Contents 1 DigiPen Podcasts & Newsletter 2 DigiPen Launches Two Game Design Degrees 3 DigiPen Continuing Education - Summer Class Registration Open 4 DigiPen Student Success at 2008 IGF - "Synaesthete" Wins Best Student Game 5 Portal Wins Game of the Year at 2008 Game Developer Choice Awards 6 Portfolio Review Night - Friday, April 4th, 2008 - 4:00-6:00pm 7 DigiPen to Host Workshop Preview Day April 26th 8 Tony White Animation Webcast 9 DigiPen's Annual Career Day, March 7, 2008 10 DigiPen Student Projects "Synaesthete" and "Empyreal Nocturne" Nominated for 2008 Independent Games Festival 11 DigiPen Grad Kim Swift on NEXT-GEN'S TOP 25 PEOPLE OF 2007 12 DigiPen to Host 2008 Seattle Code Camp 13 DigiPen Featured in Washington CEO Magazine 14 DigiPen Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2008 15 Announcing the President's Graduate Fellowship Scholarship 16 Exclusive DigiPen Event: Learn From A Master Animator 17 Toblo Awarded Best Student Game at 2007 IGF 18 DigiPen Prepares to Open New Campus in Singapore 19 Three DigiPen Student Games Selected as IGF Student Showcase Winners

DigiPen Podcasts & Newsletter

Listen to DigiPen's very own podcast. You can also download the latest DigiPen Newsletter and check out the Newsletter Archives.

DigiPen Launches Two Game Design Degrees

The designers and creators of electronic and digital entertainment fill a unique role that combines art, technology, innovation, storytelling, history, psychology, and many other disciplines. This multidisciplinary program leads to two degrees:

• Bachelor of Science in Game Design (B.S.G.D.)
• Bachelor of Arts in Game Design (B.A.G.D.).

At DigiPen, the B.S.G.D. is designed to educate students to become technical game designers with the skills necessary to design levels, program, script, and work in this dynamic field. On the other hand, the B.A.G.D. program prepares students to become artistic level designers with the skills to create worlds, levels, and the art for these. Students graduating with either degree will be prepared to begin working in the computer software and video games industries.

Students in the Game Design degree programs will learn how to apply the software, other tools, materials, and processes used in this industry to challenging problems that practitioners in the field regularly encounter. They will gain experience in evaluating and creating effective game proposals. Additionally, they will learn and practice verbal communication skills typically used when working in the industry. Like other DigiPen degree programs, the Game Design degrees emphasize the development of effective team-work skills through team projects and self- and peer-evaluations. Senior students will develop and subsequently present capstone team projects to DigiPen faculty and personnel from local businesses. Graduates of this program will be capable of designing quality games for the industry and submission to recognized competitions. They will also have attained a level of proficiency expected of students entering graduate-degree programs.

More information about these degree programs will be available shortly. For information about application requirements to either of these program, please contact DigiPen admissions at (866) 478-5236 or e-mail admissions@digipen.edu.

DigiPen Continuing Education - Summer Class Registration Open

DigiPen Institute of Technology is pleased to offer a series of continuing education courses for summer 2008. Come explore how DigiPen’s continuing education program can be a first step to your career in this field or how it can help you become more competitive! Registrations are now being accepted for the Summer '08 session that runs from the week of May 26th through to August 1st. Deadline for application is May 16th.

Held in the evenings, DigiPen’s continuing education courses are taught by DigiPen faculty as well as leading industry professionals at DigiPen Institute of Technology’s campuses, located in Redmond, Washington. Participation in these courses, seminars and certificate programs can mean long term success in your professional area and may open some doors for those seeking a new career direction.

There are two levels of study for the continuing education program:

• Introductory Study (DIS) - Designed for students with little or no experience in the fields of game development and animation production. These courses offer an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the nature of the work in these fields.
• Advanced Study (DAS)- For current junior/senior students and graduates of DigiPen, as well as working industry professions seeking to obtain specialized training in various areas of production art, computer science and even game design.

Each course is a total of 30 hours. Unless otherwise noted, each class is taught one evening per week for 3 hours each class over a 10 week period. The one exception to this is DIS-ED-01: Using Game Development as a Learning Vehicle which is taught over a 1-week period from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. per day.

For more information, including course offerings, visit the DigiPen Continuing Education page or call (425)629-5036.

