The American experience
By Khalifa Al-Mehairi, Zayed University
Coming from the other side of the world as an Emirati and experiencing the different work and study cultures that America has to offer has been a eye opening experience, one that is filled with freedom.
The first few days of learning have been that of a familiar experience back in my country, a lot of presentation slides and paying attention, which in my personal opinion is not my preferred way of learning, at least not for a passion project. Though the way I learn back in college is that of the same. Monty Sharma has been a different spice of a instructor I’ve never encountered before, very very honest, and that’s something I like as at least I know for sure what direction to take that will result in a better outcome.
The Americans in the SIP program with us have been very kind and helpful, they are also a great source of general knowledge for us as we don’t know America as much as they do, alongside that they are many that are talented that we could gain experience from.
The toughest part of the first two weeks was transitioning from the player to the developer mindset, a lot of the ideas that were bounced around in the first week were either too ambitious, of a movie mindset, or simply bad pitches, but as we slowly got into the developer mindset alongside our integration of what would be a valuable and easy to transform game for Mansour, the good ideas started rolling in.
We wished someone a happy birthday, and cut cake, we laughed together and debated, and learned our differences, what we needed to improve as a team and what things we needed to understand from each other to be more understanding. One fault of mine was being stubborn with ideas, which I heard is somewhat common with artists, but as time goes the more I realize there’s always another perspective, and that we should hear things out, let them marinate before we conclude ourselves on what it is.
If there is one thing I can be grateful for it is the people in this program with me. Monty has been a excellent mentor in expanding the horizon for what the correct mindset needs to be, and what we need to be aware of, and other than him are the people in the program, who are all talented and passionate in their own way and who I hope will carve something beautiful for the end.
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Iteration, animation and no procrastination
By Ben Zakharenko, Berklee College of Music ’25
Now several weeks into SIP, all teams across the Northeastern and WPI campuses are now well into the weeds of making their games. By this stage in the development process, the core gameplay for all three games has been established and first builds have been delivered. This foundation has now allowed for our programmers to receive feedback and iterate on their designs, refining mechanics and ensuring smooth functionality. They’re also establishing a regular build schedule, which is crucial for maintaining a steady workflow and ensures frequent playtesting while still hitting our project milestones.
Meanwhile, our artists are putting in significant effort to bring the visual elements of our games to a more polished state. Assets are moving away from the initial programmer art as concept art turns into background designs and animations. Seeing these visual components come to life within each game is quite inspiring!
On the audio front, my role has ramped up considerably, as sound effects, voiceover and music make their way properly into the game. Now that gameplay loops and aesthetics have been thoroughly established, I have been working as fast as possible to nail down the musical systems of all three games I’m working on, not only composing the necessary music cues but also designing their interactive elements in FMOD. However, while my focus this week has been music, I’ve also been working on designing sound effects and other audio assets for the more finalized animations as they come in as well. One of the highlights on that front this week was a voiceover recording session on Tuesday, where several SIP members lent their voices to bring some characters from team Leaf and team Necco’s games to life! The collaboration and enthusiasm during this session was a testament to the passion everyone has for their projects.
Overall, the pace of development is accelerating as we strive to meet our deadlines. Each team is making remarkable progress, and it’s exhilarating to see how our games are evolving from concept to playable experiences. We are all eager to see the final products as our projects
continue to take shape.
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New friends, new builds
By Angie Baird, WPI ‘25
As the WPI and Northeastern teams settled into their weekly routines, a new group of students joined the fray! Traveling all the way from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), talented programmers and artists stepped up to join the program! Going by the very Bostonian names of Baked Beans, Clam Chowder, Lobster, and Maple Syrup, these ESIP teams learned game concepts and then began pitching and refining new ideas.
While SIP and ESIP got acquainted, they exchanged knowledge and insights. Special guest James Spavold, a SIP alumnus and current CTO of Petricore, gave a talk to the programmers about production and system management, while the artists discussed artistic methods and the creative process.
