A game made by a group of student developers has pwned a collegiate-level competition at the E3 entertainment extravaganza, the ginormous video game trade fair where many big announcements are made regarding upcoming titles. Out of five finalists for the 2013 E3 College Games Competition, the survival-horror entry from a team of about a dozen UW-Stout students tied with another game, “Lost in Thought,” from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The Wisconsin offering, “Flash Frozen,” casts the player as a traveler trapped in a frozen, partially submerged vessel inhabited by an enveloping, living, whispery-evil ice entity. The game play is heavy on isolation, manipulation of the ship’s doohickeys and managing the player’s body temperature (thus the “survival” quality). All this makes it reminiscent of the Penumbra series, though there appears to be no hiding in broom closets to avoid creepy mystical aliens that are the scariest thing you’ve ever seen. At least we hope there won’t be.

The game was developed in the Unity engine, a 3D and 2D studio for game development that can be licensed for a relatively low price. “Flash Frozen” tied for first place out of some 60 entries from around the country.

Trailer below, followed by some interviews with the students who made the game.