Student co-creates computer game

Shortly before joining the class of 2016, Timm Andrews was busy releasing a computer game in collaboration with a friend, Joseph Cifala.

Tita Gasman stars an eponymous superhero fighting to defend his planet, Titan, from the threat of an evil alien army.

“It’s a traditional style of game, but it is unique with the amount of effort put into plot, poetry, and character development,” Andrews said.

Andrews first discovered the game design field in elementary school, when he was drawing his own comic books and began playing a lot of video games.

Andrews was responsible for the in-game music as well as cut scenes — scenes which briefly render the players powerless and enhance the plot — while Cifala did the main coding, design, spiriting, and final script.

The game is free, but Andrews said the option exists to support it by donation. There is intention to provide inexpensive merchandise to show support for the game.

Cifala and Andrews have plans for a Tita Gasman sequel, and Andrews said he also plans to create a game starring his own comic superhero and his adventures on Titan, the fictional world Cifala created.

— Styna Tao

Queen’s teams excel at Run for the Cure

Sixteen Queen’s teams raised over $102,000 for the Run for the Cure post-secondary challenge.

Leading in money raised was K. Lo’s Krew who raised over $41,000 — far surpassing their original $5,000 goal. The team was created to support Karen Logan, who worked at Queen’s Advancement, after she was diagnosed with cancer last April.

K. Lo’s Krew was formally launched last June and co-captains, Jodi Snowdon and Kim Wilkinson kept the campaign’s momentum moving over the summer by planning monthly events such as lemonade, shoe-decorating and tutu making parties. They also provided training and support for team members who were new to running.

They attribute their success to being the team with the “most heart.” The team quickly swelled from a small group within Queen’s Advancement to its eventual size of 142 people.

“She never imagined, nor did we, that it would get so big. I mean, I think that we had a lot of fun, even though it was a sad story,” Wilkinson said.

On the day of the race Logan’s nine-year-old son was made a honorary co-captain and her husband ran the 5 km race. Karen Logan was given VIP status and was driven along the racecourse in a convertible, visiting her supporters. The second biggest fundraiser, Queen’s Rugby raised $34,000. These teams were the biggest post-secondary fundraising teams in Canada.

— Shannon Hill