Mid-Semester Expo Details

The mid-semester expo will be held on Thursday, March 4th at 7:30 PM in OLS 120. This is a change from the previously scheduled time and venue of 7:00 PM in OLS011, so take note. The event will take commence effectively upon the conclusion of the Zynga presentation scheduled for the same day, so make plans to attend that too. Furthermore, Logan Margulies of Riot Games will be talk about how he broke into the industry. Additionally, Bryan Larson from Zynga will hang around for the expo as well.

After the game presentations are over, SGD will hold officer elections for the 2010/11 academic year. Positions up for grabs this year include: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Asset Administrator, and External Relations. If you wish to run for a position, please email the current officers ASAP.

Further, the club will also be voting on recently-proposed additions and changes to the SGD constitution. Changes and additions essentially are related to the CIO's interaction with 3rd parties wishing to interact with the club. For information on the proposed changes, you may again email the current officers (use the link above).

Zynga Presentation on 3/4

The presentation by Bryan Larson of Zynga Game Network originally scheduled for February 11 has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 4, at 6 PM in OLS011. Again, the company is actively seeking candidates for full-time positions and summer internships this summer so be sure to bring your resumes! In addition, food will be provided and there will be a Netbook raffle.

Zynga was founded in 2007 by Mark Pincus and is one of the leading developers of social video games, among which they have developed include Mafia Wars and Farmville.

Mid-semester Expo [Spring 2010] Keynote Speaker Confirmed!

The Spring 2010 Mid-semester Expo [Thursday, March 4th, 2010 @ 7PM in OLS005] is upon us! In addition to checking out all the other teams' games, come listen to Logan Margulies of Riot Games tell his story of how he broke into the industry.

According to Logan, his story is "a little unconventional." After relating his history to us, he will be talking about the status of the industry from the viewpoint of an indie dev/publisher, and the shift going on in the industry right now, especially with respect to Riot Games.

Riot Games' website

Archive: T-Cubed

T-Cubed combines classic Tetris gameplay with fast paced microgames, challenging the player to complete these games in order to buy powerups and destroy rows. Players must juggle between the two types of gameplay as the speed constantly increases. T-Cubed was developed by Andrew Gaubatz (Director), Nick Wasilewski (Technical Director), Zack Reilly, Eric Walden (Programming), Momin Khan and Jeremy Liu (Design).



You can download T-Cubed by clicking here.

Archive: Gravity

Gravity is a 2.5-dimensional game where the player can adjust the gravity to help them traverse platforming puzzles. Gravity was developed from scratch in C++ from Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 by Brice Morrison (director), Scott Geiser (technical director), Chris Dodge, Dan Andrino, Dan Magnusson, Kevin Chang, Avik Dayal, Wolf Richter, Steve Johnson, Aaron Liu, Jason Crowder, David Horres, James Ro, Ryan Mahony, Jeff Gaither, Alex King, and Eddie Verrilli.

You can download Gravity by clicking here.

Video Game Prototyping Presentation 3/1

Tom Carbone of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy will be hosting a presentation concerning video game prototyping and game design graduate education opportunities on Monday, March 1. The presentation will commence at 6:30 PM at OLS 009.

You can download a flyer for the presentation, which contains more detailed information regarding it, by clicking here.

Zynga Presentation on 2/11

Bryan Larson of Zynga Game Network will be giving a presentation about the company on Thursday, February 11, at 6 PM in OLS011. The company is actively seeking candidates for full-time positions and summer internships this summer so be sure to bring your resumes! In addition, food will be provided and there will be a Netbook raffle.

Zynga was founded in 2007 by Mark Pincus and is one of the leading developers of social video games, among which they have developed include Mafia Wars and Farmville.

Archive: The Yggdrasil Engine

The Yggdrasil Engine is a massively multiplayer online game engine designed to handle the networking infrastructure of an MMO game. In and of itself, Yggdrasil is not a game; rather it is designed to have games built on top of it.

The project was started in SGD in the Fall 2009 semester and work is still ongoing, and as such it has not officially been released. That said, you can send email to its directors, Dan Magnusson and John Will, to request a personal release of the current build of the engine. Further information about Yggdrasil can be found at The End Of The Internet.

