USC Games Expo Attracts Over 80,000 Viewers Around the World

The USC Games Expo event was held yesterday, featuring projects from up-and-coming game designers. With over 50 games featured during the event, viewers were treated to the future developers of gaming. 
 

 

The event was hosted by industry veteran Geoff Keighley who recently started the Summer Games Fest. The event reached over 5K concurrent viewers during the stream and featured acclaimed figures such as Jeff Kaplan from Blizzard Entertainment, John Riccitiello from Unity, and even Mark Hamil.
 

With over 50 games shown gamers can now download and try them out. Some notable games include:

·         The Candle

o   After waking in a pitch-black room, you’re lucky to stumble across a single, lit candle…that talks?  Using innovative eye-tracking technology, The Candle challenges you to discover the evil secrets of the house and escape.  And your new friend, the talking candle, is helpful…isn’t it…?

·         Incursion

o   Real Time Strategy (RTS) players go head-to-head with First-Person Shooter (FPS) gamers in a multiplayer co-op competition that pits the two playstyles against each other!  Two forces collide in a battle where only one species will survive and claim a mysterious planet as their own.

·         Koa

o   Meet Koa, a magical tree spirit with the ability to grow branches that allow him to go almost anywhere! On a mission to protect his home, Koa will need his powers and your imagination to solve mysteries, discover secrets, and succeed in challenges in order to save his world.

·         Our America

o   What starts as a simple commute for Malcolm and his Dad quickly escalates into a life-or-death encounter that both father and son will be lucky to survive.  Put on your VR headset and see life through the eyes of a Black person in the US as you take a ride in Our America.

·         Serpent Showdown (PC, Coming Soon for Nintendo Switch)

o   Two tails enter, one tail leaves! You and a friend go head-to-head in a battle of the ages! It is time to don your... cardboard armor and grab your trusty crayon?! And guess what, it turns out you're a snake! Strike, slither and slash your way to victory in this entertaining couch-competitive arena fighter!

·         Soulfarer

o   Physical therapy is necessary to prevent and treat pain or injury.  Project: Skyfarer adds game elements to traditional physical therapy - in the game, you are a Mesoamerican shaman, able to commune with nature, cast spells and manipulate the natural world around you.  Project: Skyfarer immerses the patient-player in this fantastical setting as they are guided to use their in-game abilities in ways that mirror and facilitate rehabilitation exercises for shoulder injuries. 

·         The Witch List (iOS)

o   In this collectible digital card game, The Witch List offers you gesture-based spell summoning gameplay as you attend a school for witches where you can join a coven of friends to summon demons, learn powerful spells and work to become the most powerful sorcerer in the land!     

 

MFA Thesis Projects

·         The Death Mask

o   The Death Mask is a mobile mystery game where you collect information by changing your identity in a masquerade. Sometimes an arrogant noble, sometimes a sneaky servant, the player will untangle a mystery of political intrigue and murder.

·         Light at the End of the Tunnels

o   Armed with only a camera and a minecart, explore a pitch-black maze of tunnels in order to take photos of the different Ghoulies inhabiting the abandoned mines. As you progress, these aggressive creatures will hunt you down through sound- and sight-based mechanics.

·         Mac Goes Back

o   18-year old Macaria Magan grudgingly joins her mother, a professor of archaeology, on excavation at Tikal, Guatemala.  While planning of her future and helping out her mother’s team, she mysteriously begins to dream about the lives of the people whose descendants surround her, especially a Maya woman named Iki on the eve of an unforgettable “arrival” in AD 378.

·         Milo and the Midnight Zone

o   A multi sensory experience encouraging players to relax, fidget, and solve simple light based puzzles.

·         Your Presence is Present Enough

o   Your Presences is Present Enough is a mobile adventure game with unlockable puzzle solving abilities. Players play as an alien ambassador named Rory, visit a new planet, learn about their culture, and select the perfect present for them.

Action Games:

·         Dragon’s Descent

A Roguelike for the Atari 2600 (and a port to the Atari 7800) - using Procedural Content Generation to fit thousands of mazes into 16 kilobytes, Dragon's Descent

·         Leechbug

o   A 3D action game set in an alien sea, where you are a parasite trying to climb to the top of the food chain by possessing sea creatures. Gather a massive swarm of fellow parasites to attack bigger fish, while maintaining your distance from your swarm to avoid being fed on.

