Joystiq

Game developers are used to tight deadlines and pressure-packed schedules. Even so, Microsoft's XNA Challenge at this year's Game Developers Conference pushes the idea of quick turnaround to a ridiculous extreme. Four "teams" (two of them are single people) have been thrown into GDC's crowded, noisy Moscone Center North lobby and given four days to put together a game from scratch using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express.

While the entries will be judged and a winner will be named on Friday, the six competitors seemed more concerned with learning from each other than showing off their l33t programming skillz. Each participant we talked to was more than willing to talk about how impressed they were with their efforts of their adversaries, and the teams apparently commiserate about the lessons they've learned during breaks.

Despite the common development environment, the four games being developed for the contest couldn't be more dissimilar. There's an overhead shooter, a collection-based platformer, a speech-controlled alien abduction simulator and a two-player, first-person, 3D dungeon crawl. We'll be taking a closer look at their efforts in future posts, but for now, enjoy the intensity of the above-pictured competitor Andree Furtado and be glad that you're not under such a tight deadline (and if you are, stop reading this and get back to work).