Image caption: Students from Brock University’s Interactive Arts and Science and GAME programs participated in the highly anticipated province-wide video game event, Level Up Showcase, on Saturday, April 12 at Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
Thursday, April 17, 2025 | by Gillian Minaker
Not only do they have the skills, but Brock’s aspiring video game designers also have the fan base.
The University’s Interactive Arts and Science (IASC) and GAME students recently earned Brock’s third consecutive People’s Choice award at the Level Up Showcase — a key talent pipeline for Ontario’s gaming industry.
The annual event, which brings together industry experts and students for spirited competition that fosters professional growth, had the crowd test-run and provide feedback on the student creations.
The event’s audience gave the coveted People’s Choice honour to the Brock game Goofy Lil Guys, which sees players collect a team of adorable creatures, growing their unique abilities before they face off in a battle royale.
Other Brock games also made their mark at the showcase, with Green Thing from the Planet Jupiter taking second place for Achievement in Audio, and Ventomori winning second place in Accessibility.
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Organized by Algonquin College, Brock University, OCAD University and University of Toronto in partnership with XP Gaming Inc., this year’s Level Up Showcase welcomed more than 4,000 attendees.
More than 100 industry professionals from 20 studios across Ontario worked to judge student games in what has become one of the largest gatherings of game developers in the province.
Brock Instructor Michael Ferguson, President of motion capture and 3D animation company Morro Motion Inc. who taught the student producers of Goofy Lil Guys, said the talent coming from the joint Brock and Niagara College GAME program is a breath of fresh air.
“These students have the best of both worlds with hands on technical skills, along with theoretical, academic approaches to the content they create,” he said. “The fact that they get to approach their game development from these two avenues is a strong reason for their success in recent years.”
The second place win for Achievement in Audio — offered as a category for the first time — marked a promising new collaboration between Brock’s Departments of Digital Humanities and Music.
With the mentorship of Nina Penner, Assistant Professor of Music, and third-year Music student Lex House, the team behind Green Thing from the Planet Jupiter developed the award-winning soundtrack for the game.
“Finishing a game is a deceptively hard task,” said Ericka Evans, Brock Instructor and Head of Production for Niagara-based game design company Phantom Compass. “To be successful, game developers need to know how to collaborate and communicate their vision through both art and technology while meeting the high expectations of players.”
The student creators of Ventomori, taught by Tom Brown, Interactive Digital Media Developer and Brock Instructor, continued critical work on the area of video game accessibility building on last year’s Level Up success in the category.
A.R.F. Squad was the fourth capstone project competing at the showcase and represented one of the strongest showings by IASC students. The team gained valuable feedback from industry professionals and public alike.
Brock organizers were also honoured at the weekend event. Interactive Ontario and XP Gaming recognized Jeremy Liepert, Project Co-ordinator in the Department of Digital Humanities and Level Up organizing committee member, with the Champions of the Ontario Game Talent Award.
“It is the talent and dedication of our staff, students and instructors that make the Level-Up Showcase so special,” said Aaron Mauro, Chair of the Department of Digital Humanities. “It is the spirit of collaboration and creativity that helps our students to be so competitive and have fun doing it.”
