Congratulations to the 2017 game bIITes winners!
Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 game bIITes competition! Game bIITes is a juried competition for games created by students from Illinois Tech and select Chicago-area schools. The winners were honored at a showcase and networking reception on Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
Best Serious Game
Southerly Wind
Xi Rao and Jodi Houlihan, Illinois Institute of Technology
Asians, as an increasing minority of various races in the United States, and their history have not been broadly taught to children. To address this, Southerly Wind was created to provide basic knowledge of Chicago Chinatown’s history from the perspective of a young Chinese woman named Amy. Players are introduced to Chinese immigration in the United States and follow Amy through her daily life.
Best Tabletop Game
Into the Mouth of the Monster
Joseph Chavero, Illinois Institute of Technology
A game of survival, players race each other to the end without being devoured and falling “into the mouth of the monster.” Players roll a die each turn in order to move across the board while the monsters chase them moving twice as fast creating a dynamic where the players are not only worrying about beating each other, but also trying to survive against the difficult monsters.
Best Adventure Map
SolveIT Case 5: High Risk Mountain
Stephanie Vacarro, Illinois Institute of Technology
This game is part of a series of mystery maps created in Minecraft. The player is the rookie detective of the SolveIT detective agency are called on a case to the Taiga Mountain Ski Lodge by Judy Wells. Upon arrival at the lodge, the player finds the owner, Cliff Petroff, murdered. The player’s task is to discover who the murderer is and why they did it.
Best Digital Game
Gastronauts
Gabriel Cardinal & Becca Rose Hallstedt, Columbia College Chicago
Gastronauts is a top-down 2-D exploration game where players must collect parts to repair their spaceship. The propulsion system is down, so the astronauts must use farts to propel themselves into space.
Award for Technical Achievement
Transmission
Sunny Shah and Vinesh Kannan, Illinois Institute of Technology
In Transmission, players become a team of scientists working together to establish a connection with a wary Mars rover. Instructions come in a rapid stream, but the controls to fulfill them are spread amongst the players’ control panels. Players must collaborate under pressure to communicate the information to the appropriate scientist.
Award for Storytelling
1968
Heather Nelson and Jordon Krenz, Illinois Institute of Technology
1968 is a game that connects the player to the political movements occurring during the 1968 Democratic National Convention protest. It represents a moment in history when citizens still actively demonstrated their beliefs. It also is an opportunity for the player to connect the problems occurring in our current political system, to the ones that were occurring several generations ago.
Coleman Foundation Game Development Prize Finalists
Southerly Wind
Xi Rao and Jodi Houlihan, Illinois Institute of Technology
Into the Mouth of the Monster
Joseph Chavero, Illinois Institute of Technology
Rat Run
Elizabeth Best, Illinois Institute of Technology
Rat Run is a game aimed towards children of the ages 7-10 years old. Each player is a hungry rat racing against your friends while overcoming obstacles such as a relentless cat, rat traps, and much more! The goal is to find your way through the long, winding hallways of the Gouda House to find the hidden room of mouthwatering cheese. The game is set in a world full of family-fun humor that will keep the excitement of chance among players while allowing them to make strategic decisions such as the long and safe route or the short route full of surprises (both good and bad!).
game bIITes was made possible with the support from Illinois Tech’s Faculty Innovation Program and the Coleman Foundation.
