Students Emerson Schaffer and Scott Fries Win Top Awards at 2015 Neumont University's Capstone Project Invitational

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Neumont University, an accredited university offering bachelor of science degrees in three years, announces Emerson Schaffer and Scott Fries as the winners of the university's second bi-annual Capstone Project Invitational.

Emerson Schaffer (Spokane, WA) took home the Alumni Choice Award for his project "Fracture." Frustrated with the "canned" destructions in today's games, Schaffer wanted to bring a more realistic approach to objects being destroyed. He created Fracture – an algorithm that allows for any convex shape to be broken apart without modification to the shapes' underlying data—to give objects a unique destruction during game play.

The Industry Award went to Scott Fries (Clarksville, TN) who created "The Balance Engine – Android." Pulling inspiration from the untapped Android market, Fries' game engine allows developers to more easily create games for Android mobile devices.

Aaron Reed, chief operating and academic officer, explained Neumont University's Capstone experience "is a senior project on steroids." The two winners were chosen from the final five finalists from more than 40 projects.

Additional finalists included:

• FuzzBuzz by Wayne Maree (Smallwood, NY): This 3D maze/puzzle game was created with JavaScript and requires two objects (light and a character) to work in harmony to complete levels.
• Project Liveware by Mark Journigan (Toole, UT): Project Liveware is a tool for system administrators to install multiple operating systems to several computers at once.
• Controlled Assault by Ryan Garcia (Modesto, CA): Controlled Assault is a real-time strategy game where two teams battle each other.

"It's a busy time of year for everyone, which makes the caliber of these projects even more impressive," said Reed. "Our students still have an additional week before finals and to get their projects ready for grading, so to have something showcase-worthy already is that much more impressive."

About Neumont University 
Neumont University was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2003 to fill the growing national demand for industry-ready technology professionals by offering an accredited bachelor's degree in three years that immerses students in a rigorous, project-based curriculum. Ninety-seven percent of Neumont University students are employed in the field of computer science within six months of graduation, and the average starting salary for a Neumont graduate is $63,000. More information is available at www.neumont.edu.

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