"Winds of Orbis"an exercise-centered video game developed by a graduate student team at the Entertainment Technology Center is one of 10 finalists in the Student Showcase competition at this year's Independent Games Festival (IGF).

The action-adventure video game combines the Nintendo Wii Remote and Nunchuk with a Dance Pad, enabling players to use their whole bodies as they battle onscreen enemies and avoid virtual obstacles.

The five current team members - producer Garth Deangelis, Zikun Fan, Ryan Hipple, Bard McKinley and Seth Sivak - will be attending the IGF at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco March 23-27, where "Winds" and other IGF finalist games will be exhibited. The ETC team will compete for the overall Best Student Game prize, which includes a trophy and $2,500 cash, to be awarded March 25. Former ETC students Sean Kwon and Nate Morgan are previous members of the "Winds" team.

The 10 finalists were selected from 145 entries from three continents; the University of Southern California, DigiPen Institute of Technology in Seattle and Denmark's National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment are among the other finalists.

The IGF was created in 1998 as a showcase for independent game developers - the game equivalent of the Sundance Film Festival - and includes an prestigious award competition for professional developers.