The 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition Official Jury Selections
The 2007 Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition has come to a close. This year saw a growing interest from filmmakers and the film industry in independent games, a great deal of discussion about the future and current issues games face, and finished with a renewed sense of purpose and support inside the community that was formed among the gamemaker class of '07. In light of the circumstances of this year's festival, the gamemaker class of '07 chose to acknowledge all games in attendance as Official Jury Selections, but not to have grand jury, audience, and student awards given. The official jury selections are listed below, and watch this space for upcoming changes in the submission process and guidelines, which we hope will both protect Slamdance in the future, and preserve the GGC as a place for experimental, independent, innovative, and edgy game design.
BASE INVADERS
Seven Sigma - Digipen Institute of Technology
www.digipen.edu/GameGallery/websites/Base_Invaders/
Base Invaders is a cartoony action-oriented strategy game that pits the crafty, trap-utilizing player against hordes of dim-witted invaders bent on destroying his Tower. Players grab and toss invaders, utilize over a dozen physics-based traps, and complete missions while fighting a colorful cast of aggressive invaders.
CULTIVATION
Jason Rohrer
cultivation.sf.net
Cultivation explores the social interactions within a gardening community. You lead one family of gardeners, starting with a single individual, and wise choices can keep your genetic line from extinction. While breeding plants, eating, and mating, your actions impact your neighbors, and the social balance sways between conflict and compromise.
STEAM BRIGADE
Pedestrian Entertainment
www.steambrigade.com
Travel back to an alternate history where graceful airships rule the skies and steam-powered tanks wage war on the ground. Build an army, capture bunkers, defeat turrets, and use your airship to carry your troops behind enemy lines. A unique blend of addictive gameplay, beautiful artwork, and quirky storytelling, Steam Brigade really satisfies!
TOBLO
Toblo - DigiPen Institute of Technology
toblo.csnation.net/
Toblo is a fast-paced capture the flag game that has two teams using blocks as weapons, throwing bombs, and generally destroying things.
TORIBASH
Hampus Soderstrom
www.toribash.com
Toribash is a turn-based fighting game. Create your own martial arts movies in single player sandbox mode, or join the competition in the multi player modes. Focus is on tactics rather than reaction and button mashing. The game features physics, full dismemberment, decapitation and comic style blood.
The 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition Finalists
OFFICIAL STATEMENTThe Super Columbine Massacre RPG game has been withdrawn from Slamdance'07. While understanding the different positions people have already taken with the game, we want to express the struggle we had with ours. On one hand, a jury selected a game they believed merited programming, a decision that always leads to our organization supporting the creator's independent vision and freedom of expression. On the other, there are moral obligations to consider with this particular game and the preservation of the Slamdance organization and its whole community. There are always legal checks and balances with any Slamdance program. Specifically with the subject matter of Super Columbine Massacre Role Playing Game Slamdance does not have the resources to defend any drawn out civil action that our legal council has stated can easily arise from publicly showing it. Though the organization annually takes on legal matters in support of the independent artists in this case such an undertaking could mean the end of Slamdance. Altogether, our decision has been extremely hard to make and hope a choice like it will never have to be made again. This is not a case of Slamdance lacking courage, sponsor disapproval of showing Danny's game or wanting to control freedom of expression. Simply and practically, Slamdance can't afford to take on the scope of this potential loss by showing the game to the public. And now this decision must be faced head on. We are planning a panel event at Slamdance on Sunday, January 21 at 5 pm where the different positions and the public exhibition of this Game can be heard and openly discussed. It is our goal that all interested parties can learn something from this event and most importantly offer some contribution toward the advancement of independent Games. Please join us and open up this whole matter.
THE BLOB
Banana Games - Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht
binnenstad.hku.nl/
The Blob is a ball of paint. He absorps colours and uses these to colour the Dutch city of Utrecht. This involves rolling around, absorbing paint characters and solving small puzzles. While rolling around, the player sees what the station area of Utrecht will look like after is has been rebuilt during the coming ten years.
PLASMA PONG
Steve Taylor - Goerge Mason Univsersity
www.PlasmaPong.com
Plasma Pong is a variation of Pong that utilizes fluid dynamics to drive the game environment. In the game you can inject fluid into the environment, create a vacuum from your paddle, and blast shockwaves into the playing area. All these abilities have fluid-based kinetic effects on the ball, making Plasma Pong a fast-paced and exciting game.
THE FESTIVAL
Located in the Treasure Mountain Inn, in the Slamdance Games screening room. Just down the hall from the Slamdance Film Festival Screening rooms. Check out the finalist screenings in the Guerilla Gamemaker Competitions, and engage in Q&A with the gamemakers! Enjoy gaming events, and attend our panels on game-making.
The Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition exists to help aspiring game developers showcase their work. The festival aids developers through industry connections, peer interaction and national exposure.