DePaul Gamer Creation

A group of DePaul students called the "DePaul Game Elites" have created a computer game that's gaining international attention.

The Independent Games Festival just chose their game as a finalist for its international student competition. It got top 10 honors out of 190 entries from all over the world. If that's not impressive enough, the really neat part is that they made the game in just six months!

Alex Seropian, the teams faculty advisor, says typically a game like the one they made can take 12 to 36 months to create in a professional studio. "That these students went from a vague concept to finished product in just five months, working over the summer, is a sign of their skill and a tribute to their commitment," says Seropian.

It's pretty inspiring to see what a group of classmates can come up with when they put all their separate skill sets together. "It took a ton of cooperation and ingenuity on the teams part," says Project Lead Jason Pecho.

Matt Lazar, producer of the project, says in June they were all just a group of students. "At the end of November we became an efficient and disciplined development team. That's because we all learned on the job and grew as a team. It was really special to see that happen as a producer."

Team members hope all the hands on experience will help them get jobs in the gaming industry after graduation. Until then, they're putting everything they've got into making their current project the best it can be!

Calling all Gamers



So are you a gamer? Do you want to see what their game is all about? It's called Devil's Tuning Fork and you can download it here to try it out for free. It's based on the sound signals used for navigation by dolphins or bats.

The story line: It's about a mysterious epidemic that causes children everywhere to fall into comas. One child wakes up in an alternate reality. It's up to that child (the player) to determine the cause of the epidemic and save the other children. Using the magical "devil's tuning fork" the player can perceive sound waves and find the children.

Enjoy!