Sam Kilgard-
The Memorial Student Center’s Great Hall is no stranger to big events, and the University of Wisconsin–Stout’s Gaming Expo is no exception. On Thursday, May 4, the doors of the Great Hall will open for all to see what the Game Design students have been working on the entire semester, or year. Around 100 students will be presenting games they have worked on tirelessly to the public.
Many games will be on showcase during the expo. One in particular is made by programmers Keenan Jones, Katee Walters, along with the rest of the Game Design 450 class, who will be releasing their game “Olymbots.” Walters explains, “Our game is basically a battle of the bots. It’s a collection of competitive mini games connected as a tournament. Each game is different enough that you’re playing something new, but still similar enough that you can easily flow from one to the other.”
But there is much more that meets the eye with these games, as the students behind them have put determination and effort into making them perfect and playable. “[Olymbots] has been very challenging, but very entertaining at the same time. I’ve put hours upon hours into this game, and it has been a very rewarding experience,” added Jones.
What exactly are the mini games that make up Olymbots? “We have six different aspects to our game: Scavengear, Arena Kid, Hover Rush, Tierra Rise, King of the Kitchen and Robo Royale. All of these games are different in their own way,” said Jones, with each mini game assigned a team of three programmers. This game is comparable to Nintendo’s “Mario Party” and other games that have smaller mini games within them.
Olymbots isn’t the only game on display at the Stout Game Expo; there will be many games for all types of gamers: complex and simple, fun and serious. The games are based on levels, according to the groups that made them: seniors, juniors and sophomores, and freshman. The expo will only last one day and will be jam-packed with entertainment and captivating experiences created and designed by a collaboration of programmers, designers and directors. So, be sure to stop by if you like gaming of any kind!
The event will take place on Thursday, May 4 in the MSC Great Hall starting at 6 p.m. and will end at 9 p.m.