Over 150 developers from 49 countries took part in the WN Dev Contest last month, competing for a $150,000 prize pool. Let’s take a look.
This is the second WN Dev Contest, following last year’s online competition. This time, the contest was a part of the official program of WN Conference Istanbul’22.
The Grand Prix
The winner was chosen by the jury, who gave each participating game from one to three points. The project with the most points was awarded with $5,000.
Isometric roguelike Dino Path Trail became this year’s winner. The game, developed by Italian studio Void Pointer, is set in a unique world inhabited by cowboys and dinosaurs.
Other games worth mentioning are:
- Strayed Lights is a colorful third-person action adventure game that stylistically resembles the Darksiders trilogy. Behind the game is a small team Embers from France.
- Airship Academy, a narrative-driven simulation game with beautiful art direction and complex combat system. The title is being developed by Thai studio Revolution Industry;
- Lost Twins, a minimalist platformer by Pakistani team Playdew. The game resembles the atmosphere of a childhood dream, where a player rebuilds levels to guide the main characters on their journey.
Sponsor nominations
Best Game by Xsolla’s Choice
Video game commerce company Xsolla chose Drunk or Dead 2, a sequel to the VR game about fighting zombies while drinking. The title, developed by 4 I Lab, is expected to come out in 2023.
Drunk or Dead 2 received $5,000 in cash, as well as Xsolla’s services worth $3,000. The company will also invest in the game in the amount of 10% of the budget if the studio has at least one more investor.
Xsolla also highlighted two other games, Airship Academy and Red Horizon-developed VR title Black Trail. They will receive free packages of Xsolla’s core services.
Best Game by Belka Games’ Choice
Mobile studio Belka Games awarded $5,000 to Goodwin Games. The indie team is now working on its upcoming adventure game Selfloss.
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The next WN Dev Contest will take place in November as part of the WN Tel Aviv conference. Applications will be accepted from July 15, 2022.