The photo features from left to right, Brian Heagney, instructor of communication at High Point University and HPU students Sam Schoenfeld and Michael Messer.
HIGH POINT, N.C., June 2, 2016 – A video game designed by five HPU Game and Interactive Media Design students has placed in the top five of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) College Game Competition, an event that targets 400 of the best game design programs in the nation. The students are preparing to face the other finalists at the 2016 E3 Expo, one of the video game industry’s largest annual events, in Los Angeles June 14-16.
The group of designers includes recent HPU graduates Sam Schoenfeld, Michael Messer, Stephan Dowless and Spencer Hitchcock, and Callum Boothman, a senior who will graduate in December. They worked together under the guidance of instructor Brian Heagney and associate professor Dr. Stefan Hall from the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication.
The team spent the spring semester designing an original game based on Queen Guinevere of Arthurian legend. In the game, titled “Guinevere and the Fallen King,” players lead Guinevere on a quest to discover the fate of her husband, King Arthur, and return him home.
They showcased their work at the East Coast Game Conference in Raleigh, where they shared their game with fellow designers before submitting it to E3’s College Games Competition.
According to E3, finalists will not only be given the chance to feature their games at the world’s premier tradeshow for computers, video games and related products, but they will also be able to network with top game industry figures including publishers, developers, analysts, and marketing executives.
“I never would have imagined that I’d be going to E3, let alone as a part of the top five finalists,” says Callum Boothman, the team’s user interface artist and marketing specialist. “Professors Hall and Heagney have provided the guidance that has led to this unbelievable turn of events, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
The students are excited and prepared to share their hard work and represent HPU as they compete against the other national finalists. Schoenfeld, who was a designer, creative director and artist for the game, is thankful for the opportunity.
“Our team wouldn’t be going to E3 were it not for our peers and professors,” says Schoenfeld. “E3 provides an amazing opportunity to showcase not only our work as individuals, but what High Point’s game design program has to offer.”
Follow the team’s journey on the Facebook page for “Guinevere and the Fallen King” and on Twitter @GameofGuinevere.