The 5 selected concepts will now be developed into game proptotypes by Digi:CC and shown as part of the forthcoming Digital Hub Exhibit 4: Play exhibition starting the middle of Oct. Then it will be up to you, the public, to vote for the best game.

Remember the winning game will be published by UpStart Games and receive an advance of €5,000 on eventual royalties of the game when published, a period of training at a Digital Hollywood facility in Toyko or LA, an internship in a games development company and an ‘original concept’ credit on the published game. The winning concept will be published globally by Upstart Games and distributed in Europe by 02 through the 02 Games Arcade service.

Concept 1:
Name: Phil Bourke
Proposed Game Title: Fishtank Fire
Genre: Action/Puzzle
Reconfigure the plumbing in at the aquarium in the fastest possible time, so that the water level doesn’t rise so far as to let the electric eels out.

Concept 2:
Name: Ian James Hannigan
Proposed Game Title: Voodoo Vengeance
Genre: Virtual Voodoo Doll
The ‘who’ is up to you. Initially the player is presented with a tug-of-war style meter, 50% player 50% doll. Battle it out through various torments available to eventually break your doll.

Concept 3:
Name: Kenn Coleman
Proposed Game Title: Pitbull Frenzy
Genre: Unknown
Game is based on taking charge of savage pitbull and making him into a sheepdog, taking care not to eat the sheep.

Concept 4:
Name: Kaari Koehn
Proposed Game Title: Firefighter Kelly
Genre: Strategy/Action
A firefighter travels around a small town to extinguish fires before they grown out of control. The hose is tethered to the town’s single hydrant, so a path must be carefull planned.

Concept 5:
Name: Matthew Ryder
Proposed Game Title; Spin
Genre: Action/Puzzle
Spin is a single-player game combining action and puzzle elements. The player must keep the ball inside a circle, avoiding gaps in the perimeter. The only controls are to rotate the circle.

Further information on the Challenge can be found at challenge/index.htmlchallenge/index.html

The N-GAGE Challenge is organised and managed by UPSTART games and supported by Nokia (Ireland) Ltd. and O2 Ireland.