Game Designer Harvey Smith Judges Second Life CompetitionPosted on Thursday, July 01, 2004 @ 04:30:12 pm E.S.T
AWARD WINNING GAME DESIGNER HARVEY SMITH JUDGES SECOND LIFE'S FIRST GAME
DEVELOPERS' COMPETITION
Game Developer Coaches In-World Development Teams
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 30, 2004) - Linden Lab, creator of the acclaimed
3D online world Second Life, today announced the winners of the first
annual Game Developer's Competition. Harvey Smith, formerly of Ion Storm
and the lead designer of the award winning Deus Ex, and project director
of Deus Ex: Invisible War, judged the competition and spent time with each
team evaluating their design and game play choices.
In February 2004, 7 teams were chosen from dozens of entries to
participate in the competition. Each team spent 3 months developing their
game concept in Second Life's 3D digital world. Second Life Residents were
then invited to play each game and the most popular games were awarded 1st
- 4th place. Winners took home cash prizes and the much coveted use of
free land for an entire year. Harvey Smith joined the competition in
mid-June to provide each team with a game insider's perspective and
important feedback about how to make their games better. "Wow, Harvey's
input is almost as exciting as my 3 acres of land," said Tiger Crossing,
developer of the immensely popular Deus Via. "He gave the team some great
tips on game design and the importance of a coherent theme. He also had
some cool thoughts about ways to engage players and draw them into the
game. Harvey's input was a bonus I hadn't anticipated when I entered the
competition."
The winning teams include:
- 1st Place: Deus Via: An original futuristic/Roman puzzle game where one
or more players travel a colorful game board that they create as they
collect symbols, cast spells, and avoid elemental monsters.
- 2nd Place: Route 66 Demolition Derby: Interactive car racing and
demolition derby game features 8 different cars with various speeds and
handling.
- 3rd Place: Games Parlour: Multiple board games includes a giant mah-jong
board in a game room setting.
- 4th Place: Mysterious Journey: Players must journey deep within a
mountain to face a series of challenges in order to win.
"In the early 90's, I played in an online text MUSH where players were
allowed to create content in a virtual community," states Harvey Smith.
"We used to dream of more powerful, visual tools that would fuel the
online culture of creativity. Second Life is all about empowering the
members of the community with tools that allow them to re-shape themselves
and their worlds. I've been really impressed by what some of the
contestants have done with the virtual environment in Second Life. The
game designers, artists and coders participating in the contest have come
up with games that are combinations of game mechanics and settings that
are both classic and innovative."
About Linden Lab
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create Second Life, a
revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of
RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's
streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. Noted software pioneer
Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, serves as Chairman.
Recently named one of 2003's Best by PC Magazine, Second Life is a digital
world like no other. Residents retain their intellectual property rights
in their creations, are able to own and control the land where they live
and congregate, are starting businesses that are paying off in real world
income, and have the freedom to shape the future of their digital reality.
Second Life is currently growing explosively at more than 30% per month.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team
bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking.
Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as
Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and
RealNetworks. Posted By: Adam Paoli - 209 Reads
Go Back |
News Archive |
Post a Comment
|
