ETC project team Depero Futuristi will be presenting Balli Plastici November 12th at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Presented by Performa 09, the evening will include an animated version of the puppetry ballet first produced by Fortunato Depero in 1918. The ETC team will also be giving a live demo of the software used to create the digitized ballet, as well as vouchers for audience members to receive their own versions of the virtual puppeteering software. The goal is to allow everyone the ability to create their own version of the ballet and in doing so join the ranks of the New Futurist movement.

Performa website: http://performa-arts.org/blog/balli-plastici/

TimeOut New York calendar listing: http://newyork.timeout.com/events/other/312529/balli-plastici

Depero Futuristi project page: http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/balli-plastici/

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at Purnell Center's Chosky Theater, we at the Entertainment Technology Center will present the annual Building Virtual Worlds (BVW) Show. From virtual reality to audience interaction and everything imaginable in between, this live showcase of the most impressive student work from the semester is truly a must-see event!

Over the course of this semester, BVW students are collaborating in four-person interdisciplinary teams to create a series of virtual worlds, each of which must be completed within a one to three week time period. We look forward to sharing a variety of these worlds with you.

This year the ETC is very excited to announce the addition of a second BVW Show to accommodate the ever growing number of guests who want to experience this one of a kind event! For the first time ever there will be a 2:30 pm show that is open to the public, on Wednesday December 2nd in the Chosky Theatre. This show is “first come first serve” with the doors opening at 2:00 pm.

The second show will be on December 2nd at 6:00 pm and is strictly a ticketed event by invitation only.

We look forward to seeing you at the Show!

The SurfaceScapes project is a student pitched project at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center. The team is creating a proof of concept for table top role playing on the Microsoft Surface table. They have chosen to use Dungeons and Dragons 4.0 as the rule set for their build due to its great user base, as well as its focus on physical objects. By combining digital and physical elements, the team aims to enhance both the storytelling and narrative aspects of D&D as well as make combat encounters more engaging.

SurfaceScapes is exploring various uses of the technology such as virtual dice and having the table read physical dice; meaningful usage of miniatures on the table; user interfaces that are unobtrusive but still easy to navigate; and the ability to merge other physical objects with the virtual space. All this technology is being looked at from the standpoint of creating a more seamless top table top gaming experience that improves immersion.

On Sunday the team posted a video to demonstrate what they accomplished during the first seven weeks of the project. Initially, this video was only intended to be shared with Microsoft, Wizards of the Coast, and Penny Arcade who have all shown support during the course of the semester. However, the video became viral and appeared on a number of major game and tech news outlets. The team would like to thank all those who provided feedback and showed enthusiasm for the project, and would also like to thank Penny Arcade, Wizards of the Coast, and Microsoft for their support. The team is extremely excited about the project and all the attention it has received and is working diligently on their proof of concept.

The team is eager to receive further feedback and has set up a forum to engage the community.

Please visit the SurfaceScape team site:
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/surfacescapes/

Some of the articles written about the project:
http://blogs.msdn.com/surface/archive/2009/10/19/dungeons-dragons-done-r...

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2009-10/video-play-dungeons-and-dr...

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/10/d-and-d-microsoft-surface/

http://kotaku.com/5385175/dungeons--dragons-on-microsoft-surface-is-for-...

http://www.destructoid.com/dungeons-dragons-played-on-microsoft-surface-...

Congratulations to the team!

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

Second year student Francisco Souki's blog is featured on Gamasutra.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/FranciscoSouki/20090812/2721/Design_Notes...