Today at the Game Developers Conference 2007 Microsoft kicked off the Dream-Build-Play game
development contest, offering a $10,000 (U.S.) grand prize and the
opportunity for a winner's game to be published on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Enabled by its XNA developer tools, the Dream-Build-Play
contest was announced at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007 in San
Francisco.
Dream-Build-Play is a global contest that offers game
developers the opportunity to showcase their talent to the
world. More than 20 winners will be selected to win fantastic prizes with a
total value of more than $40,000 from Microsoft, Alienware, AMD and Softimage Co.
The contest will culminate in the extraordinary grand prize that
includes an opportunity for the winner to receive an Xbox LIVE Arcade
publishing contract, providing a chance to showcase the winner's game on
Xbox LIVE Arcade. Dream-Build-Play is open to any user of XNA Game Studio
Express, including the GarageGames Torque X platform. No purchase is
necessary to compete. The contest ends July 2, 2007, and winners will be
announced Aug. 13 at Microsoft Gamefest 2007 in Seattle. Additional contest
details, including detailed eligibility and entry requirements, are
available at
www.dreambuildplay.com
.
Also at GDC this week, Microsoft will spotlight the ways that some of
the most innovative game creators in the industry are bringing their
visions to life on Microsoft gaming platforms. On Tuesday, March 6,
Microsoft Game Studios will present "The Evolution of RPG Development," a
panel discussion hosted by journalist Geoff Keighley that will feature
Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker, Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios and
Ray Muzyka of BioWare Corp.
In addition Microsoft will host the XNA
Game Studio Express Challenge. GDC attendees will have a chance to see some
of the brightest beacons in game development from around the world
gathering at the XNA lobby bar at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to
create four games in four days using XNA Game Studio Express tools.
Microsoft also announced Schizoid from Torpex Games LLC, an upcoming game that will be the first
Xbox LIVE Arcade title built using XNA Game Studio Express. "Schizoid" is a
co-op action game in which teamwork matters , as gamers
and their friend or AI ally protect each other from barrages of glowing
enemies. The title is scheduled to launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade before the
end of 2007.
Microsoft also announced new software tools that will work with XNA Game Studio
Express to make game development for Windows and Xbox 360 even easier. Members of the XNA Creators Club will
receive a license to the Torque X Engine, including the Torque Game
Builder toolset for Torque X, as a free membership benefit.
Softimage is also getting in on the act, developing new 3-D solutions based on its
XSI 3-D software for game creators and exclusive content for members
of the XNA Creators Club. That solution will be released later this year.
release later this year.
Allegorithmic ProFX. In addition to the free MapZone 2-D texture
editor (released today), Allegorithmic is developing an enhanced version
exclusively for XNA Creators Club members that will offer support for
procedural textures, additional texture libraries and custom content
processors for use with the XNA Framework Content Pipeline. The
enhanced version of MapZone will be made available to active members
of the XNA Creators Club at no additional cost and will be available
later this year.
The XNA Creators Club is available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for $49 for
a four-month subscription or $99 for an annual subscription.
