Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) in Kirkkand has more than 30 Digital Gaming and Media students putting the final touches on games to exhibit in booth No. 6219 at PAX West. PAX West, one of the largest gaming events in North America, will be held at Washington State Convention Center Sept. 2-5.

Virtual Reality (VR) is the hot ticket this year. LWTech student-created VR games for PAX West include: Nothin’ But Net, a VR basketball game developed by a husband/wife team; Trek, a cinematic experience based on the classic David Bowie fantasy film Labyrinth; and Hero Showdown, a first-person opportunity to become a superhero. Other games include Crystal Method Dev Team’s puzzle platformer in space, What’s Your Sign’s story-driven Zodiac dating game, Office Smash Team’s fired and furious creatures, and Storms of EOS’ sci-fi adventure. Projects to be showcased include games for the Oculus Rift, Vive, Gear VR and Google Cardboard as well as mobile, tablet and PC games.

“Our LWTech teams range from high school students hoping to make a mark in the game industry to seasoned professionals with bachelor and master’s degrees who are honing their skills. Many students have published their games on Google Play and are working with Sony, Unity, and Steam,” said Phil Trumbo, Multimedia Design and Production associate professor at LWTech.

LWTech’s Digital Gaming and Media program encourages innovative design and personal artistic vision combined with realistic industry-oriented creative, production and technical skills. Multimedia Design and Production is another closely linked program at LWTech that adds an art component as well as game development.