Shortlist Announced for Epic Games’ Make Something Unreal Live 2013

Twelve teams selected to develop games based on ‘Mendelian Inheritance’ theme

This year, 21 teams consisting of a total of 170 members submitted pitch documents as entries to the contest, based on the theme ‘Mendelian Inheritance: genetics and genomics’, which is supported by the Wellcome Trust. Candidates were encouraged to treat the theme creatively, spanning concepts such as variation, mutation and other characteristics of the human genome. The entries were scrutinised by a panel of judges from Epic Games, the Wellcome Trust, and Stephen Gaffney, CEO of Fireteam.CARY, N.C. – Epic Games, Inc., creators of award-winning games and game technology, has announced the shortlist of 12 teams which will progress to the next round of Make Something Unreal Live (MSUL) 2013, the European student game development competition.

The judges were looking for game plans that demonstrated an inspirational use of the competition theme, and which were ambitious while staying mindful of the contest deadlines and demands. Artwork with eye-catching visuals were commended.

“We were extremely pleased with the high quality of all the submissions this year, with entries coming from teams across Europe,” commented Mike Gamble, European Territory Manager at Epic Games and a member of the judging panel.

“We were looking for pitches which used the Mendelian Inheritance theme to develop clever and original ideas which would also be realisable in the time available. Teams scored highly when they demonstrated that they were comfortable with the subject matter and could develop their idea into an engaging game.”

Dr Daniel Glaser, Head of Special Projects at the Wellcome Trust, said, “We’re delighted to see such a display of imagination inspired by the theme. We look forward to seeing how those shortlisted evolve their concepts over the course of the competition. We want to inspire a new generation of games developers as part of our wider commitment to using games and gaming culture as a means of engaging people with science.”

The 12 shortlisted candidates will now use Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3(UE3), to create new PC games demos based on their pitches, with the ultimate goal of winning a commercial Unreal Engine 4 licence for PC digital distribution.

MSUL 2013 – the shortlisted teams

The teams will come to London at the beginning of December to present work-in-progress on their games to the judging panel. On this day, four teams will be selected to go through to the competition’s grand final at the Gadget Show Live exhibition in April 2013.

At the Gadget Show Live finalists will work on their games live on the show floor in front of the MSUL judges and the public visitors to the show. On the final day of the exhibition, the overall winning team will be announced, and awarded with a commercial Unreal Engine 4 licence for PC digital distribution. MSUL 2013 is also supported by Staffordshire University, Epic’s educational partner for the programme, and UKIE, the games industry trade association.

You can follow the progress of this year’s MSUL on its Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/MakeSomethingUnreal.

Over the past decade Epic’s Make Something Unreal game development competitions have awarded millions of dollars’ worth of cash and prizes, enabled the release of numerous commercially successful computer and video games and jumpstarted many careers.

About Unreal Engine

Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed toolset and scalability across major platforms. Operating on nine platforms, including PC, consoles and mobile devices, Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for creating high-quality games, applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Powering hundreds of games and integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and five Develop Industry Excellence Awards. The Unreal Engine also holds a seat in the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame. Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 offers unprecedented workflow improvements and graphical capabilities that provide unparalleled accessibility for developers building the next generation of games and applications. For additional information, please visit http://www.unrealengine.com.

About Epic Games

Established in 1991, Epic Games, Inc. develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company is responsible for the bestselling “Unreal” series of games, the blockbuster “Gears of War” franchise and the groundbreaking “Infinity Blade” line of mobile games. Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine technology has won dozens of awards and is available for licensing. Epic is continually recruiting top talent for its studios located in North Carolina, Washington, Utah, Maryland, Poland, Korea and Japan. Additional information about Epic can be obtained athttp://www.epicgames.com.

About Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests. http://www.welcome.ac.uk

Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, Unreal, Unreal Developer Network, UDN, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, UE4 and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.