Husky Game Development

2011 – 2012 Year in Review

gary — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:16:10 +0000

Husky Game Development Enterprise is proud of the eight years and counting we’ve spent making video games! We faced some big challenges this year and made progress well beyond anyone’s expectations in terms of completed games, new industry connections, and management organization. The team leaders were outstanding, and HGD’s members worked extremely hard to produce this year’s successful games!

Team ORX created Ryxius, an extremely challenging"bullet hell genre" game.

This year Team ORX developed Ryxius, an arcade-style bullet hell with extremely challenging and addictive levels. Unlimited ammo is about the only benefit granted to the player to the galaxy against an onslaught of enemy ships. The beautiful soundtrack and smooth animation contribute to the experience as players try to master the puzzles.

Team Wave Warrior brought the science of sound to their game. After players’ favorite music soundtracks are selected, enemy ships spawn according to sound frequencies. Wave Warrior will dazzle anyone with its colorful and highly-animated shooter.

Team Best Team Ever and Team Overtroll incorporated a variety of technologies into their games. Java, the JGame Engine, and C++ were among the tools and languages used to develop them. Team Droid Rage also used Java to make their game playable on a variety of platforms.

Team Secret showed off their work in this year’s BonzAI Brawl. Their eight-hour Artificial Intelligence programming competition drew a large crowd of participants and spectators. Coders had new programming language options this year to include Java, Python, and C++. The competition also provided for participants to use their own machines to develop an AI. Team Secret continues to maintain their own engine and developed an AI programming tutorial that can be used time and time again to refine the skills needed to become a champion of the contest.

Husky Games moved into new territory this year as negotiations with industry sponsors is paving the way for new lab equipment, summer jobs, and marketing of games we’ve already developed. We are also venturing out to showcase some of our work at events beyond the walls of Michigan Tech. Next week Gary Phillips will lead a team in the High School Enterprise Showcase in Detroit on May 3rd, where HGD will showcase Ryxius and Wave Warrior. His team will also judge high school entries on display from around the country.

High School Enterprise Showcase Poster

New management has been selected for the upcoming year to replace those who are graduating. Ryan George is replacing Gabby Myers as President. David Kroos is replacing Gary Phillips as VP of Communications. Matt Freitag is replacing Ryan George as VP of Technology. Connor Wlodarczak is replacing Jenny Sieweke as VP of Operations. Bradley Coesens will continue as VP of Finance. Dr. Kuhl will remain the advisor of Husky Games.

BonzAI Brawl 2012 is Open for Registration!

gary — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:52:49 +0000

Registration is now open for BonzAI Brawl 2012. For the first time ever, teams have a choice of using lab computers or bringing their own! Visit the official BonzAI Brawl web site for registration information. The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 31st.

BonzAI Brawl 2012 Web Site

BonzAI Brawl is a programming competition hosted by Husky Game Development (HGD) and Women in Computing Sciences (WiCS). This highly-anticipated event promotes artificial intelligence programming with the aid of an IDE. Each team’s AI interacts with a well-documented API created by HGD, a result spanning thousands of development hours over the past couple years. Each AI is put to the test in a one-on-one match with other competitors in the main event popularly known as “The Brawl.” The winners receive trophies, cash, and a year of bragging rights!

Husky Games on Facebook

gary — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:06:22 +0000

Husky Games on Facebook

What are you waiting for?! Husky Games invites you to be a part of our social community! Get the latest news about Husky Game Development Enterprise, alumni who have launched careers in the gaming industry, and member information you can’t find anywhere else!

Join Husky Games on Facebook

Arcane Brawlers released!!!

hgdm — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:05:30 +0000

Arcane Brawlers has been in development for the past two years. After the grueling process of peer review on the XNA creator’s club site, AB has finally been released to the public! You can find AB in the indie game section of the Xbox marketplace!

For those of you anxiously waiting for its release, we thank you for your support and are glad to share the excitement! For those of you who haven’t heard, Arcane Brawlers is a top-down, arena-style arcade game for the Xbox. The game was created with up to four players in mind, but also includes a single player practice for players to hone their skills. The basic idea of AB is that each player is a wizard, able to combine elements together in order to cast spells. Using these spells, the players are pitched into a small arena where their only goal is to defeat the other players using whatever fire, ice, lightning, or poison spells they desire. Each of the 21 spells in the game have a unique effect and purpose, and the players must learn each in order to become the master of Arcane Brawl!

Arcane Brawlers is for sale right now for 240 points, or $3. If you haven’t already, go out and download the trial to see what all the fuss is about! Good luck, and happy brawling!

Spring 2011

hgdm — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:35:21 +0000

Husky Games is excited for the new year! We have many promising projects this semester as well as some innovative new changes. First up we are pumped for our extremely talented SECRET team members who are going to make this year’s BonzAI the best its ever been! Next, we have a couple new Xbox games from our XNA teams. Then we have a intriguing business deal brewing with BayGull Studios. The company has professional artists at their disposal and would like to hire HGD to do programming for web-based flash games.

Be sure to check back for details as well as updates on each project! And don’t forget to check out our games page, which will be full of new games from this Saturday’s in-house game jam. We also have Double Helix up on the web, which was our Unity3d project from last semester.

Baygull Studios

hgdm — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:24:39 +0000

We’re proud to report that the first president of HGD has been successful in the gaming industry and now is the CEO of his own company, the idea of which spawned directly from his experiences with HGD!

The company is now hiring, so take a look at his website:
baygullstudios.com
or find them on Facebook:
Baygull Studios

Looking to the Future

hgdm — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:53:24 +0000

The teams have been working hard this semester, and are very busy putting the finishing touches on their projects! Check out the projects page for new details.

