Please join us for the 2014 MassDiGI Summer Innovation Program Open House!
For the past 11 weeks, 22 students from 11 colleges and universities have worked on 4 amazing games. You are invited to come on down and play them!
Games include:
To register, please click here.
When: August 7, 2014 – 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Where: Becker College, Weller Academic Center, 61 Sever St., Worcester, MA 01609
» Read More
Drop by the Boston Games Forum’s June Playtest Night and visit the MassDiGI table featuring demos from SIP. Registration information for the event is available here.
When: June 28, 2014, 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Where: Microsoft, 1 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA
» Read More
Drop by WPI’s Touch Tomorrow festival and visit the MassDiGI table featuring early demos from SIP. More information on Touch Tomorrow is available here.
When: June 14, 2014, 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: WPI, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA 01609
» Read More
Drop by Boston TechJam and visit the MassTech Collaborative booth featuring early demos from MassDiGI SIP teams. More information on Boston TechJam is available here.
When: June 12, 2014, 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA
» Read More
Join MassDiGI at the annual Merrimack Valley Sandbox Summit. This year’s theme is “Entrepreneurship for All.” Details on the summit are here.
When: June 9, 2014
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St, Lowell, MA 01852
» Read More
“Tim Loew is helping to spread the reputation of Becker College’s MassDigi around the country. That means more students with skills and ambitions in video game development want to spend their summer in Worcester.”
Read the full story here.
» Read More
The importance of community in games
By Malinda Statder, sophomore, Becker College
A little over a week ago, Ichiro Lambe from Dejobaan Games stood in front of a crowd of Worcester-area college students in the lecture hall at Becker College. He spoke animatedly, not about the secrets of creating a great game or the magic to becoming a big name indie, but about something few think about when the subject of game making comes up: community and collaboration.
Students already know the value of collaboration on a small scale; we have all taken part in game jams or, failing that, have worked with one another to complete a project. But, the idea of an entire community based around the creation of games is still a bit of a foreign, out-side-looking-in concept.
Ichiro discussed the growth of gaming communities in different places around the world – from Boston to Vancouver; beginning with, in some cities, a few interested people in a pub and then growing, as he described it, Katamari Damacy-style, into huge, vibrant communities. A community that collaborates provides anything a budding indie needs to make a name for him or herself, from industry connections to honest constructive criticism from programmers to artists and everyone in between.
He also stressed the importance of networking, talking about how simply knowing one person might mean the difference between success and failure in the industry, because it’s not always about what you know, but who you know as well. Ichiro ended his lecture by insisting that all students regularly attend the Boston game development community meet-ups to introduce ourselves to future peers and begin making the acquaintances which may one day be the catalysts for our success.
» Read More
Summer game camps for kids
By Tim Loew, executive director, MassDiGI
Each spring I receive questions from middle and high school parents about information on summer computer camps that offer game making. Given the interest, I thought a quick post on the subject might be helpful.
Locally, there are actually quite a few options for kids and I’ve listed several offerings below for parents to consider. If you know of any others, please let me know and I’ll add them. That said, poking around the internet, checking the summer programs scheduled at your local college or university and leafing through community papers might also turn you on to any number of others as well. Let the games begin!
» Read More
For all to play: Making a game, making a difference
By Elias Aoude, producer, For All To Play
The idea for our game, Grail to the Thief, came about when we were researching (the For All To Play team are all alumni or current students at WPI) game design for the blind. We conducted interviews at Perkins School for the Blind and performed extensive research which led us to discover that few games are available to the blind and visually impaired, and many of the games that are available are severely dated, lack the quality and polish of games for the sighted, and rely on synthesized computer voices such as screen readers in order to play. Grail to the Thief will address these problems, and the game will be just as accessible and exciting an experience for the blind and visually impaired as it will be for the sighted.
So, with that in mind and a build in-hand, we started up an indie studio in Worcester and are at the halfway point of a crowdfunding campaign for Grail to the Thief on Kickstarter.
You can play a browser-based prototype of the game. It requires Google Chrome or Opera and can be found here: foralltoplay.com/prototype. If you have some time, please check it out.
The game, when launched, will be an interactive audio adventure for Windows, Mac, and Linux (a standalone executable will not require a web browser) that can be played using only sound, without the need for visuals. Grail to the Thief has been designed with the needs of the blind and visually impaired in mind but can be enjoyed by everyone. The game will deliver an exciting, immersive experience in which the player will always be fully aware of what is happening through the use of voice-overs, sound effects, ambient sound and music.
Game players will make choices through a conversation tree from which they can select commands, eliminating the confusion and frustration that comes with traditional text adventure games which require players to type in commands to progress. It is a nostalgic throwback to childhood favorites such as Zork, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Day of the Tentacle, and Grim Fandango, and draws inspiration from old BBC radio dramas and the movie Time Bandits.
If our Kickstarter campaign is successfully funded, Grail to the Thief will be available as a DRM-free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux in August 2014.
» Read More
SIP14 students selected
By Tim Loew, executive director, MassDiGI
Each year applications to our annual Summer Innovation Program (SIP) have grown in terms of quality, quantity and diversity. This year we received applications from 157 undergraduate and graduate students representing 31 colleges and universities from across the country – making it our most competitive year ever.
Needless to say, selecting only 22 was a challenge. After much discussion, the committee chose a great group. This year’s SIP teams will be made up of students from 11 institutions including Becker College, Berklee College of Music, Hampshire College, MIT, Mt. Holyoke College, Northeastern University, Rhode Island School of Design, Smith College, Tufts University, UMass Lowell and WPI.
SIP begins on May 20 and concludes on August 8. Over those 11 weeks or so, with guidance from professional staff and industry mentors, SIP teams will be responsible for all the work required to successfully launch their games in the market. There is no internship program like it in the country.
As in past years, SIP students will receive housing courtesy of Becker College as well as a modest stipend. More importantly they will all receive the greatest game development experience of their lives. Sure, it may be a lot of work – but it’s also a ton of fun. We can’t wait to get started.
Revised on 5/3/14.
» Read More