DigiPen Student Success at 2008 IGF - "Synaesthete" Wins Best Student Game

For the second year in a row, a DigiPen student game has been awarded "Best Student Game" at this year's Independent Game Festival (IGF). Congratulations to the winning team that created Synaesthete, which is a music-driven arcade-style shooter which seeks to engage the senses with a synergy of light, color, and sound.

This great game was created by:

• Zach Aikman: Production Manager.
• Joseph Tkach: Game Designer.
• William Towns: Technical Director.
• Andy Maneri: Product Manager.

In addition to being selected as a finalist for the IGF Student showcase, Synaesthete had also been nominated for the category "Excellence in Visual Art" for the Main Competition. Visit the project website to play it!

Joining Synaesthete as a finalist in the Student Showcase is another DigiPen student project, Empyreal Nocturne. Empyreal Nocturne is a third-person aerial action game in which the player battles enormous flying monsters by commanding a legion of birds. The two-man team that produced the game is made up of:

• Reed Gonsalves: Producer, AI , Physics, Game Logic, Input
• Chad Taylor: Technical Director, Graphics, Physics, Game Logic, Architecture

Congratulations to both teams on their success at this year's IGF!

Portal Wins Game of the Year at 2008 Game Developer Choice Awards

Just over two years after being recognized as an Independent Game Festival Student Finalist, DigiPen's Narbacular Drop was transformed by Valve Corporation into "Portal," this year's "Game of the Year" at the 2008 Game Developer Choice Awards. "Portal" was also recognized for "Best Game Design" and "Innovation".

In 2005, after showcasing Narbacular Drop at DigiPen's annual Career Day, the entire student team was hired by Valve Corporation...and as they say, "the rest is history!" Congratulations to the team at Valve...in receiving the "Game of the Year" award, Valve's Gabe Newell recited the following haiku:

Orange Box puzzle game?

DigiPen students are smart.

The cake is a lie.

To read more about this year's Game Developer Choice Awards, please visit the official website at http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/.

Portfolio Review Night - Friday, April 4th, 2008 - 4:00-6:00pm

Portfolio Review Night is highly recommended for students looking to enter an undergraduate program in Art and Animation. Portfolio Review Night will provide prospective students with an opportunity to sit down with faculty and talk about their work and their aspirations for their future. Bring your portfolio and questions, and meet with professionals who have worked in the film, game and animation industries to get specific feedback on your own artwork.

Come to DigiPen Institute of Technology to hear from the professionals who have worked in the film, game and animation industries and get specific feedback on your own artwork. This event will be held on Friday, April 4th from 4-6pm located at DigiPen’s new art campus. During this event, faculty members will critique students work, identify the accomplished work and indicate areas in which students might improve their overall portfolio presentation. Review night is extremely beneficial as it allows both students and faculty an informal opportunity to make meaningful connections.

High school, transfer, and second degree students are welcomed to attend. Please register by Wednesday, April 2nd through the online registration page.

For more details, please contact Heidi Munoz at hmunoz(at)digipen(dot)edu or call 425-895-4445.

DigiPen to Host Workshop Preview Day April 26th

Play video games? Ever thought about what it takes to create one? Now you have the chance to find out! Get a sneak peek at the ProjectFUN Workshops at DigiPen Institute of Technology on Saturday, April 26! DigiPen's Preview Day is a free event but you must register in advance, as space is limited. Visit the Preview Day page for more information.

Tony White Animation Webcast

DigiPen will be featuring an exclusive animation webcast on core principles of animation on Friday, January 25th at 3:00pm PST, with award winning DigiPen instructor, Tony White.

For his second webcast, Tony White will present the core basics of animation; including, defining keys, breakdown and in-between positioning. Viewers will begin to more clearly understand the principles of animated movement from the ground upwards. Tony will utilize 2D drawings, 3D action and short movie clips to communicate the principles involved. Subjects to be covered include:

• Key frames and Inbetween frames
• Speed, timing and placement
• Arcs & Paths of Action
• Slowing-In/Slowing-Out
• Pendulum and Bouncing Ball animation

No previous animation experience is required to participate in this webcast. This webcast will last approximately one hour. To learn more about Mr. Tony White, master animator, click the following link: http://www.digipen.edu/main/Tony_White To participate, please register online by Wednesday, January 17th; click on the following link, or copy and paste the link in your web browser: https://digipen.webex.com/digipen/k2/j.php?ED=102134512&UID=269955906&FM=1

