Austria wins Imagine Cup game competition with Limbo-like platformer

Team Zeppelin Studio from Austria won the Imagine Cup's game competition, which was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, Microsoft announced today.

The team of four students took out the top prize in the game design challenge, winning the grand prize of $50,000 for their game Schein, a puzzle platformer built on the myth of a wisp named Irrlicht. In the game, which has been likened to Limbo and Braid, players manipulate light to help them defeat deadly beasts, solve puzzles and uncover paths.

Team Solite from Indonesia came in second place with their game Save the Hamsters — a game where players have to guide a hamster home by clearing various paths. Team Banzai Lightning from France came in third place with Seed —a 2D side-scrolling game for Windows 8 tablets where players bounce through levels using a hook and jelly.

This year was the first in the Imagine Cup's history that the game design competition didn't have a theme. In 2012, the theme was, "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world's toughest problems." Judging was performed by a panel that consisted of members of the games industry and media. Last year's Imagine Cup game competition was won by The Drexel Dragons — an American team from Drexel University in Philadelphia who took home the top prize with their math learning game MathDash.