In its first year, “Avatar Trials: Ninja Uprising” surpassed 60,000 downloads and 10,000 units sold. The game broke into the top 250 games of all time in the Xbox Indie market — making it one of the most successful Xbox games to ever come out of the EAE program. While these achievements would be impressive for any experienced game designers, the students behind “Avatar Trials” were all undergraduates. “We were all really surprised to see the game do so well,” said Ross Marabella, a senior in the EAE program and team lead for “Avatar Trials.” To be competitive in the industry, Marabella knew it would take more than just great art and programming skills. “I put a lot of work into marketing, social media and search engine optimization to get the word out about the game,” he said.
