In an article on Remake Learning Blog of the Pittsburgh Kids+Creativity Network, Barbara Ray takes a look at how Pittsburgh is fast becoming a national leader in game-based learning. The article mentions ETC Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Jesse Schell, ETC alunma Sabrina Culyba, co-founder and designer at Interbots and ETC acting Director Drew Davidson.
To read the article, click here.
Every year, leading game design programs at universities across the country integrate the Game Developers Conference's (GDC) Game Narrative Review competition into their academic curricula. Each participating student conducts a detailed analysis of the narrative elements of a game title of their choice and submits it to the GDC writing board for review. Competitors with the most promising entries are invited to create a poster as a visual synopsis of their review. Successful poster submissions are declared winners and exhibited at the GDC.
This year we are happy to have Christian Cashman, a first-year ETC student focused on sound design and video, selected as a Gold Level Winner for his review of Fallout: New Vegas. His poster will be on display and he will be discussing his winning entry at the upcoming conference in San Francisco March 25 and 26, 2013.
His entry will then be posted onto the GDC Vault website.
Congratulations Christian!
ETC alum Asi Burak (06) and Michelle Byrd of Games for Change has a great article in the New York Times about their Half the Sky Movement: The Game
If the Half the Sky game takes off and the money is claimed quickly, the producers hope other sponsors will step in, said Michelle Byrd, co-president of Games for Change, a nonprofit that promotes the creation of so-called social impact games and is the game’s executive producer, along with Show of Force Productions.
Asi Burak, also co-president of Games for Change, said the hope is to draw two million to five million players, persuading 5 percent or more to donate. Players can play at no charge, but they will make faster progress through donations.
Those usage figures would put the game in the top rungs of social cause gaming.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
This weekend the Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran some stories on the ETC.
Click here to read a story about Drew, and his new role as Acting Director of the ETC.
Click here to read a story about the projects the students have done for Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center, or TARC and Firaxis Games.
The third story just gave a great overview of the program and some of the great things students are doing this semester.
At last week's D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit award ceremony announced the awarding winning games of 2012. Thatgamecompany's "Journey" was the big winner at the 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards, capturing eight awards, including Game of the Year, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction. ETC alum Chris Bell was a designer for "Journey"
"Borderlands 2" game credit includes ETC alumni Trey Davenport as a producer and 2nd year student Carey Davenport. The game was named Action Game of the Year.
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: "XCOM: Enemy Unknown"
Garth DeAngelis is listed as part of the additional level design and lead producer.
"Halo 4", which won Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity and Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering has Alyson Szymanski as part of the production team for developer 343 Industries.
And in a previous story, RayRay Shen was part of the team that made the Fighting Game of the Year: "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale".
I know we have many more alumni that helped on the other great games, like Mass Effect 3 and Sim City Social, but I was using Moby Games for a list of credits on the games.
If anyone would like to be part of this story, please let is know!
