Video Game Technology Newsletter A Power Game Day! · Game Number 2 Tech Video Game Technology...
Transcript of Video Game Technology Newsletter A Power Game Day! · Game Number 2 Tech Video Game Technology...
New England Institute of Technology Fall 2013
Number 2
GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter
A Super Charged Power Game Day!
October 24th was a day to remember! A record breaking
number of students heard from industry leaders and had
the opportunity to experience cutting edge technology
first hand at New England Institute of Technology.
This year’s event started off with some background
information about Modeling and Simulation (M&S) in
preparation for several of the guest speakers from that
industry. M&S, with primarily an audience of military
training, truly represents a doubling of the potential
employment opportunity marketplace for NEIT VGDD
graduates.
Sonalyst Studios
Bob Kurzawa, Vice President at Sonalyst Studios in
Connecticut, led off the parade of speakers, describing
Sonalyst’s role in the M&S industry from gaming to
underwater sonar technology. Sonalyst’s expansion into
the video and audio world of entertainment was also
explored. In his talk, Kurzawa, a retired Naval Officer,
described his life journey, offering students advice
gleaned from his real life experiences. In an open, frank
discussion, his message was to always do your best,
always be learning and go enthusiastically where life
leads you.
Last Quarter, Sonalyst hosted an intern from the NEIT
VGDD Department. A successful relationship developed
and the intern was hired for a full‐time position.
The afternoon Game Expo brought students
virtually “into the game.”
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Chrysler Academy/NEIT
Joining Instructor Jay Aguiar were Kristin Bowler and Alok
Mishra from the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, Michigan
to announce a new industry/VGDD relationship. Ms.
Bowler explained how gamification is used by Chrysler for
training its employees across the country. Over the next
few months Chrysler will be working with the Faculty and
the Administration to develop meaningful activities and
learning scenarios for our students. This is hopefully the
start of a long term relationship that will prepare stu‐
dents for real world positions..
Microsoft
Michael Cummings, Microsoft Evangelist, visited us from
the Cambridge offices of Microsoft. He presented a
survey of the various software offerings Microsoft has
developed relating to the video game industry. The talk
covered new tools to help streamline development. At
the conclusion of the talk, Cummings conducted an ex‐
tended Q & A session addressing topics ranging from Vis‐
ual Studio to XNA. In the afternoon expo, Michael hosted
a Microsoft booth where he was able to speak at length
to students, answering their questions and discussing
ideas. The VGDD faculty looks forward to working with
Michael toward optimizing the integration of Microsoft’s
latest developments into the curriculum.
What’s the difference between VGDD, GDS & VGD?
In case you are confused, VGDD stands for “Video Game
Development and Design,” the technology degree program
here at NEIT. Within the VGDD technology, students can
earn degrees with either a GDS (Game Development and
Simulation) emphasis on programming or a VGD (Video
Game Design) emphasis on design. Simple, right?
Power Game Day 2013!
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Defective Studios
Returning to Power Game Day, Jono Forbes led his team
in updating students on the developments of their game,
Gimbal Cop. Perhaps the coolest development is the inte‐
gration of the Oculus Rift into the game play. The team
showed some of the process of working with the stereo
vision set up within Unity, the game software used for
their development. Their presentation included valuable
tips and insights they have acquired through their experi‐
ence.
In the afternoon Game Expo, Defective Studios let stu‐
dents try their Oculus Rift head sets first hand. Currently,
the hardware is only available to software developers.
Students expressed their thoughts on the experience to
Defective which, according to them, was the best
meaningful feedback they have had to date. Great for
their development process.
Disco Pixel
Industry veteran, Trevor Stricker, from Disco Pixel
presented a talk on breaking into the video game
industry. Students listened intently to the insights Trevor
shared about the realities of entry level positions for
both designers and programmers. Learning about the
interviewing process, the types of entry level positions
and the traits of potential candidates for those positions
were invaluable to the future graduates in the audience.
After fifteen years working at major game companies,
Trevor has started a new venture, creating Disco Pixel
with some fellow industry vets. Jungle Rumble is the title
of their first effort with more to come soon.
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GiGuy ‐ Boston Dynamics
Wrapping up the speaker parade was Alex Broadbent
from Boston Dynamics. Alex showcased the company’s
M&S game “DiGuy.” Utilizing their optimized engine,
DiGuy is capable of creating large numbers of animated
characters using AI in complex crowd formations. The
program can create unique models with an array of tex‐
tures , managing them all in an active window of play.
The game also has path creation that allows the designer
to customize a character’s animation path. Recently the
company developed the program to interface with Unity
3d, an important step for wider distribution.
Alex also showed Boston Dynamics’ developments in the
field of robotics. Initially, their robots are designed on the
computer with sophisticated simulations, run for calculat‐
ing the robot’s reactions to physics, inertia, etc. Once the
robot virtual issues are resolved, they manufacture the
live robot. The process is a successful example of the im‐
portance of utilizing modeling & simulation to do cost
effective development.
Boston Dynamics was very impressed with the VGDD
program here at NEIT and has proposed we explore a
formal relationship to benefit students in the creation of
creative solutions to video game development.
Global Game Jam 2014! 48‐Hours of Making Games! NEIT has once again been approved as an official GGJ site for January 24‐26. The event is open to all over 18 years
of age. Time to bring in your friends to show off your game making talents!
Please register on both the GGJ site and the NEIT site and to find more information.
To register on the GJ site, go to www.GlobalGameJam.org , login/create login and then find us in “Locations.”
Then click on the “Join this Site” button.
Also, please Register at NEIT’s site: http://globalgamejam.neit.edu/GlobalGameJam.htm
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Power Game Day Game Expo! New to Power game Day, the Game Expo allowed
vendors to speak one‐on‐one with students and faculty.
The afternoon event featured high tech products like the
Virtusphere, oculus Rift and the latest Cintiq line‐up from
Wacom. Several student teams also exhibited their
games.
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Power Game Day Game Expo!
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Power Game Day Game Expo! Demos in both the Game Expo areas (S330 and S249) were packed to the wall with students eager to try the products. Special thanks to Virtusphere for bringing their product from Ney York.