Video Game

Video Game Students Win Big with ‘Hazardous Hardware’ at LEVEL UP Showcase

Published on April 21st, 2025. Last updated April 21st, 2025.

Level Up Awards

Toronto Film School Video Game students made a strong showing at the recent LEVEL UP Showcase – walking away from Ontario’s premier event for emerging game development talent with three award wins!

The 3rd annual showcase, which was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in downtown Toronto, welcomed over 4,000 attendees on April 12, providing a valuable platform for participants to gain industry exposure, share their innovative work in a public exhibition, and compete for prestigious best-in-show awards.

The showcase attracted a diverse range of attendees, including notable figures from leading companies Zynga, Jali, ACTRA, Ontario Creates, Rockstar Games, Epic Unreal, and XP Gaming, among others.

Level Up

In total, 157 games were on display at the showcase – all of them created by 1,000 students from 24 universities and colleges across Ontario, including the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, Brock University, York University, Sheridan College, and OCAD. Among them were four outstanding TFS capstone projects created by Video Game Design & Animation and Video Game Design & Development students: End of Eros, Hazardous Hardware, Dysto2pia, and Alice in the Public Domain.

Over the course of the LEVEL UP Showcase event, a panel of expert judges handed out awards to participating student games, recognizing excellence across 10 categories including Best Game, Best Artistic, Best Technical, People’s Choice Award, Best Use of DEI, Best Sound.

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TFS’s students took home a trio of notable wins:

  • Best Artistic: Video Game Design & Animation grad Austin Check and his Hazardous Hardware team won 1st place in the Best Artistic category, standing out amongst entries from 23 other schools!
  • Best Technical: TFS’s Hazardous Hardware team also earned 2nd place in the Best Technical category.
  • Best Sound: Video Game Design & Animation grad Nicholas Angle and his Dysto2pia team received an Honorable Mention for Best Sound.

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Toronto Film School congratulates all participating students and award winners for their hard work, dedication, and contributions to the LEVEL UP Showcase. Their success underscores the vibrant talent nurtured within the Video Game Design & Animation and Video Game Design & Development programs.

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Cynthia Reason

Cynthia Reason (she/her) is a former newspaper journalist turned communications professional who currently works as Toronto Film School’s Manager of Communications. Prior to joining TFS, she spent 13 years working as a reporter for Torstar/Metroland Media Toronto, writing for publications including Toronto.com, the Etobicoke Guardian, and the Toronto Star, among others. Her byline has also appeared in the National Post. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Guelph and Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Humber College.

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