Screencheat runner up for Australian Game of the Year
In Summary
Swinburne University of Technology Games and Interactivity graduates, Nicholas McDonnell and Winston Tang have been announced as runners up for Australian Game of the Year by Kotaku Australia for their game Screencheat.
Made by Samurai Punk, a game development studio founded by Mr McDonnell and Mr Tang, Screencheat is an online/offline, split-screen multiplayer, first-person shooter game, that throws conventional split-screen multiplayer rules out the window, and actively encourages players to look at their opponent’s screen to win.
“Screencheat goes in a completely different direction to other games. It’s simple, it’s quick, it’s fun. I call it the Mario Kart of first-person shooters,” Mark Serrels, Editor, Kotaku Australia said.
Andrew Trevillian, Lecturer in Games and Interactivity at Swinburne said it was gratifying to see students graduate from Swinburne and go on to achieve success like this so early in their careers.
“It's no mean feat coming runner up to games like Borderlands and Framed, both critically lauded titles. Screencheat began life when Samurai Punk participated in the IGDA Global Game Jam in January 2014.
“In the lead up to that event, Nick and Winston had been honing their jamming skills in the biannual Swinburne Games Lab Game Jams and developing their practice in the Swinburne Games and Interactivity Degrees,” Mr Trevillian said.
Winston Tang, Swinburne Games and Interactivity graduate and Director and Programmer at Samurai Punk, encourages gaming students to take ther destiny into their own hands by being willing to learn and being proactive about getting the most out of their studies.
“Our years at Swinburne were incredibly valuable in teaching us how to work co-operatively as a team, manage scope and how to view game design from the perspective of a developer and not just a consumer. The Games and Interactivity program provided an exciting, rich environment to learn," Mr Tang said.
Screencheat was published by Melbourne indie games publisher Surprise Attack, and officially launched on 21 October 2014 on Windows, Mac, and Linux via Steam, Humble Store, GOG and other digital stores.
The full game is set to contain a wide variety of both online and offline multiplayer options that will promote questionable sportsmanship around the world.
Swinburne will be hosting the IGDA Melbourne Chapter for the 2015 Global Game Jam in January.
Find out more about Swinburne’s Games and Interactivity courses here.
Check out Screencheat for yourself.