Acadia University is teaming up with mobile game developer XMG Studio and The National Post to challenge its students to race the clock and develop an addictive mobile video game in under 48 hours. From September 30^th to October 2^nd student developers are invited to gather at Acadia’s GCA² hub and carry on the legacy of the gifted teams before them. A winning team will require multiple roles to be filled, not just developers and coders, but also art, audio, and video specialists. Independent of students’ major or department of study, all students at Acadia University have the chance to participate and take their shot at the $50,000 in prizes.

 GCA² guarantees participants 48 hours of intense fun, meeting new people, learning stuff, and building a game on top of the worlds leading mobile API’s. Some of the talented designers and developers from XMG will be available to motivate and mentor the teams.

“One of the many things I love about the mobile gaming industry is its democratic nature. Anybody can join in,” says Ray Sharma, CEO and founder of XMG Studio Inc. “The first Appathon in April this year attracted 300 students from colleges and universities across the country. Canada has the third largest game development industry in the world, and this is a great opportunity for participating schools, and our company, to raise profile in this community.”

“The Appathon is a great opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to develop a game under time pressure,” said local GCA² organiser Rick Giles of the Jodrey School of Computer Science at Acadia University. “We have teams of students from several disciplines who are excited about taking part in the event.”

In addition to the street cred for winning the GCA² front-runners will also be awarded with some serious, cold hard cash. The team pumping out the best mobile game wins $25,000 and Unity Pro 3.x licenses for each of its members. They will also be invited for to interview for a job at XMG and XMG will work with them to polish their game and get it ready for publication in the an App Store. The team whose game takes second place will be awarded $10,000, and another 10 winners will each be awarded with $1,000 for a variety of category prizes including “Best Windows Phone 7 Game” sponsored by Microsoft and “Telus Technical” for the most technically challenging game sponsored by Telus.

GCA² will start at 5:00 p.m. (local time) on September 30th, 2011 and continue for 48 hours, ending at 5:00 p.m. on October 2^nd, 2011. Individuals or teams of up to four people can work around the clock at Acadia University coding hub. The three finalists will be honored on November 2^nd in Toronto at the “Grand Finale” event, sponsored by KPMG, and will play their game live in front of a panel of judges.

To stay informed about the event, including supported platforms, team registrations, rules and regulations, please visit www.greatcanadianappathon.com or follow twitter.com/GCAppathon on Twitter.

About Jodrey School of Computer Science
Acadia University, rated consistently as one of the top three undergraduate universities in Canada, provides excellent degree programs in computer science. The Jodrey School of Computer Science provides a solid foundation in computer science and develops students' interpersonal and team skills through course projects and cooperative education options.  The school offers a specialization in Game Development, and has a number of co-op students and graduates working in the gaming industry. For more information please visit http://cs.acadiau.ca/.

About XMG Studio Inc.
XMG Studio is an award-winning developer of hit video games for mobile devices. Founded in late 2009, XMG has been pushing the app envelope to create innovative titles that provide a cool experience for casual gamers. The company’s core focus is to develop properties that allow players to actively immerse themselves in our games. Whether it is the incredible customization feature in Drag Racer Pro Tuner, or the experimental touch mechanic in Cows vs. Aliens, XMG’s portfolio of mobile casual games all seek to drive the maximum in user engagement through innovation. Based in Toronto, Canada, XMG is presently one of the largest independent mobile game studios in the emerging app economy.

For more information visit www.xmg.com, follow XMG on Twitter.com/xmgstudio or become a fan on facebook.com/xmgstudio.

 

About National Post
National Post is a division of Postmedia Network Inc., the largest publisher by circulation of paid English-language daily newspapers in Canada, representing some of the country’s oldest and best-known media brands. Reaching millions of Canadians every week, Postmedia Network engages readers and offers advertisers and marketers integrated solutions to effectively reach target audiences through a variety of print, online, digital, and mobile platforms.

For more information on the GCA², please contact:
Lydia Schaele
XMG Studio Inc.
Email: lschaele [at] xmgstudio.com
Phone: +1-416-619-0700