WarTourist
01-24-2005, 04:06 PM
EPIC GAMES AND NVIDIA ANNOUNCES GRAND PRIZE WINNERS IN THE “$1,000,000 NVIDIA MAKE SOMETHING UNREAL” CONTEST
“Red Orchestra” and “The Journey” Take Top Honors in Contest Recognizing and Rewarding the Art of Mod-Making
RALEIGH, NC─JANUARY 24, 2005─Epic Games, a leading developer of cutting-edge 3D technology and games, today announced the grand prize winners of the “$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal®” mod-making contest.
The grand prize for Best Mod is awarded to Red Orchestra, an immersive combined arms infantry and armored vehicle combat simulation set on the eastern front of World War II. The development team behind the winning entry receives $50,000 in cash and a coveted Unreal Engine commercial license worth approximately $350,000.
Taking top honors in the Best Non-Interactive Real Time movie category is The Journey. The short animated film, which chronicles an adventure into the unfamiliar, was created by Friedrich 'fiezi' Kirschner, who receives $25,000 for his work.
The announcement of the grand final winners marks the culmination of the multi-round $1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal Contest,” hosted by Epic Games and sponsored by NVIDIA Corporation, Atari, Inc., Digital Extremes, AMD and Alias®. Designed to publicly recognize and inspire up-and-coming 3D artists and programmers, the contest generated more than one thousand entries from individuals and student teams who took advantage of the Unreal Editor to hone their development skills and learn what it takes to create a commercial game. The Unreal Editor is a free tool that was included with the best-selling Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 PC games developed by Epic Games and published by Atari.
"The $1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal contest did an incredible job bringing the whole Unreal Tournament 2004 mod scene to the public’s attention. The contest has been a great event to be a part of and an incredible learning experience. All the late nights, tight deadlines, and hard work has given the team invaluable experience that will, no doubt, help us in the future,” said John Gibson, lead programmer and producer for Red Orchestra. “We are immensely excited by the opportunities that have opened up for the team and look forward to what the future holds for us. Thank you to Epic, NVIDIA and all of the contest’s sponsors for giving us the opportunity."
"The breadth and quality of the mods submitted in this contest utterly amazed us. People came together to create some of the best game modifications ever created. The ultimate beneficiaries were not only the thousands of Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 players who got to experience some of these great mods, but the game industry as a whole which uncovered some incredibly talented people who will continue to make contributions to the industry for many years to come,” said Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games. “Epic Games and all of the contest sponsors would like to extend our congratulations to the grand prize winners, as well as all of the contest participants, for showing us that the spirit of independent game development is continuing to challenge the best the industry has to offer.”
For more information about the grand prize winners, or to download winning entries from all five rounds of the $1,000,000 Make Something Unreal Contest,” please visit the official contest website located at www.makesomethingunreal.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games Inc, based in Raleigh, NC and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games Unreal and Unreal Tournament, both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than 1 million copies. Games created with the Unreal Engine include: 2002 Console Game of the Year winner: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell™ (on PC and console platforms), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and Rainbow Six 3 from Ubisoft, PC Gamer's 2000 Game of the Year: Deus Ex from Ion Storm/Eidos, America's Army: Operations, from the United States Army, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PC) from Electronic Arts - and many others. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games Jill of the Jungle, Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball. Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors. The Company’s products enhance the end-user experience on consumer and professional computing devices. NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), media and communications processors (MCPs), and wireless media processors (WMPs) have broad market reach and are incorporated into a variety of platforms, including consumer and enterprise PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs, mobile phones, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.nvidia.com.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as DRIV3R™, Enter the Matrix™, Neverwinter Nights™, Stuntman™, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games such as Backyard Sports™, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ and Dora the Explorer™, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext – ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
About Alias
As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias develops award-winning software, custom development and training solutions for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, industrial design, education and visualization markets. In 2003, the company was awarded an Oscar® for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its development of Maya software, the professional 3D animation and effects package. Alias also offers a powerful range of services for new to advanced users in the most demanding environments. Learning Tools and training, support, and professional services help meet rigorous production deadlines. Entertainment customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Core Design Limited, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd.
