Five awards headline NC’s best Level Up appearance to date.
Niagara College Game Development students returned from Toronto with trunks a little fuller, bringing home five gold trophies (including the coveted People’s Choice award) from the Level Up Showcase for video game innovation on April 7.
Four Niagara College student teams earned five awards at Level Up, an annual event featuring 160 post-secondary teams from across Ontario competing for 18 awards while showcasing their work, connecting with industry professionals, receiving live feedback, and competing for top honours.
Student teams included participants from Niagara College and Brock University’s joint Honours BA in Game Design and Honours BSc in Game Programming, as well as Niagara College’s Game Development diploma programs.
The event drew thousands to the Sheraton Toronto Centre.
“Niagara College is proud of the outstanding achievements of our students and faculty in a province-wide competition that highlights some of the strongest work by emerging game developers,” said Michelle Giroux, Associate Dean of NC’s School of Media Studies. “Their success reflects the calibre of talent, innovation, and technical skill within our community. It also affirms what industry partners consistently observe: our graduates are well prepared to be trailblazers in the field.”
Conor MacNeill, Program Coordinator of NC’s Game Development programs, expressed pride in his students’ great performance for Niagara College, Brock and the Niagara Region as a whole.
“We had a very strong group of students this year and to see them excel in Toronto, a city known for having a really passionate gaming community is awesome,” said MacNeill. “This was truly a celebration of our students’ hard work and devotion. To see how universally loved their games appeared to be across the showcase, in front of thousands of people made it really special. This is a huge accomplishment and they have so much to be proud of.”
While it sparked students’ competitive spirit, Level Up also united them to network with peers, collaborate and celebrate the innovation driving their games.
Niagara College-Brock University award winners:
Maid Mayhem (joint NC-Brock programs)
First place, People’s Choice
Second place, Achievement in Audio
Maid Mayhem, available on Steam, is a two-to-four-player competitive party game where players take on the role of big buff bald maids as they speed-clean Grandma Twiggy’s house. Maids need to whack the furniture to clean it and can also hit each other to knock out their competition.
Team members: Ethan Charette, Luca Fabiano, Nate Gray-Cummings, Emma Little, Nicole Mellor, Aasim Noorani, Andrew Serrao, Matthew Shotunde, Indiana Stoakley, Isaac Wiliszewski, Alex Zhang
Shotunde, a fourth-year Game Programming student from Mississauga, was thrilled with his team’s performance. He credits the joint-NC-and-Brock program as a key factor in the Maid Mayhem team’s success.
“I’m super proud of our team’s efforts,” said Shotunde. “Going back and forth between NC and Brock was a unique experience that helped us get here. We learned a lot of stuff like math and physics at Brock, and a lot of application like game design aspects and thought processes at NC. Tying the two together made for an awesome experience.”
Shotunde said that the interpersonal skills he developed made Level Up and other experiential opportunities even more meaningful and impactful.
“I think it pays a lot to be authentic and genuine,” he said. “You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but to be able to move around, get to know people, play their games and be friendly with everyone was great. Connecting with them on that personal level is always cool and creates a great environment.”
DisGo (joint NC-Brock programs)
Third place, People’s Choice
DisGo, available on Steam, pits four friends against each other in a split-screen battle for the spotlight. Players grab the golden disco ball to begin their solo, while others can collide with them to steal the moment. Power-ups can be used to reclaim the spotlight and prove who the true star is.
Team members: Baaqir Ammar, Jacob Caiado, Lex House, Max Jones, Kristian Machell, Omar Nori, Jake Pecharich, Sebastian Reid, Hayden Rooney, Mes Saghatelyan, Travis Waterman
Tonight’s Dozen (NC Game Development program)
Third place, Innovating
Tonight’s Dozen is a first-person psychological horror cooking game set in a 1960s style diner. Play as a teenage cook on their first late-night shift. As the night unfolds, players discover that their boss is secretly a cannibal who feeds on customers. Players must survive the night and escape the dinner before becoming the next victim.
Team members: Victoria Ascoli, Alexander Cooper, Yunus Ertemiz, Curtis Gilmore, Aidan Hasan, Thomas Kondejewski, Daniel Meyer, Marie Nauta, Derek Stitt
Brass Rebellion (NC Game Development program)
Third place, Achievement in Accessibility
An arcade style, first-person shooter where the environment serves as the player’s weapon.
Team members: Elijah Baillie, Kevin Elliott, Mads MacAusland, Viktor Mykailiuk, Aaralyn Pennings, Kayanna Saylor, Calin Sojak
For third-year Game Development student Kayanna Saylor of St. Catharines, the honour of taking home an award in accessibility was about teamwork.
“I’m still in shock. This was eight months of hard work,” she said. “The process of ensuring accessibility for all was made easier by our team’s cohesion. We needed to check what we could do in-house and then decide how to use that to create that accessibility.”
Saylor, who served as the team’s accessibility designer, said titles such as Call of Duty and The Last of Us influenced their approach to accessibility in gameplay. She explained that the team’s work included designing the HUD (heads-up display), developing a font guide, and creating an accessible typeface with thicker, more legible lines.
“Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should always be important,” she said. “Design is a conversation that everyone can join in on. I’m thrilled that we were able to earn this achievement.”
For more on the Level Up Showcase, please visit here.
A leader in applied education, Niagara College offers diploma, bachelor degree, post-graduate and apprenticeship programs at specialized campuses in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Welland. Consistently ranked among Canada’s top research colleges, NC is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world that provide students with important hands-on-experience. NC welcomes students from across Niagara, Ontario, and around the world who are studying in in-demand programs that support key sectors and industries in Niagara and beyond, with graduates making important contributions in all corners of our community. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca
Media inquiries:
Jessica Torok
Communications Consultant
905-932-1520
[email protected]