Game Programming Laboratory 2025
🌺 This year's Game Programming Laboratory showcased 17 incredible games created by our students. The theme this year was the mythical island of "Koh Gamui". The teams have been split into three factions: Town, Mountain, and Beach — each with their own unique glimpse into island life
Jury Award Winners
We were once again joined by the fantastic Studio Gobo who awarded the Jury Award. After playtesting all 17 games, the expert game developers chose their winner for the jury award. Here are the winners of the Jury Award:
🥇 Race or Roast
🥈 Soul's Rift
🥉 Vulcard
Audience Award Winners
After the presentations of all games, the audience in the room and the viewers of the YouTube livestream got to choose their favorite game. Here are the winners of the Audience Award:
🥇 Vulcard
🥈 Race or Roast
🥉 Gold Rush
Harbor Heist
Jens Brunner, Alexander Frey, Gilles Vogt, Tobias Boschung, Mario San-Bento Furtado, and Soroush Jahanzad
You are a member of an infamous pirate crew and you have heard rumours of great treasure near the island of Koh Gamui. Unfortunately, another crew has also caught wind of this and you are now in a race to get there first. However, no self-respecting pirate crew would sail off to bounty before doing a supply run. You decide to make a stop at Koh Gamui to steal the essential supplies, but your rival crew also just arrived there. Whoever finishes the supply run first is likely to be able to claim the treasure, so make haste!
Fatal Ovation
Albert Sandru, Edoardo Negri, Sebastian Baur Lermer, Daniel Woortmann, Mats Gehrke, and Berndt Uhlig
Fatal Ovation is a 2-4 player battle royale party game. You're jesters and have just finished your performance, but the audience does not seem impressed. The angry mob is slowly closing in and they are throwing a variety of things at you. Some projectiles are harmful while others might provide useful power-ups and protection. Dodge, catch, and throw the incoming projectiles of various kinds onto your fellow jesters and be the last man standing. Even if you fall, you can still become part of the mob and take revenge upon your former comrades. Make sure this is not your last performance!
Banana Battle
Ouyu Xu, Junzhe Tai, Xinyuan Li, Yuxuan Liu, Cedric Girardin, and Muyang Du
Chaos erupts in Banana Town as rival monkey tribes clash for banana bragging rights!
Sword in hand, monkeys dash through the streets, collecting and using power-ups and quick swings to knock bananas from their banana bundles.
Use your tricks to outmaneuver rivals. Gather the bananas, drop them in your basket, and rule the town. The boldest primate wins!
Tropical Turbo
Michael Mörschell, Fabian Schaich, Louis Schnyder, Livio D'Agostini, Olivier Mattmann, and Bibin Muttappillil
Tropical Turbo is a 3D racing game set on the tropical island of Koh Gamui.
Welcome! Tourism is high this summer, and the local Tuktuk driver has their hands full
transporting goods across the island. That's where You come in - help our driver
to race the Tuktuk and deliver the items as quickly as possible.
While You are at it, enjoy the colorful scenery of the island,
and don't forget to use the grappling hook to take corners faster!
Hose Masters
Alexandre Elsig, Vennilah Jeyalingam, Aaron Zuercher, Peter Jolles, Thomas Lackner, and Yannik Collenberg
A skyscraper is on fire, and the rest of Kho Gamui City could be next! Only Hip and Hop, 2 determined rodents, have a chance of saving the day.
Hose Masters is 2 player 2D platformer where players can use the hose and its water spray to swing around levels and extinguish fires. Can you work together under pressure, put out raging fires, dodge deadly traps, and climb to the top - all while being tied together by a hose? Will you rise as true Hose Masters, or will you drag each other down? Grab a friend and find out!
Get Kraken'!
Marc Andriu Carigiet, Alexandra Trofimova, Leon Othenin-Girard, Lukas Doerig, and Suada Mirgadirova
Squids are being hunted across the seas, and some of them are even being locked up in waterpark aquariums! In Get Kraken', two players can join forces as the young squid Cephy and the sea goddess Oceania to save the seas and fight for freedom. To do so, you'll have to use all the tools at your disposal: Cephy can rush and attack the ships around him, while Oceania can control the flow of battle by cleverly placing walls and traps.
