Texas College Students Publish Xbox Live Community Games Title

Brothers Mario and Alberto Huerta have earned a spot on the Xbox Live Community Games service with Micro Invasion, a game developed during the pair's lab periods at Texas State Technical College Harlingen. The game is available for download via the Xbox Live Marketplace, and can be played on all Xbox 360 video game consoles in the United States. The Huerta brothers had been developing the title since October 2008, during their spare time in between classroom assignments and homework. Micro Invasion was submitted to Microsoft in January, and subsequently passed a technical requirements test judged by the XNA Creators Club amateur development community. The game was approved for sale in February, and a full version is now available for download on Xbox 360 consoles for 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50). The pair found inspiration for Micro Invasion in their classes at Texas State Technical College. "Mario came up with the concept for the game when we were working on a class project," student developer Alberto Huerto said. "Originally, we were just going to post it on a Web site, but we decided to try the Microsoft process and get into the business." "I do not try to take credit for what they did," said Texas State Technical College instructor Tony Lozano. "I always tell the students, though, to go beyond the class with their vision and goals." Mario and Alberto Huerta are currently pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree at Texas State Technical College. The pair will graduate in December of this year.