After the UAE teams finish pitching, they will join the SIP teams in forging ahead into the game development process! At the beginning of this week, SIP’s programming teams scrapped their prototype builds and started fresh, harnessing the knowledge they garnered to make better frameworks. With our development plans finalized, my team – Team O-Pee-Chee – established the main systems we would need and established how to best approach them. Doing this upfront helped us understand the scope of our project and how these systems would work together, minimizing potential roadblocks down the road. Additionally, my team’s programmers have formed an organizational system to keep teamwork running smoothly.
On the art side, my team has worked to create a cohesive vision that highlights each artist’s strength. As our game is heavily UI-based, we have focused on the shapes and colors we want to keep consistent to make the game more cohesive. As we move out of the conceptualization stage and into creating in-game assets, we have started setting up an art pipeline that will ensure our game feels balanced and polished.
Overall, we have established strong teamwork and organization while working towards forming the vision of our game. By planning each step, teams have created timelines and epics that they can easily grasp, helping everyone stay on track. Even though the SIP teams might organize themselves slightly differently, they’ve taken their unique dynamics and strengths into account. As teams forge ahead into production, they will utilize what they have learned to help both other SIP teams and the ESIP teams succeed.
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SIP24 takes off!
By Liberty Henry, Emerson College ‘24
This week, the MassDigi team began the onboarding process for SIP24. This first week we’ve been on Zoom, focusing on becoming acquainted with one another and getting into the groove of working together as a team. Led by Monty Sharma, Tim Loew, and Walt Yarbough, our team has undergone several different meetings discussing existing games and the game industry as a whole. They’ve also completed numerous activities where they’ve dissected aspects of pre-existing games, as well as tried to come up with different game mechanics and prompts to get their own creative gears turning.
By far one of the biggest takeaways our participants have had is that communication is key. This is especially important as, this year, we are operating with three different teams spread across our locations at WPI and Northeastern. We are happy to announce the sickly-sweet names of our three main teams: Leaf, Necco, and O-Pee-Chee. All three teams will work over the course of the next ten weeks to create three separate games.
Our participants have already begun to grow quite close, and have been very excited to start working on their projects. As our teams enter pre-production, we are excited to see what this year’s batch of SIP participants will bring to the table.
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Since 2012, the Summer Innovation Program’s first year, applications to SIP have evolved year over year in terms of quality, geography, major and diversity. This time around we received applications from 278 undergraduate and graduate students representing 66 colleges and universities.
Choosing only 16 as interns was very challenging. After many hours, we selected a really talented group. This summer’s SIP24 team will be made up of interns from 9 institutions including Berklee, Emerson, MassArt, Northeastern, RIC, RISD, Smith, Tufts and WPI.
SIP24 – which will have two locations this year, one at WPI in Worcester, the other at Northeastern in Boston, both in collaboration with the Venture Forum – begins on May 21 and concludes on August 2. Over those 11+ weeks, with guidance from staff and industry mentors, SIP24 teams will be responsible for all the work necessary to build and launch a game. Simply put, there is no internship program like it in the world. We can’t wait to get started!
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2024 Summer Innovation Program
The 2024 MassDigi Summer Innovation Program (SIP) is an eleven-week program that includes the mentoring, guidance, awards (aka stipends) and support** to help student teams finalize an original game and prepare it for launch.
- A chance to work on a game prototype from the ground up
- Work with a team of peers to help create the next big hit
- Industry mentors to help guide you
- Two locations; one in Boston at Northeastern University, one in Worcester at WPI.
- An award (aka a stipend) but no housing**
This is not just another program but a chance to hold the fate of a game in your hands. There are industry mentors and faculty to help you – but in the end it is up to your team to build a successful game.**
- SIP 24 is now accepting expressions of interest. Expressions of interest are due by March 22, 2024 at 11:59 ET. Notifications regarding expressions of interest will be sent on or before March 31, 2024.**
- SIP 24 is scheduled to run from May 21 to August 2.**
- Please read the FAQ’s before applying.
EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST HERE
** Pending funding and approvals, all is subject to change including stipend, locations, dates etc.
FAQs
Who can participate?