It's time to save your squid friends. It's time to fight for the seven seas. It's time... to Get Kraken'!
Hold at Bay 2
Fabian Blatter, Jonas Maier, Albert Cerfeda, Karlo Piskor, and Jan Stauffer
Hold at Bay 2 is a chaotic tower defense game set on the tropical island of Koh Gamui, where you play as Andy Average, an unlikely hero stranded and under siege. Face off against bizarre enemies like explosive turtles, aggressive crabs, battle-hardened seahorses, and sponges with attitude. Defend your position by constructing walls and deploying deadly turrets, flamethrowers, machine guns, rocket launchers, and more. With each passing day, the island grows more hostile. Can Andy survive the madness and hold the line, or will the island's weird wildlife overrun him? Gear up, dig in, and Hold at Bay!
Crabageddon
Kai Wen Li, Justin Rohrer, Nils Egger, Nina Richter, and Tiziano Rutsch
Survive the Naga attack! Collect artifacts! Defend your tower!
Survive the harsh realm of Naga's underwater world. Your task sounds simple, survive and defend your life giving tower. Unforgiving as the underwater world is, you must carefully manage your time. Wander off to search for ancient artifacts or stay close to protect your tower? Be aware, Naga's loyal followers are searching for the same power blessed artifacts. Be too idle and you may just get overrun, too explorative and your tower falls, but with the right balance your powers could defeat the Naga and free the underwater world!
Cod of Duty
Mauro Vogel, Kevin Thommen, David Maerki, Rahul Kaundal, Anastasiya Merkushova, and Cedric Tschechtelin
Four salty sea legends. One island. And a barrel of weaponized fish.
Cod of Duty is a chaotic party brawler where 2–4 players slap, smack, and throw fish at each other across a hex-tiled, beach-themed battlefield. Fight to stay dry as the tides rise 🌊, and explosive volcano zones shake things up 🌋.
Whether you're a pirate, viking, fisherman, or diver, only one can rule the waves—and it’s gonna take a whole lot of fish-flinging madness to prove it.
With physics-based knockback, procedurally generated maps, and the most satisfying slap system this side of the ocean, Cod of Duty delivers absurdly fun, fin-tastic combat every round.
🐠 Slap hard. Throw harder. Stay out of the sea.
Flowbound
Jieni Lin, Xiaofei Wu, Jasmin Koller, Sofie Kamber, and Alessio Brazerol
Embark on a charming puzzle adventure atop Taomi, a giant turtle carrying a lush island on her vast shell. Join Menny, a cautious hedgehog afraid of water, as he bravely ventures out to find his adventurous cousin, who vanished exploring Turtle Island. Menny courageously explores this cozy, mysterious paradise filled with captivating puzzles. Control Menny directly and maneuver Taomi to shift water levels and harness currents to rearrange puzzle elements. With delightful visuals and clever challenges, this heartwarming journey invites you to slow down, think creatively, and enjoy an unforgettable ride.
Thalassia
Jakob Johannes Bauer, Kevin Barbieri, Piotr Cichon, Elitsa Popova, Edouard Waked
Thalassia is a single player, 2D action-adventure game played with a keyboard and mouse, set in the oceanic realm.
The player takes the role of a young explorer, that washes up on the shores of a mysterious island.
Challenged by various creatures and complicated crafting recipes, the player must gather resources, craft weapons and armor, and face the daunting task of freeing the world from Naga's curse, the ancient sea-monster.
Newly unlocked recipes unlock the exploration of different islands, but be quick, because the rising sea levels are washing away helpful land!
But rumours are, Naga might not be the culprit after all...
Race or Roast
Danny Camenisch, Marlene Boetschi, Eva Werninger, Samira Buschor, Yael Fassbind, and Rubén Aciego
🥇Jury Award Winner
🥈2nd place for Audience Award
In this fast-paced game, you have one goal: outrun your friends to win… ehm, survive. You and your friends were ignorant tourists who enraged the gods of the mountain — now the volcano is erupting, and you have to race for your life. Dash through jungle trails, leap over cliffs, and stay ahead of the lava chasing you. Fall behind, and you’re roasted.
