The Intel Level Up was a series of annual
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
competitions organised by
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
to support
independent video game development
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
, with winning games receiving monetary rewards in addition to the award. The first competition, titled the Intel Game Demo Contest, was held in 2006. It was restarted in 2009 as the Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest. The competition has not been held after 2017.
A distinctive feature of the contest was the participation of game-industry luminaries as judges. At different times, the judges were
Sid Meier
Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with B ...
,
Will Wright,
Chris Avellone,
Todd Howard
Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Fallout'' and ''The Elder Scrolls'' s ...
,
Tim Schafer,
Chris Taylor, etc.
Winners
2006
2007
2008
2009
Judges:
Sid Meier
Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with B ...
,
Will Wright, Rick Raymo,
Brad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell (born June 24, 1971) is an American businessman, programmer, author and AI Engineer. He is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Stardock, a software development and computer games company.
Wardell's specialty i ...
, Christophe Canon, Mathieu Mazerolle, Mary Beth Haggerty, Dmitry Oganezov, Gina Bovara, Jeff LaFlam, Brad Werth, Steve Winburn.
2010
Judges:
Chris Avellone, Vic Davis,
Todd Hollenshead
Todd Hollenshead was President and CEO of id Software while the company put out some of the gaming world’s most iconic video game franchises: Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and Rage. In addition to his software work, he is also known in the gaming ...
,
Todd Howard
Todd Andrew Howard (born 1970) is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the ''Fallout'' and ''The Elder Scrolls'' s ...
,
Rod Humble
Rodvik Humble (June 1, 1964) is the former Chief Executive Officer of ''Second Life'' creator Linden Lab, Chief Creative Officer at ToyTalk and former Executive Vice President for the EA Play label of the video game company Electronic Arts. He is ...
,
Raph Koster
Raphael "Raph" Koster (born September 7, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and author of '' A Theory of Fun for Game Design''. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of ''Ultima Online'' and the creative di ...
, Rick Raymo,
Bill Roper,
Tim Schafer,
Adam Sessler, Jeff Vogel.
2011
Judges:
Andy Schatz, Jeff Vogel,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Chris Taylor,
Jim Rossignol
James Michael Rossignol (born July 1978) is a British video game journalist and critic, as well as an author. He has also branched out into games, founding the company Big Robot in 2010.
Biography
Rossignol started his career as a reporter o ...
.
2013
Judges:
Andy Schatz,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Rami Ismail
Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...
,
Jordan Weisman
Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.
Biography
Weisman graduated from Francis W. Parker High School, ...
.
2014
Judges:
Chris Avellone,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Rami Ismail
Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...
, Marc Saltzman,
Tim Schafer,
Chris Taylor, Nathan Vella, Tyrone Rodriguez.
2015
Judges:
Chris Avellone,
Kate Edwards
Kate Edwards (born 1965) is a geographer, writer, and content culturalization strategist, most active in information-based cartography and video game content. She was the executive director of the International Game Developers Association from D ...
,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Rami Ismail
Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...
,
Tim Schafer,
Chris Taylor, Tyrone Rodriguez.
2016
Judges:
Chris Avellone,
Kate Edwards
Kate Edwards (born 1965) is a geographer, writer, and content culturalization strategist, most active in information-based cartography and video game content. She was the executive director of the International Game Developers Association from D ...
,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Rami Ismail
Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...
,
Tim Schafer, Tyrone Rodriguez, Anne Toole.
2017
Judges:
Chris Avellone,
Kate Edwards
Kate Edwards (born 1965) is a geographer, writer, and content culturalization strategist, most active in information-based cartography and video game content. She was the executive director of the International Game Developers Association from D ...
,
Wolfgang Engel
Wolfgang Engel is a videogame designer. He is the founder and CEO of Confetti. Previously he also worked as the Lead Graphics Programmer for Rockstar Games. He is also the founder and editor of ShaderX and GPU books series.
Career
As a developer, ...
,
Rami Ismail
Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...
,
Tim Schafer, Gary Rowe, Tyrone Rodriguez,
Laila Shabir.
See also
*
Indie Game Challenge
The Indie Game Challenge is an award competition run in conjunction between the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), GameStop and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University (SMU) to support independent video game development. Started ...
References
{{reflist
Video game development
Video game development competitions
Indie games
Video game awards