2 New Internships: Nomuda Games

While Joe Chard isn't actually considering hiring Oscar Wilde, as this candid image might suggest, his company, Nomuda Games, is currently accepting applications for not 1 but 2 paid internships for summer 2010!

Some more information:

Company: Nomuda Games
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Position: Intern (Programming)
Compensation: $2000 - $2500 stipend
Commitment: ~40 hrs/wk for 11 - 12 weeks (flexible)

Description: Nomuda Games is seeking developers and graphic artists for internships in the summer of 2010. You will work on a small team to develop our pilot mobile title, to be released for beta testing at the end of the summer. This is an opportunity to use all your skills, all your creativity, to make a meaningful impact on the next wave of mobile gaming.

Working either in Java targeting Android phones or in Objective C targeting iPhones and iPod Touches, work as part of a small team (~3 incl. a dedicated artist) to create a story-driven game that is delivered in installments. Some design work has been completed for this game, but applicants should be comfortable discussing design aspects of the project, as this is a collective effort (and a good chance to contribute meaningfully to a commercial project). Applicants need to be driven, entrepreneurial individuals and will need to be comfortable working in an agile, dynamic environment as a functional member of this new studio.

Job Requirements:

• Fluent in C++ and Java, willing to explore Cocoa Touch before summer; interest in web development is a plus
• Pursuing a BS or Masters degree in Computer Science
• Strong desire to work in the video game industry
• Must have developed at least one complete video game (via a class project, club project, workshop, etc.)
• Self-motivated, willing to do whatever it takes to meet deadlines
• Entrepreneurial mindset, capable of dealing with ambiguity, tackling challenges, and taking on a great deal of responsibility as a key member of a growing company

Benefits:

• Paid stipend for the summer
• Free lunch Wednesday (and some other days too)
• High degree of responsibility for building a commercially released game
• Exposure to veteran entrepreneurs
• Share of game profits
• Inside track on full-time employment (with rapid promotion) in the future

Submission Details: Resumes are good; portfolios are better! A formal interview will be required of all applicants.

To apply or get more information: contact Joe Chard at ChardJ11@darden.virginia.edu

Project Pitch: RecursiO(n)^2

The second of two projects being continued from last semester, RecursiO(n)^2 is a Nintendo DS puzzle game directed by Daniel Epstein. Again, the game is a puzzle game which requires that players think recursively to win. Players will utilize and manipulate several instances of their character through time to solve puzzles, defuse traps, and find a way out.



Click here to view the original pitch for RecursiO(n)^2.

Project Pitch: Laser Lockdown

Continuing a project started last semester, Laser Lockdown is a 3D multiplayer game of laser tag. The development team from last semester, led by Chris Dodge, is still largely intact. Scrapping the Ox Engine, the project now leverages the Unreal engine and will still implement a WiiMote motion control scheme.



Click here to view the original project pitch for Laser Lockdown.

Project Pitch: Impact!

The first attempt to build a game using the previously-developed Yggdrasil Engine, Impact! is a massively-multiplayer online game directed by Dan Magnusson and John Will. The game premise is simple and effective: you control a tank, explore the vast world, and engage in explosive battles against the tanks of other players. Think of it as a giant brawl on a global battlefield where the winner takes all.



Click here to download the Powerpoint presentation for Impact!.

Project Pitch: Dual

Dual, an XNA dual-analog stick shooter led by Andrew Gaubatz, takes traditional cooperative gaming and spins it on its head. Two players work together in a 2D environment to complete numerous tasks, but while doing so each the two players must work against each other to achieve competitive secondary goals before his partner does.



Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation for Dual.

SGD Spring 2010 Pitch Meeting Highlights

The Student Game Developers held their Spring 2010 pitch meeting tonight at 6 PM in Olsson Hall, where directors introduced their respective projects they will each pursue this semester. In case you couldn't attend, we are working on uploading a video recording of each project pitch to Youtube, with which you can watch each pitch and apply to work on each project that strikes your fancy.

The four projects being pitched this semester are:

• Dual (dir: Andrew Gaubatz)
• Impact! (dirs: Dan Magnusson / John Will)
• Laser Lockdown (dir: Chris Dodge)
• RecursiO(n^2) (dir: Dan Epstein)

Remember that you must be a student of The University of Virginia to work on a project with the Student Game Developers.