Smart Stories

·         Monster Coffeeshop

o   Monster Coffeeshop is a single-player casual mobile game where you play as a barista tending to otherworldly patrons. Tap on ingredients and figure out numerous drink combinations to the beat of chill lo-fi music. Get to know your customers through dialogue events and serving their favorite beverages! Progress through your day at your own pace as you discover new combinations and unlock the backstories of these monsters in a simple, calming setting meant to feel like a warm hug.

·         Sadie’s Tail

o   Sadie’s Tail is an interactive mobile narrative game that follows the life of a dog. You play as Sadie the dog, making decisions about what shoe to chew and which human to interact with. Sadie’s Tail is a story about unconditional love and learning that time doesn’t rupture all connections.

·         Arigato Ningen-san!

o   This game is a 2D interactive story where you play as a human who has moved into a neighborhood where animals need affection. Your goal is to use combinations of mouse gestures to satisfy their needs.

Puzzler Palace

·         Grammar Ninja

o   In the world of Grammar Ninja, your mission is to throw ninja stars at WORDS! However, these words are sneaky, and have hidden themselves in grammatically correct sentences! Use your Part Of Speech skills to find your targets, and become the ultimate ninja master!

·         Cats Your Vote!

o   Cats Your Vote is a free-to-play social mobile game currently in development that aims to increase voter awareness of the 2020 U.S. election. Players in the game assume the role of a cat and play through a map of, “shuffle puck” levels. As they progress, players collect resources and can participate in the broader community of players, most notably by voting on various measures that change the game for everyone.

·         The Unseen

o   The Unseen is a 2.5 top down stealth + puzzle solving game. With simple graphic and art style, The Unseen focuses on gameplay and introduces an unconventional mechanic that players would not have to avoid the lights unlike most of the stealth game.  Instead, the avatar has the ability to shift between "light" and "shadow" form, thus granting itself invisibility when it is in the correct form that fits with the environment.

 

Modern Multiplayer

·         Binky Saves the World

o   Binky Saves Chernobyl is a couch-co-op game for two players to save the world from a Nuclear Disaster. Use Player 2 (Binky)'s Magnesis ability to repair the broken parts of the facility and make your way to the center.

·         All the Feels

o   All The Feels is an educational game about emotion literacy, which involves acting, drawing, and guessing feelings (including both emotions and embodied states).

·         Apollo

o   Apollo is an experimental multiplayer game about the Apollo moon missions. In it, an astronaut player fights for survival in a historic disaster while 1-4 mission- command players guide them through it, using nothing but radio communication.

 

Uncharted Territories

·         Planet Quest

o   Planet Quest is a strategy board game where players race to explore the galaxy. Players discover planets, complete quests, and battle each other to be the first to explore all the planets. This board game was created by members of USC's 3D4E (3D printing) club. All pieces were designed and printed by team members.

·         Tunnel Vision

o   Tunnel Vision is a 3D maze game that allows players to rotate maze pieces to create a continuous path from start to end in order to solve the maze. Difficulty progresses with the introduction of additional puzzle mechanics that test the players ability to navigate a constantly changing 3D space.

·         Nebula Within

o   Nebula Within is a contemplative yet challenging experience about confronting insecurities and doubts in the context of an easy-to-pick-up, but hard to master, twin-stick shooter. You’ll descend into the Nebula with up to 8 players to rewrite harmful mantras, overcome geometric abstractions of your feelings, and track your progress by revealing hidden pages in the mysterious “Nebulatic Diary.” 

 

Untold Stories

·         Quinn’s Epic Tale

o   Quinn’s Epic Tale is a lighthearted puzzle game where players must help Quinn, a pacifist knight, avoid dragons in a trap-filled castle and steal a crown hidden in its depths. Players place and rearrange layers and interact with objects to change the scenery in the game and clear a path for the unlikely hero.

·         Detroit 1995

o   In this game, player will align the photo with the certain target in a level. Through the puzzles, player will piece together the story: In 1995, a woman had to sell her house because of some financial issue, which made her very sad. But she felt relieved in the end after seeing people who bought her house actually took good care of her house.

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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