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Note: The following information is related to the "That's IT!" feature in this issue. We were not able to include it in the print version of Rensselaer magazine because of deadline considerations

Tech Park Gaming Company Lauded

Vicarious Visions, an Internet and video game development company based in the Rensselaer Technology Park and founded by Karthik Bala '97 in 1994, announced that Terminus, the company's flagship game, was selected for two prizes in the first annual Independent Games Festival held in San Jose, Calif. Vicarious Visions took home the Programming and Audio Awards ($1,000 purse each) for their Windows 95/98 project. Nearly 100 international entries were submitted.
  As a contest finalist, Terminus was exhibited on the show floor at the Game Developers Conference, March 16-18 in San Jose, Calif. Miller Freeman Game Group and the Gathering of Developers cosponsored the festival. "The winners of the festival showcased today's brightest independent games featuring the finest innovative design and technical achievement," said Alex Dunne, chairman of the event and editorial director of Miller Freeman Game Group's Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com. "All of the nearly 100 submissions we received truly embodied the essence of what the Independent Games Festival was all about, that game development can truly be considered an art form." "The Indie Games Festival was extremely successful from the level of innovation, talent, and spirit exhibited to the newfound attention paid to the developers," said Mike Wilson, CEO of Gathering of Developers.
  Terminus, an online multiplayer game, spans the solar system with 18 space stations and hundreds of characters, some human, some computer-generated. Terminus also interweaves computer-generated narrative that adds another dimension to the game. Vicarious Visions grew from a Rensselaer Incubator company, begun when Bala was an undergrad, and moved to its current location in the Tech Park in December. It currently employs 15 people, including four Rensselaer graduates and two undergrads. To see Terminus go to: www.vvisions.com/terminus.