Elective Courses

Students will research the history of the Themed Entertainment Industry and study critical phases, including conceptualization, design, building, management, and delivery involved in creating the total themed entertainment experience. 

The class will focus on the importance of creating the total guest experience. Discussions on story and storytelling will address the different aspects of both franchise and original stories. The class will also examine the role of architecture and technology and how they are crafted to enhance the overall guest experience.

Students will explore the importance of communication and collaboration across all disciplines and the high professional standards required in every phase of the entertainment industry. Managing creativity and risk-taking, fostering a culture of team support and trust, developing presentation skills, and providing valuable peer reviews will all be part of the curriculum. 

Students will individually complete various short assignments, research, and presentations. Students will also work in teams made up of multiple disciplines and backgrounds. Assignments will include evaluation of experiences in existing theme parks, proposing a concept for a ride or experience deriving inspiration from a list of options provided by faculty, and developing a design project such as an expansion to an existing theme park, a new restaurant, hotel or other architecture added to an existing complex, a new event or attraction which would include a water, sound and light spectacle, or a large scale Disney parade event. 

Students and faculty will jointly choose design assignments based on the class's needs, interests, and composition. The constantly evolving nature of the industry will provide opportunities for topics of discussion that both faculty and students will identify.

Instructor: Shirley Saldamarco
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 2:00pm - 3:20pm
Units: 9
Prerequisites: None

This course introduces students to hybrid production techniques. Through hands-on projects involving 3D printing, photogrammetry, and motion capture, students create immersive narratives that merge the physical with the virtual. This course prepares students for careers in virtual production, games, and entertainment by fostering narrative development, collaborative workflows, and proficiency with industry-standard techniques.

Instructor: John Dessler
Day: Tuesday
Time: 12:00pm - 2:50pm
Units: 12
Prerequisites: None

Idea developers, by nature, are entrepreneurial, yet traversing the landscape of realizing an idea in the context of business is full of barriers that prevent newness. On the journey from idea to scale using the power of design and leadership makes the difference between an idea that emerges in the marketplace and one that does not. 

This course is an introduction to entrepreneurship for both creatives and technicians. It is designed to help students develop a range of skills related to bringing innovations to market in the face of adverse interests. It provides an overview of the framework, environment, and techniques required to take the best ideas from concept to launched product. The course is designed to teach: How to identify and communicate newness that is meaningful. How to shape and not duplicate. How to give your idea the best chance for commercial success.

Instructor: Charles Johnson
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 12:30pm - 1:50pm
Units: 9
Prerequisites: None

Experience Design is intended to give Location Based Entertainment (LBE) students knowledge and experience within the realm of designing interactive user based experiences. 

This hands-on-class will develop experiences within pre-built themed sets to allow the projects to explore the realm of user experience, storytelling, and lighting without having to build physical environments. Hardware and tools knowledge will also be gained through these projects. 

The class has a regular meeting time that allows for lectures and workshops on specific theories, principles, and tools related to the field of study. Students then work individually or within teams on specific theme-based projects to explore concepts covered in class.

Instructor: Ruth Comley
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 1pm - 2:50pm
Units: 12
Prerequisites: None

Introduction to Dark Ride Design is intended to give Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) students knowledge and experience within the realm of designing a dark ride experience. The class explores the use of a guided vehicle upon a motion base to travel through a themed journey displayed on a 180 degree projection space and utilizing triggered sound, lighting, and 4D effects to augment the experience. Students will work within teams on specific theme based projects to explore concepts covered in class. Suitable for UX Designers, General and Hardware Programmers, 3D Digital Environmental Artists, Sound Designers and Game Designers wanting to explore UX design.

Instructor: Ruth Comley
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 11am - 12:20pm
Units: 12
Prerequisites: None

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of creating haunted houses in a virtual environment. From conceptualizing eerie atmospheres to implementing spine-chilling effects, you will explore the techniques and tools necessary to bring your nightmarish visions to life. Whether you are a seasoned designer or a curious enthusiast, this class offers a unique opportunity to blend art, technology, and storytelling in a way that captivates and terrifies your audience.

