A four-member team of undergraduate students from the University of Central Missouri (UCM) recently captured first place for Best Overall Game during the 2023 Chillennium. Armed with computers, drawing tablets, sleeping bags and plenty of snacks, the UCM team joined hundreds of students from colleges and univerities across the country who came together at Texas A&M University February 24-26 to compete in the seventh annual event.

Chillennium was organized by Texas A&M students as a challenging and fun way to give promising video game designers an opportunity to test their creativity and put their technical skill to work creating a unique, fully playable game from scratch within a 48 hour period.

UCM team members who are studying Game Development at UCM and had roles on the team are Mason Scheible and Jake Hamilton, development and soundtrack; Greg Burns, artwork; and Jacob Miller, development. The team successfully created a game title, “Hearts on the Line,” which won the competition featuring 57 other game entries. The game makes it possible for an individual to control two independent characters bonded together by a rope. They must work together to overcome various obstacles and dangers to navigate a series of ice caves and escape alive.

Chillennium is serious business for competing teams of up to four people, who often work around the clock or sleep in shifts to progress to a finished prototype before the deadline. Twenty-four universities fielded teams represented by 234 students.