| Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest | |
| Status: | Inactive |
| Country: | United States |
| Former Name: | Intel Game Demo Contest |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Year2: | 2017 |
The Intel Level Up was a series of annual video game competitions organised by Intel to support independent video game development, with winning games receiving monetary rewards in addition to the award.[1] The first competition, titled the Intel Game Demo Contest, was held in 2006.[2] [3] It was restarted in 2009 as the Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest.[4] The competition has not been held after 2017.[5]
A distinctive feature of the contest was the participation of game-industry luminaries as judges. At different times, the judges were Sid Meier, Will Wright, Chris Avellone, Todd Howard, Tim Schafer, Chris Taylor, etc.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
| Award[13] | Category | Winner | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Threaded Game | 1st Place | Command: Operation Winter Storm | Koios Works | |
| 2nd Place | Gun Dragon | Avocado Overboard | ||
| 3rd Place | Tiki Lounge Blackjack | The Jelly Filled Games | ||
| Honorable Mention | Insanipaint | |||
| Honorable Mention | El Condor Pasa | Sweet Mobility | ||
| Best Game on the Go | 1st Place | Toblo | Steve Chiavelli, John Jensen, Brad Rasmussen, Ben Smith, Zach Peterson | DigiPen |
| 2nd Place | Insanipaint |
| Award[14] | Category | Winner | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Threaded Game | 1st Place | Harmotion | Erik Chan | Bottomless Pit Games |
| 2nd Place | Burning Tires | Rasmus Barringer | ||
| 3rd Place | AntiPlanet | Lev Dymchenko | ||
| 4th Place | Synaesthete | Zach Aikman, Andy Maneri, Will Towns, Joe Tkach | DigiPen | |
| 5th Place | Red Assault | Andreas Papathanasis | ||
| Best Game on the Go | 1st Place | Penguins Arena | Cristophe Canon | Frogames |
| 2nd Place | Empyreal Nocturne | Reed Gonsalves, Chad Taylor | Double Hawk Games | |
| 3rd Place | Hexaxis XXI | Tim Hackett | ||
| 4th Place | Othello³ | Alain Labrie | Ware-Wolf Games | |
| 5th Place | Helicomaster | Jean-Philippe Doiron, Simon Ampleman | ||
| Award[15] | Category | Winner | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Threaded Game | 1st Place | Goo! | Tommy Refenes | Pillowfort Games |
| 2nd Place | Xenus II: White Gold | Sergey Zabaryansky | Deep Shadows | |
| 3rd Place | Winding Trail | Elena Sagalaeva | ||
| 4th Place | Predtechi | Sergey Zabaryansky | Deep Shadows | |
| 5th Place | Deadly Light | Yakov Sumygin | ||
| Best Game on the Go | 1st Place | Magic Worlds | Dmitry Dobryak | |
| 2nd Place | I’m Lulu King! | Cheng Chen | ||
| 3rd Place | Sub0 | Bradley Wesson | ||
| 4th Place | Army of Earth | Tom Spencer-Smith | ||
| 5th Place | Protozoa | Mauro Persano | ||
| Best Game on Intel Graphics | 1st Place | Pixel and Vega in: Crunch Time! | Aaron Murray | Tandem Games |
| 2nd Place | Protozoa | Mauro Persano | ||
| 3rd Place | Goo! | Tommy Refenes | Pillowfort Games | |
| 4th Place | Winding Trail | Elena Sagalaeva | ||
| 5th Place | Army of Earth | Tom Spencer-Smith | ||
| Judge's Choice | 1st Place | Deadly Light | Yakov Sumygin | |
| 2nd Place | Lens Flare Programming using 3D plains instead of sprites | Alip Kumar Saha | ||
| 3rd Place | Army of Earth | Tom Spencer-Smith | ||