Instructor: Ruth Comley
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 9am - 10:50am
Mini: Yes
Units: 3-24
Prerequisites: None

This class will provide students with strategies for creating textures and materials for 3D games or animation assets by focusing on meaningful details. Many texture creation applications offer artists efficient ways to create compelling material networks. While mastering technical procedures is essential, we will apply a deeper understanding of the art and intent behind the techniques to create a more robust visual storytelling experience. 

This course gives students an environment to focus on art and intent by slowing down and zeroing in on the fine point of a physical paintbrush touching a physical model. Students will paint small dioramas, characters, and props using physical model painting. Next, they will digitally recreate and enhance their creators using texture painting software. The course is designed to encourage students to apply the artistic principles of physical model painting to guide the technical texture creation skills on the digital 3D side.

Instructor: Ricardo Washington
Day: Monday/Wednesday
Time: 12pm - 1:50pm
Units: 9
Prerequisites: None

Role playing games (RPGs) are a vibrant and viable popular medium for interactive storytelling. This workshop builds upon dramatic theory DNA existing in plays, TV and film. Gameplay is performance. The skills developed when creating any time-bound media transfer well to games but must be seen through a different lens - the lens of the player. 

To do so, we will first examine and dissect both RPG story and game design (using pencil and paper examples) seeking an understanding of both game systems as well as narrative best practices. In class, we focus our examination on the most popular existing intellectual property for RPGs: The Lord of the Rings. Students who desire admittance to this class should be at least somewhat familiar with that world to succeed in the class. 

Each student works on a four-person team to create an original RPG campaign-style adventure for an already existing story world. The final product is a portfolio-quality set of dramatic scenes, epic tabletop encounters, and character sketches. This is not an RPG design course. Any level of writing experience is welcome, BUT experience playing RPGs - either tabletop or video game - is a must. Experience as a GM for an RPG is a big plus, and applicants who possess such experience should be sure to let the instructor know in advance.

Instructor: Gerard (Chris) Klug
Day: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 12pm - 1:50pm
Units: 12
Prerequisites: None

Extended Reality (or XR) describes the virtual environments generated by the related technologies of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. Each of these generate spatial experiences that hold varying levels of immersion that can enhance or replace our perception of the real world, and each bring their own advantages and limitations. With consumer-grade XR devices readily available, video game companies are creating content but are faced with the challenge of designing for mediums within which very few standards exist. 

The class will seek to better understand these technologies, examining the features that differentiate these platforms as well as their capabilities and limitations, and exploring the methods and techniques that trick our brains into believing these environments to be "real". Students will play games and explore apps released for these platforms, dissecting them to discover best practices for designing content for users. 

Students will apply these learnings by creating brand new XR content. Course work will be performed in collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams as students form their own game studios to tackle design challenges and create games of their very own. These teams will engage in hands-on development, and will have roles for artists, programmers, designers, producers and more. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to join. 

[Graduate students should sign up for 53-751 / Undergraduate students should sign up for 53-451] NOTE: Access to some types of equipment may be limited due to health and safety protocols.

Instructor: Tom Corbett
Day: Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Time: 9:30am - 10:50am
Units: 12
Prerequisites: None

This course is designed for non-programmers who want to learn how to create content with game engines such as Unity, which will be the primary tool used for this course. The course will explore the fundamental components and features of game engines - such as objects, inputs, movement, interactions, physics, UI, 2D and 3D art, animation, and sound - and the terminology and theory behind them.

Students will learn the principles of these concepts during in-class lectures, gain practical experience building game projects through guided coding exercises, and then apply what they have learned to the assignment work to complete their projects. This course does not have prerequisites, but a basic understanding of common code concepts (variables, loops, conditional statements) is recommended.

Instructor: Tom Corbett
Day: Monday/Wednesday
Time: 12:00am - 12:50am
Units: 9
Prerequisites: None

The course will cover advanced techniques for modeling, texturing, and rendering realistic digital props for use in visual effects and 3D animation. Students will create a series of high-quality models in Maya, texture them with Substance 3D Painter, and then render them in Maya's Arnold renderer. The class will cover project organization, hard-surface modeling techniques, highly-detailed texturing workflows, color space management, look development, and some lighting. At the end of the course, students will composite their 3D assets seamlessly into a photo as well as render turntables to present their work.

Instructor: Dale Mayeda
Day: Monday/Wednesday
Time: 9:00am - 11:50am
Units: 6
Prerequisites: None