Today the organizers of GDC 2018 and its Game Narrative Summit, are pleased to announce the 2018 winners of the annual Student Narrative Analysis Competition, who will all receive passes to attend the March conference.

Not familiar with the competition? Here's how it works: Every year, leading game design programs at universities across the country integrate the competition into their academic curricula. Each participating student conducts a detailed structured analysis of the narrative elements of a game title of their choice.

The resulting papers are submitted to the GDC Game Narrative Summit advisors for review, and the entrants with the most promising submissions are then invited to present poster sessions of their work to their future professional peers at the Game Narrative Summit.

Past winners (which you can watch right now on GDC Vault) have explored a variety of games in their sessions, from big-budget blockbuster games to smaller, critically-acclaimed indie titles, including games renowned for their storytelling and games designed with no formal narrative at all.

Regardless of their chosen subject, past competitors have consistently produced incisive, bold analysis that foreshadows the contributions they will likely someday make to the field of game narrative.

This year's competition featured a strong group of entrants from schools across the country and around the world. We’re proud to announce that this year’s winners are:

Platinum Winners

Gold Winners

The Platinum winners will receive an all-access pass to this year’s GDC, while the Gold winners will receive an expo pass. All winners have the opportunity to present a poster session highlighting their work on the show floor, and those sessions will be available for public viewing after the show on the GDC Vault.

GDC and the Game Narrative Summit would like to extend its congratulations to all the winners, and to all of the entrants whose fine work made judging this year’s competition both challenging and a labor of love.

GDC 2018 itself will take place March 19th through the 23rd at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. 

For more information on GDC 2018, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas