Gamertell

Nick Bently, a PHD candidate in computational neuroscience at Wake Forest University, has just become the second American to ever be selected as a finalist in the thirty-year history of the Boulogne-Billancourt game design competition. Bently’s winning design, Mind Ninja, has been described as a Hex-inspired competitive title in which one player attempts to build a bridge across the game board as the other tries to block them.

Bently will collect his 750 euro prize at a ceremony in France on November 24th. The other two 2007 winners are Laurent Escoffier of France and Xavier Georges of Belgium. The three designers beat out a field of 169 submitted entries (which was later whittled down to 13, and finally 3).

Bently described his study of neuroscience as one of his greatest inspirations in creating the game, and online play of Mind Ninja will soon be available on the game’s website.

It’s always fun to see what happens when creative drive and cutting-edge technology combine. Bently seems to be happy blending the scientific with the artistic – and he even performs improv comedy in his spare time. Congratulations, and good show.

Site [Mind Ninja] Read [Biz. Yahoo]