SpeakEasy has finished, for now…
Producer: Christian Tsu-Raun
I believe that most people are truly bright, but are disenchanted with the thought of learning. I don’t believe that this makes them lazy, but that it is symptomatic of a larger problem, that people raised in the United States grow to be disenchanted with the process of learning.
There are several conditions leading to this, but inevitably it comes to resource management. Education does not get enough funding to provide a high level of personalized instruction on the public school level. There are indicators of this: the increase in private and magnet schools, an increase in extracurricular learning programs. There is currently an enormous amount of potential in production of software for educational purposes. Specifically, in creation of software that seeks to stand apart from the classroom while giving youth a competitive edge. That edge is not better test scores or higher performance on report cards, but is a root cause that cultivates both of those outcomes: the desire to learn.
Lead Designer: Reid Baker
After completing his degree in Architecture in 2008, Reid moved to Japan to pursue a career in Virtual Reality with a software developer. Utilizing his established design background and complementing 3D skills, he created virtual reality projects for clients requiring practical applications of VR. Included in this, were opportunities to study new technologies and work on the interface design for the software itself, managing contacts around the world. In 2010, Reid moved from Japan to Pittsburgh to further his education at the ETC in hopes of taking his design, 3D, and VR experience to push innovation in the field of human interfacing within physical and virtual space for entertainment technology and more.
Programmer: Li Chen
Li grew up in Hangzhou, China, where he got his bachelor degree of software engineering (digital media) in Zhejiang University of Technology. He had always had a keen interest in computer and a sense of accomplishment about what he had achieved. Therefore, he knew very well when he graduated from high school what his passion was: computer. In the university, he earned high praises from teachers and students regarding my performance both in team and in individual work. With excellent performances over the years, At the university, his interests leaned toward courses in graphic imaging and game design. Driven by his passion in graphic and game design, he joined the Carnegie Mellon University\’s Entertainment Technology Center. Now as a first year graduate student, Li works very hard everyday to become a more professional gamePhysics or Rendering programmer. He is a person who loves challenge and problem solving. During the first semester, as a programmer on his Building Virtual Worlds teams, Li always trys his best to make the game more interesting and stable. He chose five different platforms in the 5 rounds. In the second semester, he continues staying at Pittsburgh and chooses Computer Graphics as his elective class. Now he is on the project called the Minspeak. In the future time, he is looking forward to learning more new skills not only about game programming, but also teamwork.
Designer and Programmer: Adam Lederer
Adam is a game designer, software engineer, and composer/sound designer focused on creating unique and exciting video game experiences. He is excited to help advance the games medium and discover new ways to inspire emotion through interactivity.
Lead Artist: Solip Park
Solip is a passionate producer and a translator focusing on new media and entertainment. She can communicate in four different languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese), and enjoys learning new cultures.
When Solip’s uncle gave her an anime (‘Slayers’) VCD as New Year’s Day present when she was twelve, animation and game has been the biggest aspect of her life ever since. She learned narrative structure by playing with characters from her favorite anime series, time management by finishing her homework before she play the game every night, and also business by saving (or investing) her pocket money to buy her a new manga. And while being homeschooled during her teenage years, Solip expend her interest towards traveling and international boot camps, where she was introduced to various cultures and organizing teams -and decided to become a person who can connect different cultures together, in the name of entertainment! So during her undergraduate, Solip studied visual planning & development, attending producing courses, projects and conducting case studies about animation industry in East Asia.
Currently at the Entertainment Technology Center, she is hoping to learn more about interactive media, communication (especially in multi- cultural environment), and most of all, storytelling.
Advisors:
Mike Christel
Mike Christel joined the faculty at the Entertainment Technology Center in September 2008, moving from the Computer Science Department where he has been since 1997 working at the intersection of speech recognition, image processing, and multimedia interface development and evaluation. From 1987 to 1997 he worked at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University investigating multimedia management of the requirements elicitation process, and multimedia for interactive software engineering educational experiences.
John Dessler
John (JJD) Dessler is a visual communications graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He was the artist and media director for the Beaver County/Allegheny Times for 10 years and freelances for companies such as GE, NBC, Genworth Financial, and Heinz – specializing in Flash, Photoshop, audio/video production and effects. In 1996 he founded The Outlet for Creativity (a non-profit 501c3) in Rochester, PA, to foster and support the Arts in Beaver County and has served on numerous boards of economic and cultural development. John has taught digital and fine arts at the Beaver County Arts Academy, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Community College of Beaver County, Penn State, and the Beaver Valley International Arts Festival. He is a published playwright (Sketch-O-Frenia, Meriwether Publishing), winner of the Keystone Press and Telly awards, and is an accomplished studio and performing musician/producer.