DigiPen's Annual Career Day, March 7, 2008

Please join us at DigiPen Institute of Technology for our 6th Annual Career Day where you will see portfolios and projects from students graduating with a degree in BS in Real-Time Interactive Simulation (Computer Science), BFA in Production Animation, or BS in Computer Engineering. To registers for the event, please go to the following website - Myinterfase-employer

If you have any questions about registering or the event, please feel free to contact our Career Services department at careerservices(at)digipen(dot)edu

DigiPen Student Projects "Synaesthete" and "Empyreal Nocturne" Nominated for 2008 Independent Games Festival

December 22, 2007 The Independent Games Festival organizers have announced the 2008 Main Competition finalists for the 2007 Independent Games Festival, from a field of 173 entries. One of the games nominated for "Excellence in Visual Art" is a DigiPen student project called Synaestete. Produced by the team of:

• Zach Aikman: Production Manager.
• Joseph Tkach: Game Designer.
• William Towns: Technical Director.
• Andy Maneri: Product Manager.

The game received recognition from Chris Canfield, designer of Guitar Hero II and Rock Band, from Harmonix. Chris recently contacted the team and said, "I just wanted to say congratulations on getting to the final round of the IGF. Synaesthete is a really interesting and unique game, and you guys deserve a lot of praise for pushing into unexplored music game territory. Congratulations, and good luck!"

In addition to their success in the Main Competition, Synaesthete was also selected as one of the twelve finalists in the Student Showcase. This category featured a record 125 entries and finalists were chosen by a jury of experts from leading game design programs at universities across the world.

Joining Synaestete as a finalist in the Student Showcase is another DigiPen student project, Empyreal Nocturne. Empyreal Nocturne is a third-person aerial action game in which the player battles enormous flying monsters by commanding a legion of birds. The two-man team that produced the game is made up of:

• Reed Gonsalves: Producer, AI , Physics, Game Logic, Input
• Chad Taylor: Technical Director, Graphics, Physics, Game Logic, Architecture

Both of these games will be exhibited at the IGF Pavilion, February 20-22, 2008 at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC) Expo at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Read more about the competitions at http://igf.com/ and be sure to visit the Synaestete and Empyreal Nocturne websites download the games.

Congratulations to both teams and good luck!

DigiPen Grad Kim Swift on NEXT-GEN'S TOP 25 PEOPLE OF 2007

December 19, 2007 Congratulations to DigiPen graduate Kim Swift placing #7 on "Next-Gen's Top 25 People of 2007." As a DigiPen student, Kim, along with a team of fellow classmates, developed "Narbacular Drop", an environmental puzzle game where the player navigates a dungeon with two interconnected portals. The entire team was hired by Valve Software and recently released "Portal" (part of Valve's Orange Box bundle), which features the core game mechanic of "Narbacular Drop".

Again, congratulations for Kim! Find out more about the game that started it all at the Narbacular Drop website.

DigiPen to Host 2008 Seattle Code Camp

November 30, 2007 For the second year in a row, DigiPen is pleased to be hosting the 2008 Seattle Code Camp. Scheduled for the weekend of January 26th and 27th, this community event features two full days of talking about code with fellow developers. Sessions will range from informal “chalk talks” to presentations. To register for this free event, go to https://seattle.codecamp.us/default.aspx.

DigiPen Featured in Washington CEO Magazine

October 5, 2007 DigiPen is featured in an article in this month's Washington CEO Magazine about the game industry in Seattle. Check out the story at http://washingtonceo.com/home/story-display/article/222/the-temple-w.html.

DigiPen Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2008

September 12, 2007 DigiPen Institute of Technology's is now accepting applications for the fall of 2008. Those interested in applying for any of DigiPen's degree programs may do so by starting the application process online or by requesting an information packet. You can also e-mail admissions@digipen.edu or call 425-895-4408 to request an application form to be mailed to you. DigiPen Institute of Technology works on a rolling admissions basis, and only enrolls new degree seeking students in the fall semester. We encourage new applicants to apply by February 1st of each year, but we will continue to accept qualified applicants after that date until all spaces are filled. Applicants who are seeking financial aid should apply as early as possible in order to ensure adequate time to process financial aid requests. Detailed information about how to apply is available online under the Admissions section of this website.

