• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Vandalia Softworks

West Virginia game developer

  • HOME
  • NEWSLETTER
  • TEAM
  • GAMES/PRODUCTS
    • Perspectrum
  • NEWS
  • Contact
    • Press

December 31, 2017 By Jordan Hallow

2017 Highlights

We had a lot of great things happen this year, check out our reflection of 2017!

Vandalia Softworks has come very far since the start of this year!  Below are some of our highlights from 2017.

June  – We became a company!

After several months of planning and game prototype development, we officially registered with the state of West Virginia on June 25, 2017!  We also launched our website shortly after that.

July – Attended the Serious Play Conference

We had a great time last week @SeriousPlayConf hearing from industry thought leaders Nolan Bushnell (Atari) and Jesse Schell (Schell Games). pic.twitter.com/pD00Yukzos

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) July 23, 2017

Through a special grant we received, we were given the opportunity to attend the 2017 Serious Play Conference at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia!  We got to network with other educational and serious game developers, as well as teachers and instructors that used game-based learning software in their classrooms.  Some bigger names of developers we met included Nolan Bushnell and Jesse Schell.  They had many great sessions everyday on just about every topic related to serious games and they had the schedule very organized and split into different broader subject areas, like certain ones focuses more on medical games, high schools, development, etc.  Again, I’m very thankful we had this opportunity and look forward to the chance to attend more conferences in the future!

August – Toured WVU Crime Scene Complex

We got to tour the WVU Crime scene houses & see how evidence is collected first hand to help with our game development yesterday! pic.twitter.com/3rnl5us4fs

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) August 3, 2017


To help with making the Forensic game more realistic, we got to tour the insides of West Virginia University’s Crime Scene Complex, which at the time we toured included three houses and a separate classroom building.  We have a great Forensic Science program here and it was great to really have that opportunity, I can see a lot of what we saw in those houses in our latest prototypes.

September – WVU Launch Lab Fall Kickoff Pitch

Happy to share our founder Jordan Hallow got second place at the WVU Launch Lab Fall Kickoff Competition last week! pic.twitter.com/7uKSi7NFxt

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) September 19, 2017


I had the opportunity to enter into the West Virginia University LaunchLab Fall 2017 Kickoff Pitch Competition!  There were seven pitches total in this competition.  Each participant had to plan and give a live seven minute pitch in front of four judges from the WV community, as well as a live audience.  Luckily, I was able to secure second place and receive more funding to help with our development!

October – 2017 WV Game Developers Expo

Having a great time at the 2017 WV Game Dev Expo showing off our game and meeting other devs! #wvgde2017 pic.twitter.com/WiJ5A1etqi

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) October 27, 2017


We had the opportunity to attend the second annual West Virginia Game Developers Expo at Mountwest Community College near Huntington, WV.  It was great to meet other developers in the area and see the great games they are working on.  I also got interviewed briefly and you can see that video here. We look forward to having the opportunity to attend again in 2018 with more stuff to show!

November – WVU Today Article

Thank you @wvutoday for the great article highlighting us and other @WVUStatler alumni in the gaming industry! https://t.co/p5bQL07wAV pic.twitter.com/WYVGmxLACw

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) November 1, 2017


We got mentioned for the first time in West Virginia University Today, in an article where they were highlighting alumni and students from the university within the gaming industry.  It was great to be featured on a university site and to be able to share the software we are creating!

November – WVU Libraries Game Week & ESPN

Had a great turn out today for the student showcase! Thank you @wvuLibraries for organizing a great event! #wvugamesweek pic.twitter.com/1U2LCpSF0N

— Vandalia Softworks (@VandaliaSoft) November 3, 2017

Also in November, the West Virginia University Libraries held Games Week, where they had several professors hold workshops about gamification of courses and worked with several local businesses to have prizes and several arcade cabinets for students to play.  We got to showcase the Forensic Game in the student showcase and, in addition to some great feedback we got from players, we were briefly featured on ESPN that weekend during the WVU football game!

2018 and Beyond

Remembering everything that we have accomplished this year makes me more confident and excited about 2018 and everything we are working on!  Follow us on social media to be kept up to date on our latest announcements!  We have several projects in the works that we have been working on behind the scenes – we are looking forward to sharing those with you soon.

 

Filed Under: News

Jordan Hallow

Founder of Vandalia Softworks and Hallow Sites.
Follow me: Twitter / LinkedIn

ABOUT VANDALIA SOFTWORKS

Vandalia Softworks is a game-based learning software development startup located in Morgantown, WV.

Fill out the form below for our latest news and updates.

Footer

ABOUT US

Vandalia Softworks is a game development and publishing company located in West Virginia.

FOLLOW US

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 Vandalia Softworks. All Rights Reserved. - Privacy Policy - Designed by Hallow Sites.