The Great Canadian Appathon
The Great Canadian Appathon (GCA) is a 48-hour game design and development competition open to Canadian college and university students.[1] Students attempt to design, develop and program a working mobile game within the restrictions of an annually changing game 'theme'. Individuals, or teams of up to four students, work for 48-hours in designated 'HUBS' set up at participating universities and colleges, to submit their games for a variety of prizes.[2] A number of studios have been founded on the prize money won at the Great Canadian Appathon. This includes Edmonton based 1st place Team Masheen, and Bitshift Games.[3][4]
Progress
| GCA (March 2011) | GCA2 (October 2011) | GCA3 (September 2012) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provinces | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Colleges and Universities | 7 | 21 | 39 |
| Teams | 94 | 125 | 149 |
| Students | 296 | 410 | 521 |
| Games | 54 | 80 | 124 |
Judging criteria
All the submitted games by GCA participants will be evaluated by game development senior staff on criteria such as the degree of innovation, the fun and entertainment factor, the level of art and design polish as well as stability to determine the winners.[6]
History
March 11th-March 13th 2011
| Place | Team | HUB | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner 1 | Team Masheen | Northern Alberta Institute of Technology & University of Alberta | Super Punch |
| Winner 2 | Team Sheldon | University of British Columbia | Valley Raid |
| Winner 3 | Resistor5 | McGill University & Concordia University | Plasmium |
September 30th-October 2nd 2011
| Place | Team | HUB | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner 1 | Drop Table Teams | Concordia University | Trace Racer |
| Winner 2 | Resistor5 | McGill University | Ludicrous Archery |
| Winner 3 | Team ABXYZ | Carleton University | Portal Bow |
September 28th-September 30th 2012
| Place | Team | HUB | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner 1 | Team Heisenberg | Carleton University | Daylight Saving |
| Winner 2 | Team Unistd | University of Toronto | Devourer of Worlds |
| Winner 3 | Team Grade-F | Polytechnique Montreal | Zombyte |
- .https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/students-go-a-weekend-without-sleep-for-the-great-canadian-appathon/article4578647/
- http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-great-canadian-appathon-returns-with-a-vengeance-2012-09-21
- http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/27146/next-coding-contest-on/
- http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/technology/story/2011/09/30/pei-video-game-design-contest-584.html.
- http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/28/great-canadian-appathon-2-kicks-off-on-friday-with-50k-on-the-line/?__lsa=85ac-5a9d
- http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-great-canadian-appathon-returns-with-a-vengeance-2012-09-21
- http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-great-canadian-appathon-returns-with-a-vengeance-2012-09-21
- http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/03/montreal-dominates-great-canadian-appathon-finalists/?__lsa=85ac-5a9d
- http://www.techvibes.com/blog/the-genesis-of-a-gaming-studio-2012-11-27