Announcing the President's Graduate Fellowship Scholarship

The DigiPen Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the President’s Graduate Fellowship, which is equivalent to a full tuition waiver for up to fifty-two credit hours of graduate or undergraduate courses, to be awarded to, at most, one new incoming Master of Science in Computer Science applicant who has a proven history of academic and/or professional excellence. All applicants to the Master of Science in Computer Science program who have been accepted as of June 26th , 2007 will automatically be considered for the Fellowship. The Graduate Program Committee shall choose the recipient. Beginning with the 2008-2009 application year, the Graduate Program Committee will only consider applicants who have applied and been accepted to the program by May 1st , 2008.

Exclusive DigiPen Event: Learn From A Master Animator

DigiPen will be featuring an exclusive animation webcast on Thursday, June 21st at 3:00pm PST, with award winning DigiPen instructor, Tony White.

All the great master animators of the past have said that if anyone can animate a walk, they can animate anything. During this webcast, Tony will demonstrate how to create a generic animated walk, showing step-by-step how characters can appear to move convincingly. All the key principles of movement, such as arcs, weight and overlapping action, go into the creation of a well-animated walk; therefore, Tony will cover these principles, as well as answer questions about the animation industry, bringing the art of animation one-step nearer.

No previous animation experience is required to participate in this webcast. This webcast will last approximately one hour. Please see the biography of Tony White to learn more about this master animator. To participate, please register online by Wednesday, June 20th here.

Toblo Awarded Best Student Game at 2007 IGF

March 8, 2007 Congratulations to Steve Chiavelli, John Jensen, Zach Peterson, Brad Rasmussen and Ben Smith for their game "Toblo" that was recognized as "Best Student Game" at the 2007 Independent Game Festival Awards. Toblo, is a fast-paced capture the flag game, was one of ten IGF Student Showcase winners that were up for this first-time award. In addition to the award, the team was given a cash award of $2,500.

Congratulations are also wished for the teams that produced Gelatin Joe and Base Invaders that were games also selected as IGF Student Showcase winners. "Gelatin Joe" was the creation of Jason Jackson, Matt Craver, Eric Alderuccio and Andrew O-Mahony. "Base Invaders" was produced by Stefan Beyer, Kyle Foley, Steve Joseph, Matt Miner, Chris Peters, Nate Martin, Josh Sterling, Jeff Weber and Drew Swenson.

DigiPen Prepares to Open New Campus in Singapore

February 15, 2007 Singapore, the prosperous island city-state between Malaysia and Indonesia, will host the DigiPen Institute of Technology’s first Asian campus that is to be called "DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore". Established in cooperation with Singapore’s Economic Development Board, DigiPen newest campus is located in an area in Singapore called “Fusionpolis”, an ambitious live-work project that connects information technology, communication, and media industries. This new campus will be offering the following degree programs:

• Bachelor of Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation (154 credits) - Fall 2007
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production Animation (144 credits) - Fall 2008

DigiPen plans to begin accepting applications for Fall 2007 regionwide starting starting April 2007. For more information, please visit http://singapore.digipen.edu.

Three DigiPen Student Games Selected as IGF Student Showcase Winners

January 5, 2007 Once again DigiPen student games lead the way at the Independent Game Festival Student Showcase. Congratulations to the students teams that produced Toblo, Gelatin Joe, and Base Invaders (click on the game names to download playable versions). These three projects are part of a group of 10 games that were chosen for their innovation and fun gameplay out of an impressive pool of 102 games.

The Student Showcase was added to the IGF in 2001 and including this year's games, 18 DigiPen student projects have been honored as IGF Student Showcase Winners. Over the same time, four DigiPen projects have qualified for a Professional category, with the game Bontago winning the "2004 IGF Innovation in Game Design" award. This year, Toblo has been nominated for the same category. As always, DigiPen is extremely proud of all the productions that were submitted and wish the teams the best of luck with the final judging.

Each of the teams will receive $500 towards travel expenses from the IGF to show their game at the IGF Pavilion, which is part of the Game Developer Conference that will be held March 5-9, 2007 in San Francisco (http://www.gdconf.com/). One major addition this year to the IGF Student Showcase is that there will be a Best Student Game Award, with a $2500 prize. The winner will be announced at the IGF Awards event on March 7th. Please visit http://www.igf.com/ to find out more about the IGF.