Vandalia Softworks

West Virginia game developer

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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

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


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


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


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


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

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.

 

ABOUT VANDALIA SOFTWORKS

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

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