HGD is also looking ahead, planning for next semester. We already have knowledge of an increase in members, mostly freshman and sophomores looking to get into the game. We also know that we have seven potential team leaders, which means seven potential projects!

One of the proposed projects that we are excited for is a joint operation with the Integrated Micro-systems Enterprise. The Vice President of IME, Matt Liss, and VP of Operations of HGD, Ryan Wilson, have brought the two enterprises into communication for this project. IME has built a ride-like platform which they used to simulate riding in a tank. They have proposed to HGD that the two enterprises work together to make a video game for this epic platform!

The game idea currently is “Crazy Bus”, a slower game than Crazy Taxi, but with more emphasis on the forces that will effect the moving, shaking platform IME has built. Both enterprises are excited for this project and are anxiously awaiting next semester!

Husky Games Wants You!

gary — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:45:10 +0000

Weeks into this Fall Semester at Michigan Technological University, one Enterprise continues to welcome new members into the organization. Husky Game Development presented an exhibit for K-Day at McLain State Park this past Friday, increasing its roster of casual to serious gamers in this first public performance of the 2010-2011 school year!

HGD at K-Day

Imagine a humongous flat-panel screen with a thumping and whirring sound system connected to an Xbox game console. Now imagine that you and your friends face off in a serious competition in the middle of the Wilderness on Lake Superior with controllers in hand. Visitors of Husky Game’s flashy demonstration of Arcane Brawlers didn’t have to imagine. They had to focus on winning. The single goal was to beat the game’s creator at his own masterpiece for the chance to win a free sandwich on him. In the end, Ryan Wilson, lead contributor of the game that is about to debut on the Xbox Live Marketplace, stood as undefeated champion.

By the time evening settled in, thousands of students and their friends got a chance to see what Husky Games is all about. Hundreds tested our popular game, and many of them, impressed with the quality and professionalism of our enterprise, signed up on the spot. With plans for equipment expansion and our particular interest in Humanities majors, HGD was eager to see the numbers on the roster increase yet again. We’re ramping up our creativity this year in pursuit of more sponsors and bigger and better games. Our enthusiastic members and team leaders lead by a solid management team are preparing to see Husky Game Development move into exciting new territory! HGD isn’t just about our love of playing and making good games. We do it because we just know how to have a lot of fun!

In-House Game Jam Results!

hgdm — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:34:55 +0000

The very first in-house HGD game jam was a hit! Eighteen HGD members were split up into random teams and were told to create a video game in twelve hours. The theme that each team had to use was “Gravity”. Right after the word “GO!”, the teams went straight to work. In less than an hour they had planned out their game and started to program. The room was full of energy as ideas were being thrown about and tasks divided up.

A couple hours into the competition we paused to say hello to a special visitor, Ryan Ploetz, the very first president of HGD! Ryan has been very successful in the gaming world and came to talk to HGD about the industry, jobs and careers in gaming, and what HGD can do to better prepare its members for the real world. After a general chat with everyone at the jam, management got to talk to Ryan one-on-one, where we discussed the future of HGD, its projects, and its members.

Plenty of pizza, pop, and hours later, HGD members were finishing up their games. The facial expressions said it all. Some people were pulling their hair out, minutes from the finish line… and others were sighing with relief, as they happily play-tested their game, ready to submit. Once the twelve hour mark hit, everyone was done and the projects were submitted for judging!

The results are as follows:

Best Overall: GravFighter
Best Use of Theme: Gravity Wells
Most Innovative: ThatTrippyWormHoleGame
Best Graphics: GravFighter
Best Music & Sounds: Tech Cannon

Thank you to all that participated! I hope everyone had fun, because you all did a really great job!

High School Showcase a Success!

gary — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:49:17 +0000

High School Demo in Fisher Hall - Summer 2010

Husky Games presented one of the most popular Enterprise showcases to high school students in Fisher lobby on Thursday. Students from across Michigan attended the annual two-part event to glimpse some of the enterprise projects available at Michigan Tech. One table stood out as a gathering place for prospects with game design on their minds.

Arcane Brawlers, Husky Game’s XNA project, was among the main attractions with students huddled around a live demo. Up to four people battle it out in an intense brawl that was recently updated with new sound effects and a music soundtrack. Others waited in line to get their chance to experience the game first-hand. The highly anticipated arcade game is currently in peer review in the Xbox live marketplace.

Among the other live demonstrations was a simulator designed for the military. With airstrikes and troops that follow a realistic formation, students interacted with the computer game to visualize how tanks and ground troops simply can not occupy the same space without consequences! The ROTC animated visuals drew the attention of quite a number of high schoolers this year.

A slide show of Husky Game’s projects included SecondLife and BonzAI Brawl. Coupled with a sign-up sheet for more information about our enterprise and game release dates, dozens of students were enthusiastic about getting involved. HGD has a lot to offer students, and we’re just getting started in terms of what this enterprise can accomplish. We anticipate an increase in participation and balance of new projects this fall.

Husky Game Development is a growing enterprise. We are looking forward to welcoming Arts and Humanities majors who have a desire to contribute their talents to game graphics and sound. Husky Games is in a unique position to offer genuine business experience at a University level of maturity. Already we’re seeing an overwhelming interest for this upcoming year from people with diverse skills. As always, we continue to seek students in Computer Science and Business. We’re pulling all stops on our presentations and advertising to show that real “wow” factor of making games. This year is really going to rock!

Students interested in joining Husky Game Development can reach us by sending an email to our advisor, Dr. Kuhl, or calling the HGD office at (906) 662-4164.