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By TONI WHITE
Staff Writer

Niagara College Game Development students took part in the Level Up showcase in Toronto where they presented their game Ultimate Zombie Deathball

The Niagara College game development students who participated in this year’s Level Up Showcase in Toronto may not have captured the big prizes, but they say they’ll always be grateful for the experience.

“I’m happy with what we did and glad to have done it. I think it was important for us to do, as it’s the closest we will get to a real (convention) without doing a real con,” said Chris Lyons, a designer and programmer for Ultimate Zombie Deathball.

Level Up provides an opportunity for talented students studying game design, animation and more from across Ontario to present their hard work to the world and receive feedback and job offers from leading game development companies.

Students set up and presented their games for over 10 hours without a break. More than 2,000 people crammed into a too-small venue without seating to play over 80 different video games ranging from arena fighter styles to multiplayer arcade games.

One of the Niagara College groups, Ultimate Zombie Deathball, received very positive reactions from the attendees.

“People thought it looked phenomenal and really enjoyed themselves playing it,” said Paul Boyko, a programmer and game designer for Ultimate Zombie Deathball.

“We had a constant flow of people playing our game. They all seemed interested and loved our (merchandise) and I think we went toe-to-toe with nearly any game as far as interest goes. Something about zombie sports gets people excited I guess,” said Connor Mitchell, a programmer for Ultimate Zombie Deathball.

Niagara College third-year game development students Jason Mackenzie(left) and Connor Mitchell(right) from the team Ultimate Zombie Deathball set up their station for the Level Up showcase 2018 event at the Toronto Design Exchange Museum on 234 Bay Street in Toronto on April 4, 2018. PHOTO BY TONI WHITE

Ultimate Zombie Deathball and the other teams from Niagara did not receive awards and were outplaced by Brock University and Sheridan College.

“I think other school’s teams had a mentor. I’m also not convinced we were entirely prepped for what to expect at Level Up,” said Lyons.

Boyko said the judges chose winners who received more support and mentoring along the way, which included bigger, professional-looking posters and merchandise.

Both Brock with their game Stop Running, and Sheridan with Super Random Heroes had incredibly well-designed games that received recognition.

“I think it’s more like this,” Lyons said, “other programs are specifically designed to win Level Up, ours is not.”

“It’s just how NC does things,” Boyko added.

The team agreed it was a good chance to get a better understanding of what people are looking for in new game concepts and they are excited to see what is in store next.

“It’s worthwhile doing and you learn a lot and meet lots of industry people,” said Lyons. Ultimate Zombie Deathball may be put into production and released as a full game.

“We are currently giving some serious consideration in developing Ultimate Zombie Deathball as a viable commercial product for console and Steam,” said Boyko.

This year marked the seventh annual Level Up Showcase organized by Algonquin College, Brock University, OCAD University and University of Toronto.