New indie competition to take place in real time at the Gadget Show Live 2012
London, UK (November 2, 2011) – Epic Games, Inc., creators of the billion-dollar “Gears of War” franchise and the award-winning Unreal Engine 3, announce Make Something Unreal Live, an independent game development competition co-sponsored by Train2Game, the UK’s premier game development distance learning resource. This unprecedented event will take place over the course of six months and culminate in a spectacular real-time conclusion at Gadget Show Live 2012, the premier consumer show taking place from April 11-15, 2012 in Birmingham, UK. The winner of Make Something Unreal Live will receive a commercial Unreal Engine 3 license for iOS.
Winners of the Train2Game and Epic Game Jam, happening November 4-6 at the University of Bedfordshire, will compete in the event next April. In both competitions, all games will be developed for iOS devices using Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3 which has been installed on more than 1 million unique machines.
Following this week’s game jam, development teams will benefit from a six-month incubation period in which a range of senior industry veterans will nurture projects by reviewing key milestones, providing guidance and shaping scope. During this time, talent will prepare for the final showdown at the Gadget Show Live, where more than 100,000 attendees will watch them bring to life Unreal Engine 3-powered creations in real time.
“We are looking forward to working with Epic Games and Train2Game to bring a completely new element into the Games Zone at GSL 2012,” said Gadget Show Live Event Director Matt Hodgins. “A huge number of our visitors are into gaming, and will undoubtedly be excited to see how new games are developed and brought to life at the event.”
“Once they’re out there in the real world, our students will flourish based on their ability to create fantastic experiences under pressure,” said Train2Game Course Director, Tony Bickley, “this is one of the best opportunities they’ve had so far to prove themselves and create something they can be proud of that will springboard their burgeoning careers in gaming.”
“In a mere five days, these developers will kickstart their careers in an intense competition that will ultimately result in one team walking away a professional studio, with a full source Unreal Engine 3 license for iOS in hand,” said Mike Gamble, European territory manager, Epic Games.
Epic Games is known for its legendary Make Something Unreal Contest game development competitions, which utilize the Unreal Engine 3 toolset and reward grand prize winners with a commercial license granting full access to Epic’s high-end game engine technology. The $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest concluded in 2010, with multiple teams going on to release commercial games based on projects made for the competition. Developed by grand prize-winning team KTX Software and published by THQ, “The Haunted: Hells Reach” was released for PC on October 24.
Tickets for The Gadget Show Live are now on sale at www.gadgetshowlive.net.
About The Gadget Show Live
Based on Five’s prime time programme, The Gadget Show Live is aimed at an audience of families keen to see, try and buy the latest must have technology. The 2011 event attracted a record 105,000 attendees and 290 exhibitors, promoting the latest in computing, photography, mobile communications, gaming, home entertainment and in-car technology. The Gadget Show Live 2012 is open to the public from 11 to 15 April 2012 at the NEC Birmingham, with a dedicated trade and press day on Tuesday, 10 April. For further details and to book tickets visit www.gadgetshowlive.net. Press passes can also be applied for via the website.
About Train2Game
Created in 2008, Train2Game offers accredited courses in Games Design, Development, Art and Animation, certified by leading industry body TIGA. Train2Game is a blended-learning organisation designed to fast track the best, most ambitious and motivated students into the games industry through comprehensive, expert-supervised courses. A big part of this is coordinating with the best developers in the country and providing top tier talented graduates for placements in the workplace. This year will see its first graduates enter the workplace after years of training.
About Unreal Engine 3
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed tools and scalability across multiple platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for numerous platforms and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and four Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at www.unrealengine.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The first two games in Epic’s “Gears of War” franchise have sold more than 13 million copies and won more than 50 game of the year awards. The third installment, “Gears of War 3,” sold more than 3 million copies within its first week of release, catapulting the franchise beyond $1 billion in lifetime sales. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 industry technology awards and powers many bestselling games. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at www.epicgames.com.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of War 3, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, 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.
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PRESS CONTACTS
Dana Cowley
Epic Games, Inc.
dana.cowley@epicgames.com
Tom Ohle
Evolve PR (for Epic Games)
tom@evolve-pr.com
Max Tatton-Brown
EML Wildfire (for Train2Game)
t2g@emlwildfire.com
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