ETC Defeats USC in Online Videogame Challenge

ETC gamers defeated their USC counterparts in a competition on Friday, Feb. 4.

Students from Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) defeated colleagues and peers from the University of Southern California (USC) in the first-ever friendly online game challenge between the two schools. The big event, which took place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, featured five different kinds of games that assured a breadth of player types and talents would be represented.

The cross-section of games included a word game (Literati), a driving game (Burnout 3), a strategy game (Carcassone), a puzzle game (Set) and a shooting game (Halo 2).

Competition consisted of: Literati (best of 5 games); Halo 2 (best of 3 games); Carcassonne (best of 3 games); Burnout 3 (best of 9 races); and Set (one game only). Each of the five games was worth one victory point while the overall winner was the university with the most victory points at the end of the competition.

The ETC team cemented its victory after two rounds, thumping USC in Cacassonne, Burnout 3, and Literati. With another success in Round 3, the ETC won the competition 4-1.

The brainchild of USC, the videogame competition generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm within both universities. The ETC plans to return the invitation to USC for a second round of what will undoubtedly become an annual competition between the two programs. For more information, including a list of game specifications, visit www.etc.cmu.edu.

The final results were as follows.

Round 1

Carcassonne
  Carnegie Mellon 2*
  USC 0

Burnout 3
  Carnegie Mellon 5*
  USC 3

Round 2

Halo 2
  Carnegie Mellon 0
  USC 2*

Literati
  Carnegie Mellon 2*
  USC 0

Round 3 (Carnegie Mellon had already won at this point)

Set
  Carnegie Mellon 1*
  USC 0

Final Score

  Carnegie Mellon 4**
  USC 1