New England Institute of Technology

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1 A Super Charged Power Game Day! October 24th was a day to remember! A record breaking number of students heard from industry leaders and had the opportunity to experience cutting edge technology first hand at. The afternoon Game Expo brought students virtually into the game. This year s event started off with some background information about Modeling and Simulation (M&S) in preparation for several of the guest speakers from that industry. M&S, with primarily an audience of military training, truly represents a doubling of the potential employment opportunity marketplace for NEIT VGDD graduates. Sonalyst Studios Bob Kurzawa, Vice President at Sonalyst Studios in Connecticut, led off the parade of speakers, describing Sonalyst s role in the M&S industry from gaming to underwater sonar technology. Sonalyst s expansion into the video and audio world of entertainment was also explored. In his talk, Kurzawa, a retired Naval Officer, described his life journey, offering students advice gleaned from his real life experiences. In an open, frank discussion, his message was to always do your best, always be learning and go enthusiastically where life leads you. Last Quarter, Sonalyst hosted an intern from the NEIT VGDD Department. A successful relationship developed and the intern was hired for a full time position.

2 Page 2 Chrysler Academy/NEIT Joining Instructor Jay Aguiar were Kristin Bowler and Alok Mishra from the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, Michigan to announce a new industry/vgdd relationship. Ms. Bowler explained how gamification is used by Chrysler for training its employees across the country. Over the next few months Chrysler will be working with the Faculty and the Administration to develop meaningful activities and learning scenarios for our students. This is hopefully the start of a long term relationship that will prepare students for real world positions.. Microsoft Michael Cummings, Microsoft Evangelist, visited us from the Cambridge offices of Microsoft. He presented a survey of the various software offerings Microsoft has developed relating to the video game industry. The talk covered new tools to help streamline development. At the conclusion of the talk, Cummings conducted an extended Q & A session addressing topics ranging from Visual Studio to XNA. In the afternoon expo, Michael hosted a Microsoft booth where he was able to speak at length to students, answering their questions and discussing ideas. The VGDD faculty looks forward to working with Michael toward optimizing the integration of Microsoft s latest developments into the curriculum. What s the difference between VGDD, GDS & VGD? In case you are confused, VGDD stands for Video Game Development and Design, the technology degree program here at NEIT. Within the VGDD technology, students can earn degrees with either a GDS (Game Development and Simulation) emphasis on programming or a VGD (Video Game Design) emphasis on design. Simple, right?

3 Page 3 Defective Studios Returning to Power Game Day, Jono Forbes led his team in updating students on the developments of their game, Gimbal Cop. Perhaps the coolest development is the integration of the Oculus Rift into the game play. The team showed some of the process of working with the stereo vision set up within Unity, the game software used for their development. Their presentation included valuable tips and insights they have acquired through their experience. In the afternoon Game Expo, Defective Studios let students try their Oculus Rift head sets first hand. Currently, the hardware is only available to software developers. Students expressed their thoughts on the experience to Defective which, according to them, was the best meaningful feedback they have had to date. Great for their development process. Disco Pixel Industry veteran, Trevor Stricker, from Disco Pixel presented a talk on breaking into the video game industry. Students listened intently to the insights Trevor shared about the realities of entry level positions for both designers and programmers. Learning about the interviewing process, the types of entry level positions and the traits of potential candidates for those positions were invaluable to the future graduates in the audience. After fifteen years working at major game companies, Trevor has started a new venture, creating Disco Pixel with some fellow industry vets. Jungle Rumble is the title of their first effort with more to come soon. Power Game Day 2013!

4 Page 4 GiGuy Boston Dynamics Wrapping up the speaker parade was Alex Broadbent from Boston Dynamics. Alex showcased the company s M&S game DiGuy. Utilizing their optimized engine, DiGuy is capable of creating large numbers of animated characters using AI in complex crowd formations. The program can create unique models with an array of textures, managing them all in an active window of play. The game also has path creation that allows the designer to customize a character s animation path. Recently the company developed the program to interface with Unity 3d, an important step for wider distribution. Alex also showed Boston Dynamics developments in the field of robotics. Initially, their robots are designed on the computer with sophisticated simulations, run for calculating the robot s reactions to physics, inertia, etc. Once the robot virtual issues are resolved, they manufacture the live robot. The process is a successful example of the importance of utilizing modeling & simulation to do cost effective development. Boston Dynamics was very impressed with the VGDD program here at NEIT and has proposed we explore a formal relationship to benefit students in the creation of creative solutions to video game development. Global Game Jam 2014! 48 Hours of Making Games! NEIT has once again been approved as an official GGJ site for January The event is open to all over 18 years of age. Time to bring in your friends to show off your game making talents! Please register on both the GGJ site and the NEIT site and to find more information. To register on the GJ site, go to login/create login and then find us in Locations. Then click on the Join this Site button. Also, please Register at NEIT s site:

5 Power Game Day Game Expo! New to Power game Day, the Game Expo allowed vendors to speak one on one with students and faculty. The afternoon event featured high tech products like the Virtusphere, oculus Rift and the latest Cintiq line up from Wacom. Several student teams also exhibited their games. Page 5

6 Power Game Day Game Expo! Page 6

7 Power Game Day Game Expo! Demos in both the Game Expo areas (S330 and S249) were packed to the wall with students eager to try the products. Special thanks to Virtusphere for bringing their product from Ney York. Page 7