Skip to main content

Recognition

Quinnipiac Game Design and Development students

Over the years our program, faculty, and students have been recognized for excellence. We place a high priority on exhibiting work publicly and being active members of the game design community at large. Here are some of our success stories.

Program Recognition

  • Named 21st best undergraduate program in the world by The Princeton Review. (2024)
  • Named 18th best undergraduate program in the world by The Princeton Review. (2023)
  • Named 22nd best undergraduate program in the world by The Princeton Review. (2022)
  • Named 31st best undergraduate program in the world by The Princeton Review. (2020)
  • Named 19th best undergraduate program in the U.S. by Animation Career Review. (2020)

Awards (students)

  • Platinum Medal at Game Narrative Review at GDC for Stray by Amari O'Connor. (2024)
  • Gold Medal at Game Narrative Review at GDC for PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo by Somnarng Sin. (2024)
  • Excellence Award by the Connecticut Art Directors Club for Any Last Word by Nathan Pippin. (2023)
  • Best Technical Game at RPI's GameFest for Trewel Towers by Brendan Berg, Matt Camerato, Tyler Gorman, Lydia Hallett, and Horacio Valdez. (2023)
  • Narrative and Games for Impact Finalist at RPI's GameFest for The Council of Fluff and Stuff by Amari O'Connor. (2023)
  • Gold Medal at Game Narrative Review at GDC for The Wolf Among Us by Amari O'Connor. (2023)
  • Gold Medal at Game Narrative Review at GDC for Little Nightmares by Tyler Gorman. (2022)
  • People's Choice Award at the Connecticut Festival of Indie Games for Neon Flip by Brendan Berg and Horacio Valdez. (2021)
  • Finalist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s Collegiate Award — Emma Hubbell. (2020)
  • Most Innovative Game at RPI's GameFest for Brotherhood by Son Nguyen. (2020)
  • Honorable Mention at the Intel University Game Showcase for Beat 'Em by Leo Melendez and Shawn Urban. (2020)
  • Gold Medal at Game Narrative Review at GDC for Lisa: The First by Antonia Gates. (2020)
  • Golden Joystick Award (Best Student Game) at the Terminus Festival for TimeTekker by Ryan O’Hara. (2018)
  • Best Gameplay at the New England Game Design Student Showcase for TimeTekker by Ryan O’Hara. (2018)
  • Best Multiplayer Game at RPI's GameFest for Dishonor Thy Neighbor by Khaled Abu-Ghazaleh, Steven Bischoff, Matt Hodges, Jibril Pickett, and Nathan Williams. (2018)
  • 1st Place in the Arts at College of Arts and Sciences Awards Ceremony for TimeTekker by Ryan O’Hara. (2017)
  • Best Multiplayer Game at RPI's GameFest for Rapture the Flag by DJ Bilal, John Hatton-Miller, Christopher Laferriere, Hector Ogando, Donovan Sepulveda, and Joe Verducci. (2017)
  • Best Use of Time at RPI's GameFest for TimeTekker by Ryan O’Hara. (2017)
  • 3rd Place at RPI's GameFest for Cannon vs Cannon by Khaled Abu-Ghazaleh and Nathan Williams. (2016)

Awards (faculty)

  • Nominated for Best Live Action Game at IndieCade for Choppy Copies by Jonah Warren. (2022)
  • Bronze Award in Serious Games Designed for Healthcare at the Serious Play Festival, Orlando, FL for Activate My Shield by Elena Bertozi et al. (2022)
  • Best in Show at Miami @ Play, Miami, FL for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2018)
  • Best Multiplayer Game at A MAZE, Germany, for Word After Word by Jonah Warren. (2017)

Professional Exhibitions (students)

  • PAX East, Boston, MA for Trewel Towers by Brendan Berg, Matt Camerato, Tyler Gorman, Lydia Hallett, Horacio Valdes. (2023)
  • Boston Festival of Independent Games, Boston, MA for Beat 'Em by Shawn Urban and Leo Melendez. (2018)
  • Terminus Festival, Atlanta, GA for TimeTekker by Ryan O’Hara. (2018)
  • PAX East, Boston, MA for Dishonor Thy Neighbor by Khaled Abu-Ghazaleh, Steven Bischoff, Matt Hodges, Jibril Pickett, and Nathan Williams. (2018)
  • PAX East, Boston, MA for Rapture the Flag by DJ Bilal, John Hatton-Miller, Christopher Laferriere, Hector Ogando, Donovan Sepulveda, and Joe Verducci. (2018)

Professional Exhibitions (faculty)

  • Indiecade, online for Choppy Copies by Jonah Warren. (2022)
  • Frameless XR Symposium, Rochester, NY for Choppy Copies by Jonah Warren. (2021)
  • IndieCade Showcase at E3, Los Angeles, CA for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2019)
  • Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC, San Francisco, CA for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2019)
  • Day of the Devs, San Francisco, CA for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2018)
  • Fantastic Arcade, Austin, TX for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2018)
  • A MAZE, Berlin, Germany for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2018)
  • EGX Rezzed, London, UK for Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren. (2018)
  • A MAZE, Berlin, Germany for Word After Word by Jonah Warren. (2017)

Academic Conferences (students)

  • The Game Developers Conference San Francisco, CA for analysis of The Wolf Among Us by Amari O'Connor. (2022)
  • The Game Developers Conference San Francisco, CA for analysis of Little Nightmares by Tyler Gorman. (2022)
  • The Meaningful Play Conference, Lansing, MI, for LigandQuest by Ryan O’Hara and Andy Mechalakos. (2018)
  • The CUNY Games Conference, New York, NY for LigandQuest by Ryan O’Hara and Andy Mechalakos. (2018)
  • The CUNY Games Conference, New York, NY for CardioMedic by Khaled Abu-Ghazaleh and Nathan Williams. (2018)

Grants (faculty)

  • Connecticut BioScience Pipeline Grant $30,000 awarded to Elena Bertozzi's company SolitonZ Games LLC to develop the Activate My Shield app to counter vaccine hesitancy. (2022)
  • Epic Mega Grant $25,000 for further development of Ad-Tacker, a virtual reality game that teaches adolescents how to critically assess targeted advertising by Greg Garvey and collaborators. (2020)
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations Phase I, $100,000 for the creation of game to gather data about family planning intentions in Karnataka, India by Elena Bertozzi and collaborators. (2016)
  • Innovation Award $10,000 for the creation of an educational game about the basics of pharmacology by Jonah Warren and collaborators. (2016)
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations Phase I, $100,000 for the creation of a game aimed at modifying behaviors in homosexual male at-risk populations in Mexico City by Elena Bertozzi and collaborators. (2014)
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Innovation Award, $10,000 for the creation of an educational game about interpreting arterial blood gas values by Jonah Warren and collaborators. (2014)