It was an evening of high scores for University of Toronto computer science students showing off their games at the 10th anniversary edition of the Level Up Showcase.
The event held on April 19 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto brought together dozens of teams from colleges and universities across Ontario to exhibit the work of students in game design, animation and computer science programs.
University of Toronto computer science students Xiao Qi (Chrisee) Zhu, Fenil Patel, Ethan Moran and Elliot Chen with instructor Elias Adum at the Level Up Showcase on April 19, 2023. Their 'Triple Point' game won Best Overall Game and 3rd place for artistic achievement. (Photo: Courtesy of Elias Adum)
Steve Engels, professor, teaching stream in U of T’s Department of Computer Science, co-founded the event in 2011 with Emma Westecott, an associate professor at OCAD University.
A panel of game industry professionals selected winners among the more than 100 games on display in the categories of technical innovation, artistic achievement and best overall game.
Students from CSC404: Video Game Design were well-represented at the competition, with nine teams from the fall 2022 semester and 10 from the winter 2023 semester.
Three teams from the fall semester came away with awards and honours. Here’s how they did:
Best Overall Game:
1st place — Triple Point from CS students Fenil Patel, Ethan Moran, Xiao Qi (Chrisee) Zhu, Elliot Chen
Honourable mention — Red Herring from CS students Jacob Sahlmueller, Tongkun Zhang, Zachary Kaufman, Allen Li
Artistic Achievement:
3rd place — Triple Point from CS students Fenil Patel, Ethan Moran, Xiao Qi (Chrisee) Zhu, Elliot Chen
Technical Innovation:
Honourable mention — Meow Tunes from CS students Daniela Venturo Esaine, Faisal Nabil Jamil, Ming (Gavin) Liu, Judy Naamani
This year’s Level Up Showcase was co-organized by Algonquin College, Brock University, OCAD University and U of T’s Department of Computer Science.