Announcing the winners of the GamesBeat 2016 developer contest

To showcase innovation and shed a light on new and upcoming games, GamesBeat ran a Games Developer Showcase competition for GamesBeat 2016 that we kicked off on June 22. Now we’ve selected the winners, and we’re inviting them to GamesBeat 2016 as way to diversify the people attending the event and make it more accessible to independent developers.

The winners have received an exhibition table at GamesBeat where they will showcase their games in front of hundreds of the best executives in the gaming industry. The top five winners will get free admission and demo spots in our expo at GamesBeat 2016, and three additional runners-up will get free admission to the event. (Want to register?)

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All the games have been presented to our panel of judges: Megan Gaiser, co-CEO of Spiral Media Ltd. and principal at Contagious Creativity; Wanda Meloni, executive director of the Open Gaming Alliance and CEO of M2 Research; Maarten Noyons, CEO of the International Mobile Gaming Awards; and Kate Edwards, executive director of the International Game Developers Association.

Here are the final winners. Thank you to our judges and those who participated. (The winners need to respond to our queries to get the free pass.)

Follow the White Rabbit

A mind-bending VR Mystery Adventure about a magician who’s been a charlatan all his life until one day his magic suddenly works and his rabbit actually disappears along with a priceless diamond bracelet. Using just the gaze cursor, the player looks around the room to discover clues, operate fantastical machines, and unlock illusions to reveal.

ZombieRollerz

Zombie Rollerz is a causal action game powered by Unity 3D. The gameplay mixes the elements of pinball and Western RPGs. The player takes on the role of a band of heroes, controlling a giant ship fortress called the “ARK” in a post-zombie apocalypse, Dungeons & Dragons-style world.

DayDream Blue

Daydream Blue is a virtual playground to help players find their smiles, relax for a while, and discover friendship. Daydream Blue has a robot buddy, mini-games inspired by the imagination of kids, the atmosphere of camping in Kentucky, and connection with others through online multiplayer.

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Wizdy Diner

Wizdy the waiter has landed on a planet full of hungry aliens and is ready to serve up a feast! Help her run the diner and earn space-cred by satisfying customers. Learn about food allergies while playing. The educational content in this game was developed and approved by allergists from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Vanguard.

Beat Boy

Beat Boy is a cutting-edge rhythm-adventure game developed with a proprietary beat matching technology where music is synchronized with action. The game combines a player’s audio and visual senses together in a journey through a teenager’s dream/nightmare world. Developers around the world have created great music games and adventure platformers.

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Runners-up include Theta Warriors Defense, an eSport strategy game in which players battle over multiple zones in a 3-way conflict; Armajet, a multiplayer shooter designed for mobile that pits teams of players against each other in fast-paced jetpack combat; and Physer, a nostalgic SNES-style platformer that combines physics, secrets, and a variety of worlds to explore.

Thanks to VentureBeat’s Baptiste Parrachini for managing the contest.