Student game developers honored
The Philippine Creative Awards for Animation and Games recently recognized talented developers and animators at the Red Carpet Cinema at Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City.
The event organized by the Game Developers Association of the Philippines and Animation Council of the Philippines Inc. acknowledged the globally competitive skills of these student-achievers from across the country.
Enrollees from the Game Design and Development (GDD) program of the School of Management and Information Technology at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde copped a total of four out of eight accolades in the Game On competition’s School category.
Taksil, which bagged the Game of the Year and Best Desktop/Console Game honors, was created by a team composed of Thea Alvarez, Kiel Federigan, AJ Galicia, Andy Legaspi, and Eirha Sacdalan.
In this mystery game, players find themselves trapped in a strange house. It features a compelling narrative story that searches for clues and looks for tools to escape and decipher the truth, to eventually solve the puzzle.
Apocalypso, the work of Chrissaliz Batistil, Alexandra Bito, Joshua Daniel, Jerry Hong, Ma-I Entico, Gene Andrew Normandia, Renzo Oxales, Olivia Tiu, James Centeno, and Sam Baquir took home the Best Game Design merit.
It is set in the distant future of Metro Manila where an international mega corporation called Calypso propels a great nuclear war. The gamer, who takes on the role of a volunteer for a world reclamation organization, has to rescue survivor capsules and reveal the firm’s secrets.
The group of Iyanla Bagasan, Eriond De Jesus, Marcus Florentino, MJ Lenomta, and Charlotte Timbreza clinched the Innovation Award for Para Po!
In this game, the challenger plays the part of Totoy, who inherits his family’s business of driving a jeepney. Totoy must navigate the chaotic reality of the trade—mastering pickups and drop-offs. He needs to face the often unpredictable Philippine traffic, alongside dealing with the ongoing jeepney phaseout.
Samuel Baquir and Allen Geoffrey Rada’s Wane was a nominated entry for Game of the Year.
GDD faculty members and industry practitioners Jebbrich Lim, Ian Christian Sevilla, and Jozette Anne Tuquib-Abayon served as the mentors during the contest.
Completing the list of winners were University of St. La Salle’s TreasureTide (Best Game Art Direction), University of San Jose-Recoletos’ Stay Alive (Best Game Audio Design and Music), iAcademy’s Dapithapon (Best Game Narrative), and Gordon College’s Lola’s Lutong Bahay (Best Mobile Game).
