Sliders, fries and cool beverages were enjoyed by all in the LCD-screen glow of the second floor of the Real Sports Bar and Grill as the Leafs beat the Devils 5-2 and the finalists of The Great Canadian Appathon² were presented, lauded and subsequently awarded with traditional over-sized checks. Presented by XMG and the National Post, the Appathon was held a month ago from Sept. 30th to Oct. 2nd and involved the participation of over 400 students working in teams across the country, each attempting to produce a mobile game in under 48 hours in pursuit of a grand prize of $25,000 and a publishing deal. Apart from the 48 hour deadline, their only restriction was that the game had to fall under the theme of “sports”.

Archery, as it turns out, is all the rage these days, for both the 3rd and 2nd place finalists featured unique takes on the sport. The third place finalist, Portal-Bow by Team ABXYZ, combined Portal-physics with bows, arrows and a whole lot of balloon popping, while the second place finalist Ludicros Archery by Team Resistor 5 involved, at least in some levels, the arrowing of unsuspecting fowl. But being that the judges were not elves or renaissance fair aficionados (at least I don’t think…), the grand prize went to Team Drop Table Teams’ Trace Runner, a game that appeared to successfully mash-up Excitebike wtih Line Rider. Despite being a prototype, there was something to the game’s colorful and striking pixel palate that made it immediately likeable and of all three games it was the title I wanted to get my fingers on the most.

I’m sure it is only a matter of time before more details about the winning games appear online. Keep the GCA page bookmarked.