Rensselaer to Host 4th Annual Game Festival & SymposiumRensselaer to Host 4th Annual Game Festival & Symposium

Author: by Beth A.

From April 13-14, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York will host its fourth annual Game Festival & Symposium (GameFest), a two-day exposition featuring discussions with prominent members of the gaming industry and an exhibition of the latest work from aspiring game designers. More than twenty teams of game studies students have been chosen by Rensselaer faculty to exhibit the games they've created over the last twelve months on April 13th. An April 14th symposium will feature lectures and panel discussions with leading innovators in the gaming industry including: Michael Lewis '93, president of Cryptic Studios (makers of the multiple-user dungeon game City of Heroes, one of the fastest-growing subscriber-based games), Karthik Bala '97, founder and CEO of Vicarious Visions (one of ten Activision studios responsible for creating DOOM 3 for Xbox and Spider-Man 2 for PSP), and Tim Sweeney '04 lead game designer on the PeaceMaker game which challenges users to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using non-violent methods. This year's GameFest will celebrate the addition of a new major in Games and Simulation Arts & Sciences. The program will equip graduates with a suite of integrated skills necessary for leaders in the game development industry through required coursework such as Experimental Game Design, Interactive Narrative, and History & Culture of Games and a second component that allows students to concentrate in one of several disciplines directly related to existing or emerging career paths in the games and simulation or entertainment industry. For more information, visit the GameFest website.