Author: by Beth A.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. has announced the winner of the Toyota Yaris Mobile Game Development Competition at the 2006 Evolution (EVO) World Finals video game tournament in Las Vegas. Ryan Dudley, a student at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, took home the $20,000 grand prize on behalf of his team for their mobile game called Yaris Express. Dudley, one of the game's programmers, shares the winnings with his team Johnney Nguyen, programmer, and Andrion Becker, artist. Toyota partnered exclusively with the DigiPen Institute of Technology located in Redmond, Washington, an accredited college focusing on videogame development and 3D animation, to bring the competition to DigiPen students, who were challenged to create a mobile phone game that incorporated the all-new Toyota Yaris subcompact vehicle. Games were judged by Toyota, with representative judges from DigiPen Institute of Technology, Nintendo Software Technologies, Mobliss, and Saatchi & Saatchi LA, based on originality, entertainment value, integration of the Yaris, and how well it held players' interest. Ten games were developed between April 21 and July 21, 2006. Thomas Johnson picked up the $5,000 third place prize for Traffic Trouble, created by Johnson and his partner Greg Raab. Michael Wyrzykowski placed second with his creation Capture A Yaris and won $10,000. Yaris Express, a driving game, integrated all the attributes the judges were seeking and took the grand prize. In Yaris Express, players navigate the Yaris through city streets while racing against the clock to pick-up and drop-off passengers. Along the way, players can receive help by collecting "Yaris characters" from the Yaris advertising campaign which either boosts scores or aids in dropping off passengers. Yaris Express will be available for download at Toyota's website this fall.