On April 11, the Learning Commons at the Niagara College Welland Campus was bustling with over 350 guests eager to grab a joystick and jump into quests designed by emerging video game designers.
At the 10th annual Game Development Launch, students in their second-and-third-year of Niagara College’s Game Development program – as well as the joint NC and Brock University Game Programming and Game Design programs – debuted video games they built from concept to creation.
The interactive event celebrating student ingenuity featured 10 games that were eight months in the making by student teams for their capstone projects. First-year students also took part to see what fellow upper-year students were able to create by the end of the program.
“Graduating students were excited to release their original games at the event, which are the result of many months of teamwork with their fellow students,” says Rick Goertz, program coordinator of the Game Development program. “The Launch was also a great opportunity for them to network with industry guests.”
Twenty industry guests – including NC alumni – were in attendance, an opportunity for current students to network and explore the career possibilities after graduating.
“It’s a great experience for students to showcase their games to industry professionals at the event,” explained Goertz.
Third-year Game Development student Santiago Restrepo of Fonthill (originally Colombia) says opportunities to network with industry professionals at the Game Development Launch are invaluable.
“This goes a long way for students as having professionals get to know you is important since this industry relies so much on collaborative work people really value knowing someone who is a cool and a good person to work with,” said Restrepo, who was awarded the Associate Dean’s Award for high academic achievement, as well as the Spirit Award for attitude and work ethic.
Game Development student Santiago Restrepo.
“Receiving the Associate Deans Award and the Spirit Award has made me feel a sense of accomplishment and proudness for myself and my team,” said Restrepo. “In my three years at the college I’ve always strived to do my best work while also making sure I helped my classmates do the best work they could too.”
At the Launch event, Restrepo and the student team – Seven Seas Studio – debuted their four-player arena brawler game called Clash for Crust.
“We wanted [to make] a silly, chaotic cartoony looking game that brings people together and promotes friendly competition,” said Restrepo. “Developing our first game was a daunting but rewarding experience. From start to finish we always kept our end goal in mind and made every decision with care and meaning to ensure it contributed in a meaningful way to the end goal.”
Restrepo aspires to work for a large studio as a technical artist while also pursuing indie passion projects with friends.
“My time at the college and in the Game Development program has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said Restrepo. “The level of care and dedication our professors put into making sure the content they deliver is relevant and worthwhile is immense. The atmosphere of inclusion they have created makes every student feel like they matter.”
The Game Development Launch event was organized by students in NC’s Public Relations program who were in the midst of their internships.
Associate Dean’s Award
| Santiago Restrepo | Third year |
Achievement Awards
| Aaralyn Pennings | First year |
| Kevin Elliott | First year |
| Rocky Savoeung | Second year |
| Amber Lemon | Third year |
| Abbygale Critelli | First year BA |
| Bianca Dizio | First year BA |
| Emma Little | Second year BA |
| Dante Bell | Third year BA |
| Alysia Cheung | Third year BA |
| Jesse Daulby | First year BSc |
| Samuel Friesen | First year BSc |
| Christopher Mino | Second year BSc |
| Colin Doubrough | Third year BSc |
Spirit Awards
| Aaralyn Pennings | First year |
| Calin Sojak | First year |
| Nathanael Morris | Second year |
| Wyatt Vanderhout | Second year |
| Santiago Restrepo | Third year |
| Vanessa Zugno | Third year |
| Aidan Garcia | First year BA |
| Jake Pecharich | Second year BA |
| Arjun Nilakantan | Third year BA |
| Ethan Windsor | First year BSc |
| Justin Verhoog | First year BSc |
| Matthew Shotunde | Second year BSc |
| Nathan Fan | Third year BSc |