Judges: Sid Meier, Will Wright, Rick Raymo, Brad Wardell, Christophe Canon, Mathieu Mazerolle, Mary Beth Haggerty, Dmitry Oganezov, Gina Bovara, Jeff LaFlam, Brad Werth, Steve Winburn.[12]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judges' Choice | Albert Zhiltsov | ||
| Best Game Optimized For Intel Graphics | 1st Place | I Know Your Deeds | Yakov Sumygin |
| 2nd Place | Spin Tires | Pavel Zagrebelnyy | |
| 3rd Place | Infersus | Infersus | |
| Best Threaded Game | 1st Place | Infersus | Infersus |
| 2nd Place | I Know Your Deeds | Yakov Sumygin | |
| 3rd Place | The Ray Tracing Game | Eugene Klyuchnikov | |
| Best Game on the Go | 1st Place | Spin Tires | Pavel Zagrebelnyy |
| 2nd Place | Germination | Bradley Wesson | |
| 3rd Place | Rise Of Pirates | Stefans Keiss | |
Judges: Chris Avellone, Vic Davis, Todd Hollenshead, Todd Howard, Rod Humble, Raph Koster, Rick Raymo, Bill Roper, Tim Schafer, Adam Sessler, Jeff Vogel.[16] [11]
| Award | Category | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Best Game on a Laptop | 1st Place | Purple |
| 2nd Place | Icebreakers | |
| 3rd Place | Car Washer: Summer Of The Ninja | |
| Honorable Mention | Billichess | |
| Honorable Mention | Gladius | |
| Best Game on a Desktop | Have Time Will Travel | |
| Best Game on a Netbook | 1st Place | Cycle |
| 2nd Place | Mechanism III | |
| 3rd Place | Karttoon Rally | |
| Honorable Mention | Bullzeye | |
| Honorable Mention | Heliride | |
| Honorable Mention | Spellbinder | |
| Judges Choice | Best Art Design | Mechanism III |
| Best Character Design | Icebreakers | |
| Best Graphics Performance | Purple | |
| Best Sound Design | Have Time Will Travel | |
Judges: Andy Schatz, Jeff Vogel, Wolfgang Engel, Chris Taylor, Jim Rossignol.[10]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Blackwell's Asylum | Blackpipe | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | Blackwell's Asylum | Blackpipe | |
| Student Game Of The Year and Best Strategy Game (tie) | The White Laboratory | Tao Xin | |
| Best Casual Game | Divo | Logic Droids | |
| Best Educational Game | Atooms To Moolecules | Bitsits Games | |
| Best Puzzle Game | Splice | Cipher Prime Studios | |
| Best Shooter Game | MilitAnt | Xibalba Studios | |
| Best Simulation Game | Imagine Earth | Serious Brothers | |
| Best Strategy Game (tie) | Plutonic Repulse: A Tale Of Limerence | Blackcow Studios | |
| Judges Choice | Best 3D | Thunderwheels | G-Boot Games |
| Best Physics | Thunderwheels | G-Boot Games | |
| Best Art | Beatbuddy | Threaks | |
| Best Sound | Beatbuddy | Threaks | |
| Best Character | Trash TV | Lawrence Russell | |
Judges: Andy Schatz, Wolfgang Engel, Rami Ismail, Jordan Weisman.[9]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Perfection. | Dumb and Fat Games | |
| Best Puzzle/Physics Game | Perfection. | Dumb and Fat Games | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | Lilly Looking Through | Geeta Games | |
| Best Action Game | Assault Android Cactus | Witch Beam | |
| Best Platformer Game | Protocell | Team Primordia | |
| Best “Other” Game | Cube & Star: A Love Story | Doppler Interactive | |
| Skill and Craft | Best Game Physics | Torquel | FullPowerSlideAttack.com |
| Best Sound | Beatblasters III | Chainsawesome Games | |
| Best Character Design | Life Goes On | Infinite Monkeys | |
| Best 3D Graphics | Forced | BetaDwarf Entertainment | |