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Copyright © 2005 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.
“Red Orchestra” and “The Journey” Take Top Honors in Contest Recognizing and Rewarding the Art of Mod-Making
RALEIGH, NC─JANUARY 24, 2005─Epic Games, a leading developer of cutting-edge 3D technology and games, today announced the grand prize winners of the “$1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal®” mod-making contest.
The grand prize for Best Mod is awarded to Red Orchestra, an immersive combined arms infantry and armored vehicle combat simulation set on the eastern front of World War II. The development team behind the winning entry receives $50,000 in cash and a coveted Unreal Engine commercial license worth approximately $350,000.
Taking top honors in the Best Non-Interactive Real Time movie category is The Journey. The short animated film, which chronicles an adventure into the unfamiliar, was created by Friedrich 'fiezi' Kirschner, who receives $25,000 for his work.
The announcement of the grand final winners marks the culmination of the multi-round $1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal Contest,” hosted by Epic Games and sponsored by NVIDIA Corporation, Atari, Inc., Digital Extremes, AMD and Alias®. Designed to publicly recognize and inspire up-and-coming 3D artists and programmers, the contest generated more than one thousand entries from individuals and student teams who took advantage of the Unreal Editor to hone their development skills and learn what it takes to create a commercial game. The Unreal Editor is a free tool that was included with the best-selling Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 PC games developed by Epic Games and published by Atari.
"The $1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal contest did an incredible job bringing the whole Unreal Tournament 2004 mod scene to the public’s attention. The contest has been a great event to be a part of and an incredible learning experience. All the late nights, tight deadlines, and hard work has given the team invaluable experience that will, no doubt, help us in the future,” said John Gibson, lead programmer and producer for Red Orchestra. “We are immensely excited by the opportunities that have opened up for the team and look forward to what the future holds for us. Thank you to Epic, NVIDIA and all of the contest’s sponsors for giving us the opportunity."
"The breadth and quality of the mods submitted in this contest utterly amazed us. People came together to create some of the best game modifications ever created. The ultimate beneficiaries were not only the thousands of Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 players who got to experience some of these great mods, but the game industry as a whole which uncovered some incredibly talented people who will continue to make contributions to the industry for many years to come,” said Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games. “Epic Games and all of the contest sponsors would like to extend our congratulations to the grand prize winners, as well as all of the contest participants, for showing us that the spirit of independent game development is continuing to challenge the best the industry has to offer.”
For more information about the grand prize winners, or to download winning entries from all five rounds of the $1,000,000 Make Something Unreal Contest,” please visit the official contest website located at www.makesomethingunreal.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games Inc, based in Raleigh, NC and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games Unreal and Unreal Tournament, both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than 1 million copies. Games created with the Unreal Engine include: 2002 Console Game of the Year winner: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell™ (on PC and console platforms), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and Rainbow Six 3 from Ubisoft, PC Gamer's 2000 Game of the Year: Deus Ex from Ion Storm/Eidos, America's Army: Operations, from the United States Army, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PC) from Electronic Arts - and many others. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games Jill of the Jungle, Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball. Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors. The Company’s products enhance the end-user experience on consumer and professional computing devices. NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), media and communications processors (MCPs), and wireless media processors (WMPs) have broad market reach and are incorporated into a variety of platforms, including consumer and enterprise PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs, mobile phones, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.nvidia.com.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as DRIV3R™, Enter the Matrix™, Neverwinter Nights™, Stuntman™, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2004, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games such as Backyard Sports™, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ and Dora the Explorer™, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext – ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
About Alias
As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias develops award-winning software, custom development and training solutions for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, industrial design, education and visualization markets. In 2003, the company was awarded an Oscar® for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its development of Maya software, the professional 3D animation and effects package. Alias also offers a powerful range of services for new to advanced users in the most demanding environments. Learning Tools and training, support, and professional services help meet rigorous production deadlines. Entertainment customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Core Design Limited, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd.
# # #
Copyright © 2005 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.