Lost a round? Accept the gods' pity and choose a wild game twist for the next run. Maybe it’ll flip the tables. Maybe it’ll just cause chaos.
Only the fastest survive. So what’s it gonna be — Race or Roast?
Vulcard
Talin Herold, Fabio Rentsch, Luca Schafroth, Nicolas Steck, Tim Unternährer, and Laura Zeller
🥇 Audience Award Winner
🥉 3rd place for Jury Award
Vulcard, the god of the volcano, is angry. As the two strongest warriors, your mission is to ascend the volcano and follow the tradition to bring an offering to the god himself. In this two-player, time-based, roguelike deckbuilder, you have to collaborate to survive! Communication is key, but you need to be fast because enemies don't wait for you to end your turn. Devise unique strategies, meet curious creatures and battle your way to the top of the volcano! With an epic soundtrack, engaging mechanics and unique visuals, this game will be sure to draw you in!
Rift
Madeleine Sandri, Yanik Kuenzi, Samuel Gomes Lopes, Bruce Balfour, Aimen Dokhane, and Leroy Borgeaud dit Avocat
In this fast-paced 2v2 multiplayer game, teams race to collect resources, craft powerful magical orbs, and sacrifice them to summon a mighty god.
Strategy and teamwork are key as you outmaneuver your opponents, using bombs to disrupt their progress and unleash a variety of chaotic effects to tilt the battlefield in your favor.
Every match is packed with frantic action, clever plays, and magical mayhem.
Whether you're helping your partner gather items or scheming to sabotage the enemy, each round offers a unique and thrilling experience.
Summon your god first to claim victory and eternal bragging rights!
Slap the Moss!
Alexandre Iskandar, Matej Martincek, Nicholas Sommer, Philipp Niksch, Thrisha Ramesh, and Jakub Parada
Slap the Moss is a 2D platformer where you play as Pierre, a nimble jungle warrior-bird fighting to save a dying forest. Your enemy? Big Moss — a corrupted ancient golem spreading decay with every step. Armed with quick reflexes and a magical ability to draw temporary cloud platforms mid-air, you must dodge lightning, weave through falling boulders, and outmaneuver the towering boss. This isn’t a brute-force brawler — it’s a tactical dance of evasion, positioning, and precise platform placement. With snappy movement, a lighthearted tone, and high-stakes action, Slap the Moss is a boss fight you’ll have to think your way through.
Gold Rush
Marc Matter, Timon Herzog, Patricia Firlejczyk, Besche Awdir, Mak Fazlic, and Hamza Zarah
🥉 3rd place for Audience Award
Imagine discovering an ancient artifact that grants you one single wish - what would your wish be? Embark on a thrilling journey with Muddy Moe into the mysterious depths of Koh Gamui Mountain! Explore procedurally generated mines overflowing with hidden treasures, navigating tunnels with ziplines and trampolines - or blasting your path clear with TNT. But beware: oxygen is scarce, and suffocation lurks around every corner! Packed with humorous sound effects, stunning visuals, and constant surprises, Gold Rush delivers intense action and endless excitement. Are you ready? Mine gold, move fast and retrieve the artifact to fulfill your greatest wish!
Soul's Rift
Rui Chen Di, Philipp Gerstner, Chang-Yon Ahn, Jan-Philipp Kirsch, Severin Richner, Defne Soganci
🥈 2nd place for Jury Award
Embrace the Rift between realms in this unique 2D Platformer!
In 'Soul's Rift', you play as a monk cursed in his quest for infinite knowledge. His soul, shattered across dimensions, now drifts through the realms of Fire, Ice, and the Mortal world. Master the art of dimension-shifting to reshape your surroundings, uncover hidden paths, and overcome challenging obstacles. Each dimension reveals new platforming possibilities and dangers, requiring sharp reflexes and strategic thinking. As you gather fragments of the monks' lost soul, delve into a story of self-discovery, balance, and redemption. Will you reunite all soul fragments and uncover the truths that lie beyond knowledge—or be lost forever between worlds?
Step into the rift and find your answer beyond souls!