The alternate reality game, The Deep Sleep Initiative, won Runner-Up in the Finalist and Audience Choice Award categories by unanimous vote. These categories are voted on by the game finalists in attendance at Indiecade as well as the audience that attends Indiecade throughout the event. Indiecade received 258 entries of independent games and selected 29 finalists from around the world to attend the awards ceremony in Culver City, CA.

Karin Ray and Tracy Brown attended Indiecade representing team ARx and the Deep Sleep Initiative. The conference was keynoted by Will Wright and other noted game developers. Other members of the ETC student pitched project are Nicole Epps, Hee Jun Kim, Brad Michael and Allison Theus.

According to the Karin and Tracy, attending the conference was an amazing experience for their game as well as their recognition in the gaming industry. Attendees asked ARx if they could purchase DSI journals. The team gave numerous press interviews for local media as well as Electric Playground and NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ and networked with other indie game designers from around the globe. Tracy delivered a micro talk lasting 3 minutes where she mentioned that they placed a journal in the hotel for attendees to find. The journal was found and ‘in play’ in less than two hours. The team is following comments about DSI through numerous indie gaming sites and blogs and is now planning version 2 of the game.

Hailed as the ‘Sundance of Gaming’, Indiecade (www.indiecade.com ) has positioned itself as a one of a kind festival for independent gamers. Strengthening their position on indie gaming scene was the surprise announcement at the closing awards ceremony for independent gamers. Indiecade launched a partnership venture with Psychic Bunny to form The Singularity – a new independent game label.

If anyone has any questions about Indiecade or the Deep Sleep Initiative, feel free to email any member of the team.

For background: The Alternate Reality eXperiment was a journey through cross-media creating an experimental casual alternate reality game (ARG). Most ARGs require puppetmasters and communities of players, but the project team wanted to see if they could create a self-sustaining, timeless ARG playable at the player’s own pace. One unique component of ARx was the creation of The Dream Confessional, http://www.dreamconfessional.wordpress.com/, a site where the world can record their real dreams.

The main vehicle for the story was a print publication and was comprised of puzzles, fiction, art, poetry, photography and other creative mediums to create the universe in which the ARG is located. After creating all the content, websites, audio and video to support the print publication, the team then planted the hand-crafted journals throughout the United States. (Of course, you can download a copy of the journal if you weren’t lucky enough to find one. Enter the rabbit hole at: http://www.DreamersOftenLie.com/.)

Independent game developers converged over the weekend of October 3-4 for the Second Annual PA Game Jam and competed to create the best game using the Wild Pockets platform within a 24 hour time period. After two days of nonstop programming and creative design efforts, 11 game entries were submitted by teams ranging in size from 3 to 5 members. Teams were competing for a grand prize which includes $2,500 and J.Fold merchandise.  The PA Game Jam was held simultaneously at Harrisburg University's Center for Advanced Entertainment and Learning Technologies, and Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

A group of four ETC students placed second with their game, Space Boxes, a simple yet addictive game of survival. The controls are left and right arrow key to move the ball and spacebar to jump. Despite the simple controls, the game is quite challenging and exciting as the ball can bounce in many different ways and requires the player to skillfully control the ball to avoid the enemies  To make the game even more exciting, the gravity shifts every 20 seconds to entirely change the playing field and forces the player to adapt to the new environment. The game was developed by Jan Stec, Greg Eng, Kim Kiser, and John Lee.

For further information and to play Space Boxes and all the other games submitted, please visit the PA Game Jam website at:  http://wildpockets.com/pagamejam/index.html

Ray Ray Shen (ETC grad 2009) and Michelle Macau, Program Director, ETC-JP, presented at the CEDEC game developers conference in Yokohama, Japan on September 1, 2009.

The presentation, Understanding the Relationship between Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center and the Videogame Industry, included Ray Ray’s overview of the Taomasters development process.

The invitation was a direct result of networking by the Taomasters team. They attended the Square Enix presentation at HCII on main campus in March 2009. It was there that they met Naoto Yoshioka, Chief Technologist of Square Enix, who invited them to speak at CEDEC.