The Summer Innovation Program is open to all but preference is given to students who will be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year (and graduate students, too) at a regionally-accredited college or university.* Students must be able to commit to a typical work week for the entire duration of program – from virtual onboarding (May 21-24) to the core program (May 28-August 2)**. Certain eligibility requirements, as noted below and in the application, must be met. This year, pending funding and approvals, there may be two sites – one in Boston at Northeastern and one in Worcester. Housing is not available this year. **
The SIP process is very competitive. For example, last year 326 students attending 94 different colleges and universities from around the world applied for the 25 available slots. For more information on SIP23, please visit our blog.
What disciplines can apply?
Students studying game design, development, programming, animation, art, production and computer science will make up most of the teams, but there is room for marketers, writers and musicians, as well as others, too.
What will you build?
In addition to team-generated projects, on occasion, MassDigi also works with a number of sponsors that are building everything from mobile entertainment games to educational titles. You will work on a team that is focused on one title – though you will have a chance to help out on some of the other titles.
Is housing included?
No. Housing is not included.
Wait, does this include food?
No, MassDigi does not have the ability to provide meals. There are a number of local restaurants and grocery stores.
What does this cost?
Nothing. In fact, you will receive a very modest award for your participation.
What is an award (aka a stipend)?
Money. You will receive an award of of $1000. You must be properly authorized in the US to receive an award.**
Where have SIP alumni gone on to work?
SIP alumni have gone on to work or intern at a range of companies and organizations including Sony, Google, 2K, Nickelodeon, Harmonix, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, MIT Lincoln Lab, EA, Amazon, Turbine/Warner Bros., Wooga, Blizzard, Uber, Pilot Studio, SAP, Wizards of the Coast, Wayfair, Mightier, Filament Games, Epic, Rockstar New England, Magic Leap, Disney, Adult Swim, OtherSide Entertainment, Riot, Teach for America, Roosterteeth, Unity, Zapdot, HakJak, Maxis, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, Hi-Rez Studios, Kongregate, Philips, Fanbyte, Niantic Labs, Zynga, Goldman Sachs, Wellington, Bungie, Disbelief, Velan, Other Ocean, Toys for Bob, Legends of Learning, Zenimax, Proletariat, Larian and Hasbro or startup their own studios such as Shattered Journal, Zephyr Workshop, Snoozy Kazoo and Petricore.
What games have come out of SIP in past years?
Last summer, SIP 23 teams built Aliens Want Our Mascot!, Rodent Rampage, Milo’s Magical Adventure and Rock On, Raccoon! while the Summer Studio 23 team built Merge Monastery. In SIP22, the teams built Cafe Cat, Hellfire Hair, Demigod Daycare and Get Low, Grandpa. Prior to that, SIP21 teams created Clock Out!, House Haunters, Bewitching Boba and Trials of Midnight. Most prior year games that are still updated can be found by searching for MassDigi in the Apple App and Google Play Stores while a few can also be found on Steam.
Do I have to be a student at WPI to participate?
No. The program is open to all but preference is given to college and university students who will be entering at least their sophomore, junior or senior year (and graduate students, too) at a regionally-accredited college or university.* In past years students from institutions such as MIT, USC, Carnegie Mellon, Smith, Champlain, Tufts, Clark, Mt. Holyoke, RIT, RPI, NYU, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Emerson, BU, UMass Lowell, UMass Boston, UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, MassArt, Brandeis, Acadia (Canada), Vassar, Amherst, Parsons, Fitchburg St., Union, Colby, Hampshire, Union, Temple, Brown, Vassar, Cornell, Bryn Mawr, Pratt, LYIT (Ireland), IUPUI, WIT, Quinnipiac, Northeastern, Swarthmore, Lesley, SVA, RISD, Southern Maine, MECA, Penn, Framingham St., Becker and Berklee have been accepted.
How many students are accepted into the program?
We hope to accept 6-25 students into SIP.
* The regional-accreditation requirement may not apply for applicants enrolled in non-US institutions. International students must handle their own visas and documents as required.
** Pending funding, all is subject to change including stipend, location, dates etc.
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Let the games begin
