basics of programming through play.
Representing Small Squares at the contest was Chaima Jemmali, the game’s programmer and designer.
The game, which also won the Serious Category at the contest, will be released on PC later this year. Jemmali, a native of Tunisia and former Fulbright scholar, began working on the game in 2015 with her colleague Jonathan Yang as part of their interactive media and game development master’s degree program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Yang currently works in Shanghai, China.
“We are thrilled May’s Journey won the Game Challenge,” said Jemmali, now a Ph.D. student in computer science at Northeastern University. “Everyone with a passion for making games should go. You learn so much from the judges and other competitors.”
The MassDiGI Game Challenge helps indie, startup and student game developers and entrepreneurs shape their ideas and products for launch. This year 33 teams from across the northeast competed in front of a packed room at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center in Kendall Square.
“MassDiGI’s focus on fostering new, creative, business-savvy talent is exactly what the New England game industry needs. Game Challenge alumni have opened their own studios or found jobs at larger studios,” said contest judge Rick Cody, a past Game Challenge winner. “MassDiGIhas helped my own company, Team Future, better understand the business of game development. They’re a tremendous and evolving asset.”
Since the MassDiGI Game Challenge began six years ago, over 200 different teams from around New England and beyond have pitched games and taken home prizes valued at over $100,000. Top past winners include titles such as Intern Astronaut, PWN, Catlateral Damage, Depression Quest, Wobbles and Starlot Derby.
The annual event is a showcase for the expanding game development cluster in the region. Over the event’s two days, dozens of game industry veterans served as mentors and judges.
As the Grand Prize and Serious Game Category winners, the Small Squares team won cash and other prizes valued at about $5,000.
“This year’s contest was the closer than ever before,” said Monty Sharma, managing director of MassDiGI, “We were very impressed by all the teams. Their creativity and skills improve every year as do their games.”
Other top winners include Lawrence, MA-based BareHand which won the People’s Choice Award for its game Cede as well as the Indie Demo/Alpha Category, Best Technical Plan and Best Business Plan.
“Winning not only our category but the People’s Choice Award is amazing,” said Edwin Jack, BareHand’s founder. “We’ve come to the Game Challenge before and each time we get better and this year we hit it right with Cede.”
Cede is a 3D Action-RPG combining the best experiences of Diablo and Harvest Moon with a unique new mechanic called “combat farming”.
Cede screenshot
Salad Hunt, an arcade-shooter in a casual mobile setting, earned Best Art, Best Audio and was the runner-up in Indie Demo/Alpha Category. In the game, you play as a chef that is surprised to find that the salad ingredients have come alive as cute but mischievous characters that are ruining the kitchen.
The other top Indie winner was Kill the Old Gods by Weeping Witch Studios which won the Beta/Near Release Category.
A team of Becker College and Emerson College students won the College Beta/Near Release Category with OBIO, a game in which you guide your bots through cyberspace, solve puzzles, eliminate viruses and save the internet. OBIO will be released for iOS, Android, PC and Mac in April.
Bounce.wav, an arcade-style mobile game set to synthwave beats made by a team of WPI graduate students, won the College Demo/Alpha Category.
Winning the High School Category was Green Ninja, a team of two students from Millbury (MA) Memorial Jr./Sr. High School.
Other Category Runner-Up honors went to:
- Serious: MadUnd3ad Studios from Northeastern with Monsters and Memories.
- Indie Beta/Near Release: Witching Hour with Connexi.
- College Demo/Alpha: Sound Lemmings Studio from Northeastern and Tufts University with Node and Dog Squad from Smith College and Hampshire College with Pickup Pup.
- College Beta/Near Release: Blue Drop Games from Northeastern with Before Common Era (B.C.E.) and Jaderain Studios from Becker with Don’t Shoot Us.
Sound Lemmings Studio also earned Best Design and Balls, another game by WPI graduate students, earned Best Paper Prototype.
» Read More
Quick post, more to follow soon.
GC17 – Winners!
