Troy, N.Y. — The School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will host the third annual Game Festival and Symposium “GameFest” on April 28 – 29, 2006. The two-day exposition will feature discussions with prominent members of the game industry and an exhibition of the latest work from Rensselaer’s aspiring game developers.

Nearly 20 teams of students selected by members of the game studies faculty will be exhibiting the games they’ve created over the last 12 months in the Great Hall of the Darrin Communications Center on Friday, April 28, starting at 5 p.m.

On Saturday, April 29, a symposium titled “Where Cultures Collide: The Alchemy of Creativity and Technology in Making Games” will feature lectures and panel discussions with Rensselaer alumni who work within the game industry including: Michael Lewis ’93, president of Cryptic Studios (makers of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game City of Heroes); Karthik Bala ’97, founder and CEO of Vicarious Visions (an Activision studio responsible for creating DOOM 3 for Xbox and Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation Portable); and Tobi Saulnier ’84, founder of 1st Playable Productions (makers of the recently released Cabbage Patch Kids game for Game Boy Advance).

Panel topics for the Saturday symposium include “Women in Game Development,” “Activision: Inside the Levels of an Industry Giant,” and “Young Alumni.” Additional speakers include Ian Bogost, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who researches video game criticism and rhetoric, and recent Rensselaer graduates who are working in the game industry. The symposium will be held in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies auditorium from 9:45 a.m. - 2 p.m.

“GameFest is a forum that brings students together with leaders in the game industry and experts in the growing academic area of game research,” says Katherine Isbister, associate professor of language, literature, and communication and a member of the game studies faculty. “It’s a valuable chance for Rensselaer students to showcase their game designs, and to make connections that can shape future careers in game development or research.”

Games Studies at Rensselaer
GameFest began in 2004 as a celebration of Rensselaer’s new minor in game studies — an interdisciplinary program made up of existing courses offered by the departments of cognitive science, arts, computer science, and language, literature, and communication. 

Now an annual event, the festival continues to grow in size and popularity, according to Isbister.

Rensselaer is moving toward offering students an undergraduate major in Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences, according to Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences John Harrington. Completing the major will require a rigorous journey through classic liberal arts and technology, followed by self-styled interdisciplinary study and original research, Harrington says.

Students will be required to meet broad liberal arts requirements, drawn from life sciences, computer science, math, literature, and fine arts. They will choose from a core of classes that examine the art and technology of games, including the history and culture of games, game design, interactive storytelling, and experimental game design. Finally, they will select a specialty area such as interactive arts, artificial intelligence, psychology, or game management.

“Building off the success of our game studies minor, the forthcoming major in Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences is designed to train the next generation of video game developers through a highly interdisciplinary curriculum,” says Marc Destefano, clinical professor of cognitive science and a member of the game studies faculty. “By stressing the attainment of fundamental principles and skills in a range of disciplines, as well as expertise in a single area of game studies, the program seeks to prepare students to take advantage of the tremendous power of this young medium, and to play an integral role in shaping the evolution of the industry.”

Contact: Amber Cleveland
Phone: (518) 276-2146
E-mail: clevea@rpi.edu