Come explore the latest and greatest in video game design at Cornell May 18, from 4 to 7 p.m., in Carpenter Hall when students in the Game Design Initiative program will display their work at Game Design Initiative Showcase 2018. The event is free and open to the public and participants are urged to come ready to play games and vote for their favorite.

Some of this year’s project include:

• Trino, a video game targeting younger players, features shape shifting from a baby dinosaur to a brontosaurus to a Tyrannosaurus rex. Using their shape-shifting powers, players make their way to safety past predators and other hazards;
• Discarded is a game for iOS that integrates card game mechanics with a tactical dungeon-crawl game. Players have a deck of cards that represent different abilities. They draw cards from the deck to defend themselves or overcome enemies;
• Arcane Tectonics, a puzzle/strategy game for iOS and Android that features Bernette, who is trapped in a dreamland of unstable and shifting terrain and who must call forth the power of fire, earth and nature to protect herself; and
• Beat Boss, a rhythm game for iOS where players take the role of Hertzcules, champion of Olympus. Hertzcules has been sent by Zeus to overcome seven mighty tasks, all while dancing to the beat.

The Game Design Initiative is part of the Department of Computer Science and is led by Walker White, computer science professor and primary instructor for the game design courses.