Attero GDC-Sponsored

Every year, UAT gives student game projects the chance to compete for a school-sponsored trip to Game Developers Conference, the leading game developer event.This year, the winning project is Attero, a multiplayer, class-based team combat game set in a stylized fantasy world.

Attero has once again set the bar for future projects to meet.

"The team was polished, they were articulate, and they had a great professional presence," Director of Marketing Alan Hromas. "As for the game itself, the gameplay was fun and engaging, and the art was amazing. The leads had a strong concept from the beginning; they got together early on and set a specific goal and followed an exacting schedule in order to hit all of their deadlines."

Sponsorship Details

As a student, attending GDC can be both intimidating and expensive. Passes to the conference run as high as $1,800 - and that does not including travel expenses. Between that and the fact that some of the world's largest game developers congregate at GDC, it can be scary for a first-timer. The opportunity for sponsorship helps outstanding project teams overcome both of those obstacles. 

Competing for the sponsorship isn't easy though; it involves a rigorous process that requires dedication, passion and planning. Project teams are urged to be prepared to pitch their game seriously to a number of staff members. Professional appearance and strong team dynamics are a must if you want to stand out from the competition. Taking extra considerations like -- faculty sponsorship/mentoring and SIP integration -- may help you get noticed as well. 

Student-sponsored game projects at UAT have attended GDC for several years. Teams would typically hit the conference with a backpack full of CDs and, armed with a Sharpie, they would write the project name on each disc and hand them out to people. However, Hromas noted an issue with this methodology. 

"The problem that we noticed was that none of these CDs had contact information," Hromas explained. "If someone was brave enough to put this potential virus into their computer and execute the file, there was no way of contacting anyone for a follow-up." 

Sponsorship History

Many of the industry's major players - game companies like Blizzard, Microsoft and Sony - have dedicated budgets to put towards towering booths and a plethora of shiny marketing materials. Early on, Hromas and the rest of UAT's Marketing team made a conscious effort to look at the investment of having a booth presence at the conference. They came to the conclusion that hosting a sponsorship opportunity would offer a much greater value. 

"These people have dedicated production companies that handle the construction of these booths, and they're incredible. But where's the value in that for us?" Hromas remarked.

They wanted to give student projects a chance to go through a sort of real-world experience where they would have the chance to prove themselves worthy of an all-expenses-paid trip to GDC, as well as the necessary tools to effectively market their game once there.

"You're not there to market the school. You're there to market yourself. We're successful when you're successful," Hromas asserted.

In 2005 the first project to make the grade was COR -- an Unreal Tournament 2004 mod sporting fast-paced vehicular combat via transforming robots -- and they set the bar for future sponsorships. The team was dedicated and passionate, and though they worked until the very last minute, they successfully came out with a polished gaming experience. Chris Pope (Lead Designer) went on to work for Red Storm Entertainment, Matthew Tonks (Lead Programmer) landed a job at Electronic Arts, and Nick Herring (Public Relations, QA Manager) moved on to Atlantis Cyberspace -- just to name a few.

This initial experience gave Hromas a clear picture of how to prepare for future iterations of the sponsorship, and it has since evolved a great deal in terms of selection criteria.

"COR was a great group of guys. It was their first run, but it was ours too," Hromas said. "They gave us such a headache for such a long time, but they were an amazing team. [There are] so many names, so many people [from that team] that are still really connected to the University."  

Hromas mentioned that they will be offering another sponsorship opportunity for GDC Online (formerly known as GDC Austin) later this year.

Story by Nick Pfisterer