- GRAND PRIZE WINNER – May’s Journey
- High school – Green Ninja – Winner
- College/Univ Alpha – Bounce.wav – Winner, Node – Runner-Up, Pickup Pup – 2nd Runner-Up
- College/Univ Beta – OBIO – Winner, B.C.E. – Runner-Up, Don’t Shoot Us – 2nd Runner-Up
- Indie Alpha – Cede – Winner, Salad Hunt – Runner-Up
- Indie Beta – Kill the Old Gods – Winner, Connexi – Runner-Up
- Serious – May’s Journey – Winner, Monsters and Memories – Runner-Up
- Best Art – Salad Hunt
- Best Audio – Salad Hunt
- Best Design – Node
- Best Tech – Cede
- Best Business Model – Cede
- <Bonus award> Best Paper Prototype – Balls
GC17 – Finalists!
| Game |
|
Team |
Category |
| May’s Journey |
WPI/NU |
Small Squares |
Serious |
| Monsters and Memories |
NU |
MadUnd3ad Studios |
Serious |
| LangQuest |
|
Desert Fathers |
Serious |
| Kill the Old Gods |
|
Weeping Witch Studios |
Indie Beta |
| Connexi |
|
Witching Hour |
Indie Beta |
| Cede |
|
BareHand |
Indie Alpha |
| Salad Hunt |
|
Salad Hunters |
Indie Alpha |
| Trianglism |
|
Cat the Coolest |
Indie Alpha |
|
|
|
|
| Green Ninja |
Millbury HS |
Banzai Games |
High School |
| OBIO |
Becker, Emerson |
Team TATR |
College/Univ Beta |
| Before Common Era (B.C.E.) |
NU |
Blue Drop Games |
College/Univ Beta |
| Don’t Shoot Us |
Becker |
Jaderain Studios |
College/Univ Beta |
| Node |
NU, Tufts |
Sound Lemmings Studios |
College/Univ Alpha |
| Bounce.wav |
WPI |
Team Bounce.wav |
College/Univ Alpha |
| Pickup Pup |
Smith, Hampshire |
Dog Squad |
College/Univ Alpha |
| Rune Run |
Becker |
Cosmic Salt |
College/Univ Alpha |
» Read More
Last Friday, the President of the United States signed an executive order that blocks entry to the country for refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. This executive order has already disrupted the lives of a number of game developers, students and faculty across the country – and around the globe. While these events impact each individual, business, college and university in differing ways, we are committed to the pursuit of knowledge and opportunity for everyone, no matter where they call home.
We do not yet know the full ramifications of the executive order and subsequent decisions by federal judges, but we support those affected. Community and diversity are among our core values and are integral to our commitment to inclusion and respect for all people. These principles are most important in times of strife, and we must not abandon them.
» Read More
Drop by booth #13130 to check out our games or just say hi! And, catch our panel, “Wait, wait, that’s a bad idea” on Friday at 10:30a! More information on PAX East can be found here.
» Read More
New date, new venue! RSVP here.
» Read More
Tickets for the annual Made In MA at GDC Party are now available. Click here to register.
» Read More
Join us for our annual Game Challenge pitch competition. For details and registration information, please click here.
» Read More
2017 MassDiGI Game Challenge registration and SIP application period open
By Tim Loew, executive director, MassDiGI
It is really hard to believe that 2017 will mark our sixth year running the Game Challenge and Summer Innovation Program. Time sure does fly.
Over the years at the Game Challenge we have seen some amazing game concepts and titles near-release from a range of indies, pros and students of all sorts. And, sponsors, mentors, speakers, volunteers and judges have helped make it all happen. Thanks again to everyone involved, we couldn’t do it without your support – especially, Microsoft New England for providing such great space each year.
That said, we expect this year’s Game Challenge to be better than ever and we have tweaked a number of things which will be noticeable to veteran competitors at the event. With only 40 slots available, team registration will go fast so if you’re an indie, college, university or high school team, sign up sooner rather than later. See you on February 24 and 25 in Cambridge.
Of course, if you’re looking for a summer internship we think SIP is something special. SIP is open to students who will be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year (and graduate students, too).
The application process is very competitive. For example, last year 216 students attending 66 different colleges and universities from around the world applied for the 24 available slots. The SIP17 application period is currently open. The program runs from May 16 to August 13, 2017 in Worcester. Click here for more information and to apply.
» Read More
MassDiGI is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a Collaborative Workspace Program grant from MassDevelopment to be used for core networking equipment in our New Ventures Center (NVC) at 80 William St. in Worcester. The NVC, a community-facing business assistance center for interactive media and game development students and entrepreneurs, is currently under renovation and scheduled to open in summer/fall 2017.
The $50,000 grant was one of 23 awarded by the Baker-Polito Administration to strengthen community-based innovation and entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth. The awards will go to support the physical infrastructure to supports the growth of new entrepreneurial ventures, while spurring innovation and job creation at the local level.
Read the official press release here, MassLive’s story here and WBJ’s story here.
» Read More
