EDGE | Experiential Development & Games Expo 2024
Overview
Step into the future of interactive media at EDGE 2024, the Experiential Development & Games Expo, proudly presented by the School of Interactive Games and Media (IGM). Formerly known as the RIT Student Game Showcase, EDGE is a full-day celebration that brings together students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals to honor the outstanding achievements of RIT's student-led creative development teams.
RIT students showcase their diverse interactive media experiences, spanning video games, computational art installations, analog games, VR/AR/XR, prototypes, emerging media technology, web applications, and more. These submissions undergo review by panels of academic and industry experts across categories like Technical Excellence, Aesthetics, Game Feel, Game Impact, Experimental, VR/AR/XR, and In Real Life. Standout entries from qualifying categories compete for the prestigious Best in Show award.
Join us at the MAGIC Center on Saturday, April 13th, 2024, to witness firsthand the innovation of our remarkable student developers. Can't make it to campus? Join us via our livestream on Twitch.
Don't miss this opportunity to experience the cutting edge of interactive media and celebrate the next generation of creators at EDGE 2024!
Timeline
12/11/2023 - Submission opens
- Submit your Project
- See below for further instruction
3/8/2024 - Submission form closes
3/8/2024 - 4/5/2024 - Judging period
4/12/2024 - EDGE Kick Off - Twitch
- Team Interviews begin - 2pm-4:30pm
4/13/2024 - All-day event - MAGIC Center and Twitch
- Expo Floor & Team Interviews - 11am-3pm
- IRL Judging - 1pm-3pm
- Break - 3pm-5pm
- Award Ceremony - 5pm
Award Categories
|
Category |
Description |
|
Technical Excellence |
Nominations will be judged based on the level of technical achievement/advancement displayed in the development of the project. Unique or well-implemented systems/subsystems, novel code implementations, and effective code optimization will all be considered for this category. |
|
Aesthetics |
Aesthetics will be judged based on how visuals, sound, narrative, and virtual/physical spaces come together to evoke the desired emotional responses in the player/viewer when they interact with the project. |
|
Game Feel |
Game feel will be judged based upon the degree and quality of player immersion. Areas contributing to game feel are level design, feedback, animation, audio, and physics used to convey player agency. Judges will evaluate how the above areas collectively heighten the player's sense of presence and agency within the virtual world. |
|
Experimental |
Experimental recognizes risk-takers, pioneers, and visionaries who challenge the status quo, enriching their medium. Projects in this category will be judged based on innovation, creativity, impact on the field, uniqueness, and relevance to contemporary discourse around technological advancement. |
|
Best in Show |
Best in Show will be judged based on the overall quality, impressiveness and enjoyability of the Entered Projects. |
|
In Real Life - Expo Floor |
The In Real Life category will judge the projects that transcend the digital screen, providing an immersive and captivating experience that unfolds in real-time, within a physical space. Projects will be judged by Immersive Engagement, Innovation in Interface Design, Audience Impact, and Accessibility and Inclusivity |
Restrictions
EDGE is open to any RIT student-led creative development team. All interactive experiences are welcome- including analog or digital games, computational art installations, unfinished projects/prototypes, XR experiences, new media projects, etc. Teams can be of any size, however they must include at least one active RIT student through at least Spring 2024 to submit.
To be eligible to enter:
- At least 1 team member must be an active RIT student through at least Spring 2024
- Someone must be available to show your work live, in-person, 11-6pm on 4/13/2024
- The work must be far enough along to allow guests to interact with it (Simple prototypes are fine, but these need to be more than pitches & technical demos)
Submission Process
Whether submitting to awards or expo-only, each team or individual will submit entries via the Submission Form from now until 11:59pm on March 8th, 2024.
Space permitting, all submissions will be accepted to demo their work on the expo floor in MAGIC on Saturday, April 13th beginning at 11am. If there are a large number of applicants, priority will be given to projects with clear objectives & organized submission materials. The goal is to showcase the breadth of creativity and skill of RIT students with the chance to get feedback from a broad and diverse audience.
On the submission form, teams will elect to be considered for awards in categories they feel best highlight their project. All submissions will be entered to demo their work on the expo floor. Teams that would like to be considered for in-person judging should opt-in to the IRL category which will be judged on the expo floor. Award winners will be announced at 5pm on 4/13/2024.
Before submitting your entry:
- Identify who will be the primary point of contact for the team for communications with the judges (this does not necessarily have to be the official team leader).
- Review the Restrictions above to ensure your team meets our requirements.
- Review the Award Category descriptions above and decide which you would like to be considered for (not applicable for expo-only teams).
- Collect the information and executables required for the judges to access your project and create an itch.io page:
- A brief summary of the project (2-3 sentences).
- A link to a web-playable or downloadable version of the project
- Detailed instructions (or a link to instructions) about how to use the link above to access your project. Be specific about platform/technical requirements, etc.
- How to Build an itch.io Page Workshop Video
- Provide at least 30 seconds of unedited project footage with no voiceover, etc. that highlights the best aspects of your project.
- Produce a trailer video of your Project (not applicable for expo-only teams).
- How to Make a Game Trailer Workshop Video
- The video will be 2 minutes MAXIMUM, uploaded to YouTube. Please make sure it is accessible to anyone with the link (Public or Unlisted).
- The video must be formatted as follows (2 minutes at most):
|
Start with an exciting clip of your project |
10 seconds |
|
Bring in the project title |
5 seconds |
|
Introduce the team & your objectives |
<45 seconds |
|
Give a (quick) pitch that clearly defines the following (as applicable):
|
<45 seconds |
|
Tell us why you believe your project is special |
15 seconds |
|
Tell us what the future of the project will be |
15 seconds |
All teams must submit by March 8th, 2024 to participate in EDGE 2024
Contact Us
Got questions or looking to get involved? Email us at igame@rit.edu
2024 Winners
Highlights from the 2024 Experiential Development & Games Expo
Best in Show:
Year Unknown by Julian Heuser | https://sockman.itch.io/year-unknown
Technical Excellence:
Rope Tool by Spacies | https://xandergoodwin.itch.io/rope-tool
Aesthetics:
Mushroom Kid's Big Grass Sword by Team Broke Kids store.steampowered.com/app/2734360/Mushroom_Kids_Big_Grass_Sword
Game Feel:
Libertalia: A Pirate's Paradise by Five Sheets to the Wind | https://fivesheetstothewind.itch.io/libertalia
Experimental:
Ninjas on Trampolines by Olympus Interactive | https://ifaicgu.itch.io/ninjas-on-trampolines
IRL:
Constellation Cove by The Bad Assets | https://constellationcove.framer.website/
2022 Winners
Best in Show: Paper Planet
Technical Excellence: The Shattering Swords
Game Feel: Project SP
Aesthetics: Vigorus
Game Impact: Boiling Over
A recording of 2022 Showcase can be found on YouTube.