A second presentation at the Square Enix headquarters in Tokyo was made later that week specifically for Naoki Yoshida, Director in R/D at Square Enix. Other attendees included Yoshioka-san, Joel Home, Lead Researcher and translator, Junko Asakura, Researcher; and Alexander Chia, a recent HCII grad, currently employed by Square Enix.

Square Enix is keen on making international connections. Thanks to Taomasters for the connection!

Michelle Macau, Ray Ray Shen and Joel Home at Square Enix Headquarters in Tokyo

Star Wars: In Concert, a unique multi-media event featuring music from all six of John Williams' epic Star Wars scores, begins its worldwide arena tour on October 1, 2009 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Narrated live by Anthony Daniels (the actor who portrayed C-3PO in all six films), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen -- one of the largest ever put on tour. The live music and film elements are synchronized in order to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience.

"We've taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images," said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. "The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams' creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films."

"Creating the music for the Star Wars films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in Star Wars: In Concert," said Williams. "The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique Star Wars experience has been born."

"This event has been crafted to present Star Wars from many points of view; for the first time, the full dramatic sweep of Williams' iconic scores can be heard performed live in one evening," said Another Planet Touring Producer Spencer Churchill. "The show is a new way of experiencing the epic scope of the saga."

Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives. Many of these pieces are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time.

Massive multi-media event features stunning visuals, a live orchestra, choir and narration, plus an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props and production artwork. The duration of this North American tour means that Anthony will not be able to undertake his usual residency at Starship ETC-Pittsburgh, but there is a very good chance the show will be coming to the ‘Burgh later this year. If that is indeed the case every effort will then be made to ensure a significant educational and performance experience for the ETC students, faculty, and staff.

Star Wars: In Concert is produced by Another Planet Touring in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Performances will be conducted by Dirk Brossé and the production is directed and designed by Steve Cohen. Star Wars: in Concert had its world premiere at the 02 Arena in London on April 10 and 11, 2009 as Star Wars: The Musical Journey.

After demonstrating their alternate reality game at the IndieCade booth at E3 this summer, ETC team ARx recently learned that they have been selected as a finalist for IndieCade Festival 2009. The student pitched project consists of: Tracy Brown, Nicole Epps, Hee Jun Kim, Brad Michael, Karin Ray and Allison Theus.

The Alternate Reality eXperiment was a journey through cross-media creating an experimental casual alternate reality game (ARG). Most ARGs require puppetmasters and communities of players, but the project team wanted to see if they could create a self-sustaining, timeless ARG playable at the player’s own pace. One unique component of ARx was the creation of The Dream Confessional, www.dreamconfessional.wordpress.com , a site where the world can record their real dreams.

The main vehicle for the story was a print publication and was comprised of puzzles, fiction, art, poetry, photography and other creative mediums to create the universe in which the ARG is located. After creating all the content, websites, audio and video to support the print publication, the team then planted the hand-crafted journals throughout the United States. (Of course, you can download a copy of the journal if you weren’t lucky enough to find one. Enter the rabbit hole at: www.DreamersOftenLie.com .)

IndieCade supports and showcases the work of independent game makers around the world. One of last year’s independent games was signed by 2K games demonstrating that participating in independent game festivals like IndieCade is another way to have your game pitched to large studios. IndieCade’s 2009 Festival is taking place in Culver City, California on October 1-4, 2009 and is a juried competition of independent games from around the world.

This year’s keynotes are Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy, Nobi Nobi Boy )and That Game Company’s Jenova Chen (flOw, FLower) Other headliners include: Henry Jenkins (Media Scholar), Brenda Brathwaite (Savannah College of Art and Design), Richard Lemarchand (Naughty Dog), Tracy Fullerton (USC/EA Game Innovation Lab), and Robin Hunicke (That Game Company.) Will Wright is also making an appearance and giving a talk. Visit them at www.indiecade.com