SimCity Hotel Block courtesy EA
We saw a lot of chatter on our Facebook page last week about the launch of SimCity’s newest game in its franchise. Despite all the frustration, according to this article in Game Informer, this was one of the biggest launches in the game’s history.
Were you one of the dedicated gamers who played – or tried to play – during the first few weeks?
There’s been a lot of talk lately about what visual effects brings to film and game. The artists who work in this industry do make magic happen.
We thought you would enjoy seeing how ILM turned Mark Ruffalo into “The Hulk.” Three Cogswell alumni worked on the film. Greg Smith as a Digital Modeler, Adam Lawson as an Animator and Vincent Parker as a Video Playback Engineer.
Check out the video and let us know what you think!
Dr. Deborah Snyder, Cogswell College Chief Academic Officer & Provost
Cogswell College today announced the appointment of Dr. Deborah Snyder as chief academic officer and provost. In her new role, Dr. Snyder will oversee growth, planning and development in all of the school’s educational programs.
“Dr. Snyder has a great depth of knowledge in the industry,” says Janis Paulson, Interim Chief Executive Officer for Cogswell College. “She has a long history of higher education experience and was a pioneer in the adoption of online platforms in learning. Her impressive track record and proven strategic know-how make her a formidable asset to the college.”
Previously, Snyder served as senior vice provost for academic programs at Strayer University in Washington, D.C. and is author of The New Traditionals and e-Marketing Basics. The New Traditionals examined adult learners—those 25 and over—who comprise the majority of enrollees in higher education. She has been published in numerous education and marketing journals and has presented at several high-profile conferences.
“When I first visited Cogswell, I was so impressed by what the students were learning,” explains Dr. Snyder. “It’s truly a creative and innovative environment for students and faculty. Cogswell’s students are diverse and talented, making programs like our award-winning Project X and others,—possible.”
“I look forward to being part of the Cogswell academic team that will continue Cogswell’s growth trajectory while maintaining the high quality and innovative education students have come to expect,” says Snyder. “Although higher education may be experiencing significant changes these days due to new and disruptive technologies, Cogswell students and faculty seem to be comfortable working in the fast-paced world of constantly changing technology, which is so much a part of the Silicon Valley culture.”
Disruptive technologies in higher education include innovative ways of delivering learning through online degrees, badges and massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Snyder continues, “Cogswell’s innovative offerings in digital arts and engineering, and steadfast commitment to a leading edge learning environment, will continue to produce the next generation of workers in these dynamic industries, whatever changes in education the future may hold.”
You enjoy playing your favorite PSP or DS game on your handheld device – but wouldn’t it be great to have that game on your mobile phone instead? But there are a few barriers.
Using “Blazing Souls” as an example, this recent article in Game Skinny talks about the two major factors that keep these games out of the Android and iPhone markets – price and size. If you want all those cool graphics, sound effects and hours of play, then you have to expect the game to eat up the space on your mobile phone. These games are also built by teams of artists, sound designers and programmers – not a few guys in their garage – and they want to be paid for their efforts.
Are you willing to do what it takes to bring PSP and DS games to you phone?
Hard to believe that Angry Birds only hit the scene in December 2009 since it’s hard to go anywhere without stumbling across something from the franchise. Toys, t-shirts, board games – the little pigs and birds have invaded Star Wars and are now set to show up on our TV screens.
Follow the development of this popular game from start-up to an animated television series in the article by Entrepreneur.
What do you think is next for these feisty little birds?
Take a step back to 1978 and “Space Invaders” when music first began to color and create an emotional experience in games. Now fast forward to November 2012 when the “Halo 4 Original Soundtrack” debuted on the Billboard charts in America at number 50.
Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner talks about how the game audio industry has changed and why he is excited about the new opportunities. Rimbaud is an artist, musician and composer working in London who was the keynote speaker at the Audio Engineering Society’s 49th International Conference on Audio for Games.
Check out his observations in the article he wrote for PSN Europe.
What’s your favorite video game music?
Welcome to the Job Fair at Cogswell College
A great big thank you goes out to all of the employers, students and alumni who took part in our recent job fair on March 15. This hugely successful event featured 11 employers and drew more than 100 students and alumni to campus to apply for more than 50 positions.
Opportunities included post graduate jobs, part-time summer jobs and internships with employers looking to hire artists, programmers, marketing assistants and retail associates to name a few of the positions available. A good number of the students who completed employment applications at the job fair, have been asked to take the next step and interview for those positions.
From the minute the doors opened at 10AM until they closed at 2PM, students and alumni flocked into the Dragon’s Den, resumes in hand and waited patiently to talk to each of the employers present. In preparation, Nikki Love, Director of Cogswell College’s Career Services, had offered numerous sessions over the last few months on interviewing techniques and resume development to help students be successful at the job fair.
For more information about the next job fair or to advertise a position to Cogswell College students and alumni, please contact Nikki Love at nlove@cogswell.edu or phone her at 408-498-5102.
Job Fair Art Test for Karmen's Art Shoppes
Waiting in line to talk to Grimm Bros, LLC, representative, Ash Monif
In Proteus, players travel through a world to soothing music as they uncover pockets of wildlife and other things of interest along the way. There are no particular goals or rules to speak of – elements most students of game design learn are essential parts of a game.
Developer Ed Key, alongside musician David Kanaga, thinks of it more as an “anti-game.”
Follow the discussion in Indie Game the WebLog. What do you think? Is Proteus a Game or something else?
On March 19, 1887 Cogswell College made its appearance in a solemn ceremony presided over by Henry Cogswell and his wife, Carolyn. The goal – then as now – was to prepare young men and women for the professional, technical industries of the day. Things have changed a bit since 1887.
In the early days, men majored in mechanical arts, draughtsman, steam engineering and surveying while women majored in commercial trades (meaning secretarial) or domestic sciences. By the early 1950’s the focus shifted to engineering and included majors in electrical, mechanical, structural and civil engineering.
Today – as one of the first institutions to offer degrees in the newly emerging digital media industry in 1990, Cogswell continues its project-based learning model and produces highly-skilled graduates in animation, game design, sound design, audio engineering, digital arts engineers and software engineers.
In 2012 Cogswell launched its first Masters degree program in Entrepreneurship. Where better to mentor the next generations of digital media and creative innovators than Silicon Valley!
Congratulations Cogswell College on reaching 126 years!
It’s so cool to see artwork created by our alumni get published. In a recent Flicks and Bits review about the “Dark Knight Rises,” they featured a piece by Andy Timm depicting a wrestling match between Bane battling Venom.
Congrats Andy!
