The University of Advancing Technology in Tempe is hosting a release party Tuesday for video game publisher THQ’s newest game title, Deadly Creatures. Four UAT alumni worked on the exclusive Nintendo Wii action-adventure game for Phoenix-based developer Rainbow Studios.
The event will start with a presentation of the game, highlighting its journey from concept to completion followed with game play on Nintendo Wii developer systems.
The UAT alumni — Trapper McFerron, Holly Meyer, Josh Stribling and Justin Walsh — made significant contributions to Deadly Creatures’ development. McFerron, a senior software engineer, and Stribling and Walsh, both associate software engineers, directed attention on implementation of gameplay systems, including basic game functions, artificial intelligence and user interface. Meyer, an associate environmental artist, collaborated on creation of gameplay locations — from urban areas to desert locales — using her knowledge of 2D and 3D art. The school is located at 2625 W. Baseline Rd., Tempe.
Deadly Creatures, which releases Monday, stars an armored scorpion and a tarantula spider as they battle dangerous Southwestern environments and its inhabitants — from Gila monsters to wasps and black widow spiders. A parallel story of selfishness and murder between two humans, gas station owner Struggs and bar-dweller Wade (played by actors Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton) intertwines with your characters in the game’s climax.