{"id":11215,"date":"2025-05-28T11:40:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=11215"},"modified":"2025-06-02T10:59:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:59:43","slug":"southern-arkansas-university-students-launch-blights-grasp-on-steam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/southern-arkansas-university-students-launch-blights-grasp-on-steam\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Arkansas University students launch Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-11217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"361\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 100vw, 361px\" \/>Southern Arkansas University\u2019s Game Development program proudly announces the official release of <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em>, an immersive student-developed action game now available on Steam.<\/p>\n<p>Play <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em> on Steam: <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3470150\/Blights_Grasp\/\">https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3470150\/Blights_Grasp\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Created as part of SAU\u2019s game development senior project, <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em> represents the culmination of a year-long collaborative effort by Chrono Clash, a talented team of multidisciplinary students. The game drops players into a fast-paced, alien world where they must battle corrupted creatures, master elemental abilities, and unravel the mystery behind a planet in decay \u2014 all while on a desperate quest to find the protagonist\u2019s missing sister.<\/p>\n<p>With its combination of strategic combat, striking visuals, and engaging narrative, <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em> highlights the innovation and talent of SAU\u2019s aspiring game developers.<\/p>\n<p>Meet the Team Behind <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Liam York \u2013 Design Lead, Programmer, Character Movement<\/li>\n<li>Aiden Thacker \u2013 Programming Lead, Enemy AI<\/li>\n<li>Xander Baumgardner \u2013 Art Lead, Animator, Concept Artist<\/li>\n<li>Christian Wiggins \u2013 VFX Developer, Shaders, Collectibles<\/li>\n<li>Emmanual Robinson \u2013 UI Engineer, Audio Programmer<\/li>\n<li>Xander Adams \u2013 Player Combat Programmer, Spell System, Animation Implementation<\/li>\n<li>P.J. Ferguson \u2013 Modeler<\/li>\n<li>Zyon McGhee \u2013 Environment Artist, Modeler<\/li>\n<li>Lakota Guidinger \u2013 Technical Artist, Modeling, Rigging<\/li>\n<li>Alex Avant \u2013 Environmental Modeling, Character Artist, Textures<\/li>\n<li>Tori Burton \u2013 UI Design &amp; Layout, Artist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The team worked under the mentorship of Eric Rogers, instructor of computer science, and Sam Wakefield, instructor of art, who provided guidance and expertise throughout the development process.<\/p>\n<p>SAU invites the community and gaming enthusiasts everywhere to support these rising developers by playing, reviewing, and sharing <em>Blight\u2019s Grasp<\/em>. Whether you&#8217;re drawn to thrilling combat or rich, atmospheric storytelling, this game offers a compelling experience from start to finish.<\/p>\n<p>About SAU:<\/p>\n<p>SAU, located in Magnolia, Arkansas, provides students with a complete college experience in a caring environment of service, innovation, and community. With more than 100 degrees in four distinct colleges and the School of Graduate Studies, SAU initiates new degree programs to fit the needs of career and professional trends of today. As part of this commitment, SAU proudly offers the Next Step Guarantee program, ensuring that students receive the necessary resources, career guidance, and support to transition successfully from college to their chosen careers or graduate studies. To learn more about SAU, visit www.saumag.edu.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southern Arkansas University\u2019s Game Development program proudly announces the official release of Blight\u2019s Grasp, an immersive student-developed action game now available on Steam. Play Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam: https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3470150\/Blights_Grasp\/ Created as part of SAU\u2019s game development senior project, Blight\u2019s Grasp represents the culmination of a year-long collaborative effort by Chrono Clash, a talented team of&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/southern-arkansas-university-students-launch-blights-grasp-on-steam\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[271,309,207,308,68219,7753,7758],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-academics","category-art-and-design","category-college-of-liberal-performing-arts","category-college-of-science-and-technology","category-gaming","category-homepage","category-math-and-computer-science","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11215"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11249,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215\/revisions\/11249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}