EDGE | Experiential Development & Games Expo 2024

The Showcase is becoming EDGE - Experiential Development and Games Expo!

Presented by IGM, the annual Experiential Development and Games Expo (EDGE) brings together students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals to celebrate the achievements of RIT student-led creative development teams. 

RIT students submit their games and other interactive media experiences to be exhibited and reviewed in a variety of categories by panels of academic & industry experts.  Student projects will be judged in the areas of technical excellence, aesthetics, game feel, game impact, and best in show.  Following the exposition, category winners & “Best in Show” will be announced during the live award ceremony. Qualifying projects include but are not limited to digital or analog games, VR/AR/XR, prototypes, emerging media technology, published/unpublished works, etc.

Join us on Saturday April 13th, 2024 to interact with all of our incredible student projects. EDGE is open to all audiences and we hope you attend!

Not able to make it to campus? check out our livestream on Twitch

Stay tuned for more updates regarding the details of EDGE 2024.

Best in Show: 

Idol Hell by Ultimate Developers https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067470/Idol_Hell/

Technical Excellence: 

When Push Comes To Shove by Two Wolves https://twolves.itch.io/push-shove

Aesthetics:

Tower of Dreams by Sour Lemon Studios https://supercitrus.itch.io/tower-of-dreams

Game Feel: 

Breakthrough by Quby Games https://qusr.itch.io/breakthrough

Game Impact: 

Being Human by Team JDT https://davidsoulz.itch.io/being-human

Expo map & game details can be viewed here.

12/05/2022 - Awards Submission opens

• Awards Submission form
• See detailed instructions below

2/6/2023 - Expo submission opens

• Expo Submission from
• See detailed instructions below

3/13/2023 - Award submission form closes

4/7/2023 - Expo submission form closes

4/15/2023 - Live Showcase. Winners announced.

• Expo - 12-3:30pm
• Awards - 4-5pm

Expo Submission Process

To enter the Expo, each team or individual will submit entries via the Expo submission form: https://forms.gle/1HAfZ9FZAmB9py4r5; 

All forms of interactive experiences from any RIT students are welcome at the expo! - Analog, digital, VR, prototypes, published, etc. 

Space permitting, everyone that submits will be assigned a time slot. If there are a large number of applicants, priority will be given to projects with clear objectives & organized submission materials. The goal is to showcase the breadth of creativity and skill of RIT students and to give students a chance to get feedback from a broader and more diverse audience. Students of ALL year levels are strongly encouraged to participate!

To be eligible to show your work at the expo:

• At least 1 team member must be a current RIT student.
• Someone must be available to show your work live, in-person, 12-3:30pm on 4/15/2023. (Time slots will be assigned later, but everyone needs to be available for the full 3.5 hours.)
• The work must be far enough along to allow guests to interact with it. (Simple prototypes are fine, but these need to be more than pitches & technical demos.)

Submissions will be accepted through April 3rd, 2023.
Participants will be notified of their timeslot & location by April 10th, 2023.

Showcase Submission Process

Each team will submit 1 entry via the Showcase entry form: https://forms.gle/YBojMZf7Gt4cSvU16 

Before submitting your entry:

1. Identify who will be the primary point of contact for the team for communications with the judges (this does not necessarily have to be the official team leader).
2. Review the award category descriptions above and decide which you would like to be considered for (you must select at least one). For each, you’ll be asked:
   • To explain why you feel your work excels in this area and to give specific examples.
   • For links to any supporting materials relevant to the specific category (e.g. source code, additional videos, documentation, etc.)
3. Collect the information and executables required for the judges to access and play your game and create and itch.io page:
   • A brief summary of the game (2-3 sentences).
   • A link to a web-playable or downloadable version of the game
   • Detailed instructions (or a link to instructions) about how to use the link above to access and play your game. Be specific about platform/technical requirements, etc.
   • How to Build an itch.io Page Workshop Video
4. Provide at least 30 seconds of unedited gameplay with no voiceover, etc. that highlights the best aspects of your game.
5. Produce a trailer video of your game.
   • How to Make a Game Trailer Workshop Video
   • The video will be 2 minutes MAXIMUM, uploaded to YouTube. Please make sure it is accessible to anyone with the link (Public or Unlisted). 
   • The video must be formatted as follows (2 minutes at most):

The showcase is open to any RIT student-led game. Teams can be of any size, however at least half of the team members must be RIT students.

The expo is open to all RIT students. Teams must include at least one RIT student to submit. All interactive experiences are welcome- including analog or digital games, unfinished projects, prototypes, XR experiences, new media projects, etc.

A recording of last year’s Showcase can be found on YouTube.

2022 Winners

Best in Show: Paper Planet
Technical Excellence: The Shattering Swords
Game Feel: Project SP
Aesthetics: Vigorus
Game Impact: Boiling Over