Epic is accepting game pitches until 2nd November that cleverly play on the theme of Mendelian inheritance, which spans concepts such as variation, mutation and other behaviours of the human genome. Teams making it through to shortlist rounds will use Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3 (UE3), to create new PC games based on their pitches, with the ultimate goal of winning a commercial Unreal Engine 4 licence for PC digital distribution.

Culminating at the Gadget Show Live exhibition in April 2013, MSUL will provide a platform for aspiring game developers to showcase their talents and skills. At the consumer event, four finalist teams will rapidly iterate on their games and capture the imaginations of MSUL judges and the public by presenting new developments live on the show floor twice daily.

“MSUL is a fantastic way of discovering the brightest minds and the best ideas in the student development community. The competition enables tomorrow’s stars to gain experience in every aspect of game development, from generating original ideas through to the pitch process, right up to a vertical slice of the gameplay experience,” commented Mike Gamble, European Territory Manager at Epic Games.

This year’s competition is supported by the Wellcome Trust and through its involvement the theme of the competition this year is “Mendelian inheritance: genetics and genomics.” The Trust will provide the teams with resources throughout the competition, as well as access to scientists and facilities.

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust's breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.

Dr. Daniel Glaser, Head of Special Projects at the Wellcome Trust, said, “We’re delighted to be involved with Make Something Unreal Live, and to support and inspire a new generation of games developers. The Wellcome Trust is committed to using games and gaming culture as a means of engaging people with science, working to network the talent and knowledge of scientists and developers and offering a range of funding schemes.”

MSUL 2013 is also supported by Staffordshire University, Epic’s educational partner for the program, and UKIE, the games industry trade association. New prizes in addition to the UE4 commercial licence will be announced.