Judges: Chris Avellone, Wolfgang Engel, Rami Ismail, Marc Saltzman, Tim Schafer, Chris Taylor, Nathan Vella, Tyrone Rodriguez.[8]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Duet | Kumobius and Tim Shiel | |
| Best Action Game | Duet | Kumobius and Tim Shiel | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | Bravada | Interbellum Team | |
| Best Platformer Game | Biglands: A Game Made By Kids | Diego Acevedo | |
| Best Puzzle Game | Framed | Loveshack | |
| Best “Other” Game | OTTTD | Smg Studio | |
| Skill and Craft | Best Art Design | Toast Time | Force Of Habit |
| Best Use Of Game Physics | Airscape: The Fall Of Gravity | Cross-product | |
| Best Sound | Duet | Kumobius and Tim Shiel | |
| Best Character Design | A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build | Alan Hazelden, Benjamin Davis, Ryan Roth | |
| Best 3D Graphics | Forced 2: The Rush! | BetaDwarf Entertainment | |
Judges: Chris Avellone, Kate Edwards, Wolfgang Engel, Rami Ismail, Tim Schafer, Chris Taylor, Tyrone Rodriguez.[7]
| Award[17] | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | The Franz Kafka Videogame | Denis Galanin | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | The Franz Kafka Videogame | Denis Galanin | |
| Best Action Game | Synchrom | Morphiks | |
| Best Linux Game | Spacejacked | Rotten Mage | |
| Best Platformer Game | Bean Dreams | Kumobius | |
| Best Puzzle Game | Tumblestone | The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild | |
| Best “Other” Game | Galactic Missile Defense | Blacksheep Games | |
| Skill and Craft | Best Art Design | Karma, Incarnation 1 | AuraLab |
| Best Sound | Karma, Incarnation 1 | AuraLab | |
| Best 3D Graphics | Steamfarer | Igor Rashkuev | |
| Best Character Design | Bulb Boy | Bulb Boy Team | |
| Best Game Physics | Super Adventure Pals 2 | Massive Monster | |
Judges: Chris Avellone, Kate Edwards, Wolfgang Engel, Rami Ismail, Tim Schafer, Tyrone Rodriguez, Anne Toole.[18] [19]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Ellipsis | Salmi Games | |
| Best Action Game | Ellipsis | Salmi Games | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | Elsinore | Golden Glitch Studios | |
| Best Platformer Game | Little Bug | Buddy System | |
| Best Puzzle Game | She Remembered Caterpillars | Jumpsuit Entertainment Ug (haftungsbeschränkt) | |
| Best “Other” Game | Duskers | Misfits Attic | |
| Skill and Craft | Best Art Design | Overland | Finji |
| Best 3D Graphics | Guns Of Icarus Alliance | Muse Games | |
| Best Character Design | Tooth and Tail | Pocketwatch Games | |
| Best Game Physics | Goatpunks | Studio Canvas | |
| Best Sound | Animated Puzzles Star | Mexond Games | |
Judges: Chris Avellone, Kate Edwards, Wolfgang Engel, Rami Ismail, Tim Schafer, Gary Rowe, Tyrone Rodriguez, Laila Shabir.[6]
| Award | Category | Winner | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Resynth | Polyphonic LP | |
| Best Puzzle/Physics Game | Resynth | Polyphonic LP | |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing | Cat Quest | The Gentelbros | |
| Best Platformer Game | Pepper Grinder | Riv Hester | |
| Best Action Game | Megaton Rainfall | Pentadimensional Games | |
| Best Open-Genre Game | Paperbark | Paperhouse Games | |
| Skill and Craft | Best Art Design | Cat Quest | The Gentelbros |
| Best 3D Graphics | Stardrop | Joure Visser | |
| Best Character Design | The Adventure Pals | Massive Monster | |
| Best Game Physics | Pepper Grinder | Riv Hester | |
| Best Sound | Yankai’s Peak | Kenny Sun | |