Student project yields some fun games

Getting into game development as a student, for a class project or private competition, seems an increasingly common hobby. Not only do you get course credit for writing a game, but you have an instant start to your portfolio when applying for game development jobs on graduation. What could be better?

Well, this Stanford student project not only offers a hands-on introduction to 3D graphics via the medium of games, but had some hefty prizes to boot (including a trip to the SIGGRAPH conference, and vouchers for Xbox 360 consoles). Labyrin3D, the "wackiest" entry, is particularly innovative--using the Powerbook's tilt sensor, players have to manipulate a marble around a maze.

While not quite as crazy as some of the "game a week" prototypes we saw last year from a different academic project, it's great to see game development incorporated as class work for more courses--educational and fun.

[via /.]