Last week, students in Game Design Professor Les Nelken's Virtual Reality Development course wrapped up their final projects. The course introduces students to virtual reality (VR) development, the principles and history of VR and VR systems, as well as how this rapidly advancing medium can be used in interactive and narrative entertainment, education and training, art and film creation, and other content areas. Topics include 3D interaction and VR user interface types, haptics, human perception, social VR, telepresence, augmented reality (AR) and the philosophical and scientific implications of how virtual reality may inform and alter human perception of reality. Students will playtest and critique a variety of VR games and apps, and work individually and in groups to create VR projects.

The conclusion of the Game Design program's annual Fall Game Jam took place Friday afternoon in the Conlon Game Labs. Game Design students, who worked in small teams to make games that addressed the theme of  "Day in Night", got together in the game labs, along with faculty, to celebrate their hard work and play their, and each others' games.

It was standing room only in the Randall Lecture Hall where students, faculty, family and friends gathered to watch  the students from the Spring 2023 Game Studio showcase their games, discuss their development process and answer audience questions. 

This year's Visions, a juried honors exhibit of the Communications Media Department, opened with an Alumni Panel in the Ellis White White Lecture Hall. This lively discussion was followed by The Gallery Opening, and a Film & Video Screening in Weston Auditorium. Thank you to the alumni, jurors, Communications Media faculty, students, and staff. The Exhibit will run until June 30, 2023. 

Today, Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega visited the Fitchburg State campus as part of his tour of the state's 29 public colleges and universities. During his visit, Commissioner Ortega had lunch with and listened to students, experienced an immersive classroom simulation with education students, spoke with game design students at the downtown game studio about their projects, experienced a virtual nursing simulation designed by students, and checked out facilities including the strength and conditioning laboratory at Landry Arena. 

Students in Fitchburg State’s game design program work on, and test, their their capstone projects in the IdeaLab which is located off-campus. The IdeaLab houses a state of the art studio space designed to promote applied work and create interaction between students, faculty and working professionals. Student groups are tasked with creating a game wherein students have the opportunity to work with developers from Rockstar New England as mentors, in addition to our faculty.

Students in Professor Samuel Tobin's Elements of Game Design course work out, and try out, their classmates re-envisioning/re-utilization of old standby tabletop games like checkers, chess, and cards. Using the elements of these games as a launch point, students are tasked with creating a new game. 

This course introduces students to the process of planning and designing the interactive experience of game play. Students will develop a critical understanding of the formal, dramatic, and systems elements of games across a wide range of game styles and genres, from traditional physical games and sports to video games.

Students in Professor Jeff Warmouth's Game Design Workshop conduct the first trial of the games they are working on for the class. In this course, students learn to design and develop games using an industry-standard game engine. Learn more about our Game Design Major here.

Students in Fitchburg State’s game design program work on their their capstone projects in the IdeaLab located off-campus. The IdeaLab houses a state of the art studio space designed to promote applied work and create interaction between students, faculty and working professionals. Student groups are tasked with creating a game wherein students have the opportunity to work with developers from Rockstar New England as mentors. Today, Game Design Professors Les Nelken and  Samuel Tobin work with the student groups who are early on in the process.

Monday afternoon, members of the Fitchburg State community were invited to the Fall 2022 Game Studio Post Mortem for this semester's completed game. The game, Goblin Gunner, is a result of a full-time, semester-long experience in which students in our Game Design program work as a team to plan, design, develop, test, and prepare for publication a significant game project. The Post Mortem included a showcasing of the final version of their game, discussion of their development process (including regular meetings with the game company Rockstar New England), and a Q & A with the audience.