Although sometimes outshined by its music and film counterparts, South by Southwest Interactive is a five-day festival that SXSW Inc. calls “the most energetic, inspiring and creative event of the year.” SXSW Interactive is focused on emerging technology and is often the breeding ground for the newest and most innovative technologies in the world. Each year, some of the best and brightest minds in computer science flock to SXSW Interactive to give presentations, prove their skill, and show their passion for computing. This year, two teams from the Electronic Game Developers Society at the University of Texas competed and won in a SXSW Game Jam hosted by Skillpoint Alliance and sponsored by Unity3d.
UT computer science students Matthew Allen, Axel Ismirlian and Eric Symmank, who competed together as Team Exodus, won “Best Use of Light and Sound” for their game VoidDX. Team Polysaurus was composed of Aaron Belcher and Darwin Pek. Their game, called Crunch Rockets, was awarded “Most Fun Game.” Both teams were given Unity Pro licenses. Additionally, Team Polysaurus was selected to receive a Collector’s Edition of Guild Wars 2.
Winning game jams is not new to the longhorn family. In fact, Matthew Allen and Aaron Belcher performed exceedingly well earlier this semester in Austin’s Global Game Jam 2013. Congratulations to these students for their success! Hook ‘em!