Last Wednesday night at the <strong>Toronto Level Up Gaming Showcase, over 50 student projects were demoed to a seemingly unending stream of gaming professionals and enthusiasts curious to get a glimpse at the next generation of game developers. This third edition, of what is rapidly becoming one of the most entertaining Toronto gaming-events of the year, took place on the second floor of the Design Exchange and the size of the showcase’s new digs complimented its growth in projects, participants and partners quite nicely, as you can see in the photo below.

The projects were all adjudicated by jury of professionals (details to come) as well as the attending audience and the winners were announced towards the tail end of the evening.

Best Design went to Dollhouse: Room 1313 by OCAD.

Best Action went to WIRE by OCAD/UofT. (Website).

Best Game went to Awaken by Brock University. (Website).

The People’s Choice Award went to Luminous by OCAD/UofT.

Winner’s received 3D-printed Level Up trophies, as well as Rockstar-branded swag. The Best Design winners also took home four Sennheiser headsets.

Dollhouse: Room 1313 particularly impressed us with its unique randomly generated labyrinths and haunting atmosphere that managed to unnerve players, even as they played it amidst the cacophony of the showcase. I’m quite pleased to see it take home a prize, and can’t wait to see more of the game as it gets developed.