Game Students Make The Art Institute of Vancouver No. 1 in Unreal Mod-Making Contest

The Art Institutes |

For Immediate Release

Vancouver (December 6, 2004) -- Epic Games, the leading developer of cutting-edge 3D technology and games, has announced the winners from both the fourth round and educational category competitions of the "$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal " mod-making contest. (Link: http://www.unrealtournament.com/news/view.php?id=2365 )

In addition to individual round competitions, student teams from post-secondary schools around the world were also eligible to submit their creations for the contest's educational category. The special category, designed to reward game design in the classroom, will award prizes of PC equipment to five schools as a result of its student's effort. The Art Institute of Vancouver - Burnaby campus in Canada took top honours with six individual mod projects placing among the finalists in all four rounds of the contest. Other Universities winners include the University of Oulu in Finland, The Animation Arts Centre of Seneca College in Ontario, Canada, The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University in Texas, and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

A lot of the credit belongs to lead instructor Anthony Gurr and the students he pushed to create and deliver at the highest level possible. The student entry "Robin Hood & The King's Ransom" placed fourth in the Non-FPS category in Phase IV which won the team $2500 USD. With this most recent win, students have won just over $25,000 USD total through the competition.

The winning students are enrolled in the school's Game Art & Design and Visual & Game Programming programs, in which they learn skills to prepare for entry-level jobs in the game development industry. In addition to Vancouver, the Game Art & Design and Visual & Game Programming programs are offered at other Art Institutes that are located in the United States

The Art Institute of Vancouver is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with 31 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals. The parent company of The Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation (www.edmc.com) is among the largest providers of private post-secondary education in North America, based on student enrollment and revenue. Student enrollment exceeded 66,000 as of fall 2004. EDMC has 67 primary campus locations in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. EDMC's education institutions offer a broad range of academic programs concentrated in the media arts, design, fashion, culinary arts, behavioral sciences, health sciences, education, information technology and business fields. EDMC has provided career-oriented education for over 40 years.

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Contact:

Cliff Jones

Director of Public Relations

The Art Institute of Vancouver

3264 Beta Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 4K4

Ph: 604.639.5117 email: [email protected]

www.aivan.artinstitutes.edu