News Release

Santa Ana College among Top Ten Finalists for Fifth Annual Intercollegiate Computer Game Showcase May 7 at UC Irvine

Only community college to be selected to compete in OC game showcase

(Santa Ana, CA)—Santa Ana College (SAC) will compete at the fifth annual IEEE GameSIG Intercollegiate Computer Game Showcase on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 1 p.m. The showcase will be at University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the Applied Innovation Center (AIC). The UCI AIC is located at 5141 California Ave., Irvine, CA 92697.

The Intercollegiate Computer Games Showcase allows student game developers the chance to present student-developed video games for judging by an influential panel of video game professionals. Participating students also network with those who attend, which include other students, alumni, and sponsors.

Students apply to the showcase and the top ten finalist teams are chosen to compete at the showcase. Teams vie for school pride, bragging rights, and the GameSIG Cup. The winning video game is selected based on the concept and the marketability of the creation.

Students who compete are usually studying computer science, but SAC’s development team is the only team made up of students studying art and animation. SAC is the only community college that qualified for and is competing in this contest. SAC’s team is made up of students from SAC art professor Patricia Waterman’s beginning animation and video game/interactive media production classes.

Two SAC students started working prior to spring semester 2016 on the game development and production. The work gained momentum and other students joined in throughout the semester. For the last four weekends, there have been 18 students working from Saturday afternoon straight through to Sunday morning with the guidance of Waterman. Waterman was surprised to see the students working such long hours for the game development but said, “When you’re inspired, you’re awake.”

The concept for their game is a light-hearted quest where players are asked to solve a series of puzzles which present ethical dilemmas. Players accomplish their personal goals while making ethical choices. Their video game is called Finite Tower. Waterman said the team wanted a game that was both funny and ethical and recalled hearing them laughing while recording segments for the game.

At the event, each student development team presents a live demonstration of at least one level of its game by a player on stage. Each team must also provide five pictures of its game including a picture of the video game logo. To enter the showcase all applicants had to submit a video and one-page overview of their games. The video was meant to be similar to a trailer for the game that would demonstrate the gamer experience. It needed to be engaging and clearly explain the strengths of design that would make the game appeal to their target audience.

The one-page summary of the game needed to include all participants that helped to create the game as well as the advisor from their school who helped to guide them. They had to describe their game in one sentence then identify the target platform and audience for the game. Key features for the game and an explanation of game play were also provided. The final elements that needed to be included were the link to the video trailer of the game and a few examples of the art that would be used in the game.

The showcase’s 2016 sponsors include: California State University, Fullerton; Chapman University; Digital ChoreoGraphics; Game Salad; Grise Media; IBM; iD Tech; IEEE Orange County Section; Intel; Microsoft Corporation; Outsource Technical; Quicksilver Software, Inc.; Santa Ana College; SymPlay; UC Irvine; Unity 3d; and Western Digital.

This showcase is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve your seat and for more information, visit http://gamesigshowcase.org/.

About Santa Ana College
Santa Ana College (SAC), which turned 100 years old in 2015, serves about 18,000 students each semester at its main campus in Santa Ana. The college prepares students for transfer to four-year institutions, provides invaluable workforce training, and customized training for business and industry. In addition, another 11,000 students are served through the college’s School of Continuing Education located at Centennial Education Center. Ranked as one of the nation’s top two-year colleges awarding associate degrees to Latino and Asian students, the college is also recognized throughout the state for its comprehensive workforce training programs for nurses, firefighters, law enforcement and other medical personnel. SAC is one of two comprehensive colleges under the auspices of the Rancho Santiago Community College District. Visit www.sac.edu to learn more. For information about Santa Ana College’s Centennial, please visitwww.sac.edu/100.

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Contact: Judy Iannaccone

Phone: (714) 480-7503

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