NAU wins AZ Game Cup
A team of five students from the Immersive Media and Games (IMG) program took first place at the inaugural AZ Game Cup, a statewide game-development competition sponsored by Unity and hosted at Arizona State University.
Led by team captain Jake Preston, the group—made up of students Zach, Devin, Sage, and Bex—earned top honors for their fast-paced, theme-driven game created entirely within a two-day, high-pressure game jam environment. The win marks a major achievement not only for the students but also for NAU’s new IMG program, which launched in 2023 and is already making its mark in Arizona’s rapidly expanding digital-media ecosystem.
Creativity, grit, and collaboration
For Preston, a fourth-year IMG major who transferred to NAU to pursue both track and game design, the AZ Game Cup offered the exact kind of industry-aligned experience he had been craving.
“Everyone in the industry emphasizes how important it is to make things,” Preston said. “NAU’s program is new, and the faculty are incredibly passionate about helping us build real portfolios. When I heard about the competition, it felt like the perfect opportunity to push myself and create something I could show to Unity and other developers.”
The competition brought together student teams from across the state for 48 hours of uninterrupted development. Each team received the same asset pack, meaning they were required to use the same premade set of characters, objects, and environments. Preston’s team had to think inventively to turn those constraints into something original.
“It forced us to be creative,” he said. “We couldn’t make our own art, so we had to figure out how to use what we were given in new ways. That challenge ended up being one of the most fun parts.”
Students worked in a dedicated classroom space with on-site mentors—professional game developers who volunteered to guide teams through design problems, production challenges, and career questions. According to Preston, this mentorship ended up being one of the most valuable aspects of the entire event.
“We got to meet people actually working in the field,” he explained. “One of the mentors even met with me after the competition to talk more about careers in game development. That kind of access is huge.”
Teamwork for the win
While Preston served as team lead and delivered the group’s winning pitch, he emphasized that success came from an environment of deep trust and shared creativity.
“Nobody had an ego,” he said. “Every idea was open for discussion. We’d take a concept, talk it through, and make it better together. That collaboration made the whole experience smoother, especially when things got hectic.”
The most stressful moment came near the end of day two, when the team hit a series of technical issues while merging scenes and finalizing gameplay elements. Preston spent the final hours troubleshooting bugs and stabilizing the build, while teammates continued polishing other components.
“It was definitely stressful, but we worked through it,” he said. “Even when we had to cut features, everyone stayed positive.”
When the judges began testing the game, the team knew they had created something special.
“All the judges kept playing past their scheduled time,” Preston said. “They didn’t want to stop—which is always a good sign.”
A transformative weekend for NAU
NAU faculty advisors who attended the event noted the professionalism, energy, and resilience of the team. They also saw how the competition validated the university’s investment in the Immersive Media and Games program.
Professor Eck Doerry shared his immense pride in the team: “Watching the award ceremony was a really cool moment—we were absolutely the dark horse. We’re a new program, just getting started, and I had hoped for a respectable third place. When another team took third, I assumed we had just missed the podium. Then they announced NAU as the winner. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Our students won on creativity, which is the most important jewel in this crown. You can always add polish to a game, but the creative concept is what ultimately sells it—and that’s the rarest skill to teach. This was truly a victory of brain over brawn.”
A Big Win for a New Program
The victory is especially meaningful given that NAU’s Immersive Media and Games program is still building momentum. Faculty members Ashish Amresh and Jared Duval, who helped prepare the students and supported their travel, have been working to create a curriculum and culture grounded in hands-on learning and real industry engagement.
Duval shared, “Our students won because they embodied two fundamentals we teach in IMG: scoping and ludonarrative harmony. They created a concept where every element—sound, art, mechanics, story, even their presentation—worked together as a polished, cohesive experience. It’s not about doing the most; it’s about doing the right things well. Mark my words, Arizona is the next powerhouse of the game industry, and we’re excited to collaborate with every institution that participated.”
Looking ahead
According to Dr. Ashish Amresh, associate professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS), the event demonstrated both statewide momentum and the strength of NAU’s emerging talent. “It was amazing to see the camaraderie between all the five universities and their teams at the first-ever AZ GAME CUP,” he shared. “While NAU’s team was crowned champions, the real winner is the state of Arizona. In a very short time we have one of the best growth stories in offering gaming programs, and we are now the only state in the U.S. with an official statewide competition.”
For the team, the AZ Game Cup served not only as a competition but as a launch point—opening doors to connections, experience, and career clarity.
“It was a really great opportunity to experience what real game-industry pressure feels like,” Preston said. “I’m really grateful I got to go. And I think it’s just the beginning for what NAU students can accomplish.”