The Great Canadian Appathon: triOS goes beyond traditional college learning

Oct. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- It was all work and all (game) play for the 40+ triOS students that took part in XMG's nationwide gaming competition from September 30 to October 2, 2011.  The 48 hour competition challenged students across the country to create the best mobile games for their chance to win $50,000, and a possible job opportunity from one of Toronto’s top mobile game development companies, XMG Studios Inc.  triOS College sponsored the event to encourage their gaming students to go beyond the classroom and experience real game development first-hand.  The Video Game Design and Development program equips students with all the right skills and the competition is the perfect outlet to test their capabilities.  

One of the official hubs for the competition was the triOS College Kitchener campus which housed 17 triOS students (5 teams) from Kitchener and the neighbouring London campus.  The hub had a professional sound studio set up and the largest NOS energy drink tower (showcased on CTV Evening News).  

Each team had a dedicated digital artist to take the games to a professional level. “I was amazed at how polished and professional the games looked and every XMG rep who came to our hub were incredibly impressed!” said triOS Dean of Technology, Jason Eckert.  All of the triOS games were submitted by the deadline and students got much more than just the game out of the competition.  “There was a real feeling of camaraderie throughout the competition.  Two of our teams finished their games with over 6 hours to spare, so each team swapped their games with the other team and did testing/breaking/fixing for the rest of the day.  Our guys worked like pros!  By the end, our London and Kitchener students had formed such close friendships that they were swapping phone numbers and planning get-togethers in the next week,” said Eckert.  triOS senior gaming students said that one of the best things they got out of the competition was seeing first year students make such polished games in such little time without ever touching XNA Game Studio or programming in C#.  

The Great Canadian Appathon was the ideal fit for the creative and talented minds of triOS gaming students.  triOS students, Mike Collins and Chris Rhea of Team ‘Hindsight’ said “we might not have slept much at all, but we hopefully have something awesome here.”
 
This second round of the Great Canadian Appathon had more than 420 students on 115 teams, making it the largest mass coding marathon in Canadian history.  Many have the impression that video games are made in solely in Japan or the United States, but in reality Canada has a very rich and respected game industry.  The young coders who participated in the competition were given the theme "Sports" when they arrived.  The top 25 teams will be notified in early October. Then in November, the top three teams will be invited to come to Toronto and play their games live where the winner will be announced. The event was also sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Telus Corp., Unity, NOS Energy Drink and KPMG.  Good luck triOS gaming students!  

About triOS

triOS College is registered as a Private Career College under the Private Career Colleges Act of Ontario and was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.  triOS has graduated thousands of students into rewarding careers since its inception in 1992.  triOS offers a career-focussed approach to education enabling graduates to start careers in business, technology, healthcare, and law.  Students receive real-world experience from internship placements included in most programs.  triOS has campus locations across Southern Ontario including: Windsor, London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, Scarborough, Toronto and Oshawa.  More information about triOS College may be found at www.trios.com.

For more information:
Brittany Tkach, Communication Coordinator, 905.814.7212 x1037 or brittany.tkach@trios.com