Idan Rooze’s Incarnation: GDWC 2021 Student Game Award Winner
Since its inception in 2016, GDWC (Game Developer World Championship) has enjoyed great success, with all things pointing towards next year as their biggest event to date. For those unfamiliar, GDWC is “an annual global competition for game developers of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. You're welcome to submit your game whether you're a professional developer, a hobbyist, a student, or just interested in game development in general.” Submissions for GDWC 2022 began on March 7th, 2022, and will continue to be accepted until February 23rd, 2023, with a formal awards show to follow later that Spring.
In 2021, Autodesk was a proud sponsor of GDWC’s Student Game Award. Each year, the Student Game Award serves as an excellent example of the young talent and innovation of student creators from around the globe. We share the belief that investing in and fostering the talent of the next generation is paramount to the further development of the medium.
Five games were ultimately selected to compete, Incarnation, Astreia’s Gift, Lysfangha, Postbird in Provence, and There You Are. The winning game, Incarnation, is “a mouse-only roguelite with reverse progression” created by solo game developer Idan Rooze . From its intuitive controls to its unique take on pixel-art visuals, Rooze created everything in the game by himself except for the soundtrack which was done by Amit Katzengold. We recently sat down with Rooze to learn more about how Incarnation came to be, its success at GDWC, as well as his views on why games are the greatest art form.
Incarnation trailer:
Could you please introduce yourself?
I'm Idan, an indie game developer from Jerusalem, Israel. I've been making games since I was a kid, and I'm an avid board gamer. I've recently graduated from the Game Development program in the Visual Communication department of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, where I now serve as a lecturer on game design. Incarnation is my graduation project.
How did you get involved with GDWC?
The team behind GDWC was very kind to consider and choose me as the winner of the Student Game Award in the 2021 GDWC competition.
Can you explain what Incarnation is about?
Incarnation is a mouse-only action game with reverse progression. You start the game as an immortal, indestructible divine entity with many different powers, like the ability to fly and the ability to destroy any enemy in a single hit. During the game, you'll experience the descent from heaven through a series of procedurally generated levels. After each level, you must lose one of your celestial powers until you are completely transformed into a human.
Incarnation prototype footage - April 2021:
What do you think made Incarnation such a special game to the GDWC judges?
Many games deal with the idea of a power fantasy - you start the game weak and become stronger the more you play. With Incarnation, I did the exact opposite of that, an idea that I think many people find captivating, both from a gameplay perspective and from a storytelling perspective.
What does indie game development mean to you?
For me, indie is being a part of a large community of creators that all share a passion for art, storytelling, and experimentation. Indie creators are the innovation engine of the gaming industry, but are largely an underserved community, earning only 0.5% of the global gaming market revenue (and that includes the biggest indie studios).
I see it as my mission to take part in making what I see as the mother of all arts – games.
Why did you choose to tackle this as a solo venture as opposed to working in a team?
During my years as a student, I had the pleasure of working with many talented people on quite a few games, as well as creating my own solo games. For my graduation project, it was a time when I felt quite confident in my abilities to deliver a complete experience myself and wanted to tackle this challenge. I wasn't completely alone, though, I did have the support of the academy and worked with Amit Katzengold, who composed the beautiful music for Incarnation.
Pre-launch Incarnation footage - June 2021:
What are some of the pros and cons of solo game dev?
Having complete control over a game experience can be very empowering, but it's also a challenge. mentally you don't have anyone to share the burden of development with, and professionally you have to work with your skillset, prioritize, and count on yourself to get the job done. In a small indie team it's the opposite - when you have someone to work with it sometimes feels like your productivity is doubled, as you see your part in the creation come to life through a shared effort. You can focus on your strengths and share your thoughts and challenges with other people. On the other hand, you have to compromise every now and then and know how to work in a team.
What advice do you have for other developers thinking of submitting to GDWC?
Do it! Putting yourself out there is very important, the submission process is simple and will help you refine some marketing material that you may not have yet. Who knows, you may even win something! I had no idea I had a chance of winning with over 200 participants in my category, and the other top 5 all being created by teams.
Can you share any details on what you’re working on next?
I'm currently working on an indie game development collective called Totem. Our goal is to build a platform that helps indie creators monetize their games through assets that can be moved between games. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to share it with the world!
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