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New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015
Number 5
Page 1 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter
NEIT at Pixar! Earlier this month, Assistant Professor, Bill Culbertson was a guest
at Pixar Animation Studios. While in San Francisco for the 2015
Game Developers Conference, Bill had the opportunity to cross the
Bay Bridge to Emoryville, home of Pixar.
Matthew Luhn, Pixar Story Supervisor took Bill on a two‐hour of the
Pixar Campus. “We talked a lot about Pixar’s obsession with quality.
Most movies take up to two years just to write. That is unheard of
in the industry. What is really amazing is, they write up to ten to‐
tally different story versions of each film. Eventually they choose
the strongest version.”
“One of the cool things he showed me was how the color artists
interpret the mood of the story throughout the film. There were
huge walls with color block images that visually represented the
mood flow of the entire film. Think of a storyboard wall, only the
subjects in the frames are color palettes instead of drawings. He
could tell the story just from the color changes.”
“The Campus is very impressive. They are very employee conscious.
There is a swimming pool, tennis/basketball courts, fitness center
and walking paths. Unlike most animation studios, Pixar maintains a
constant staff. They don’t ramp up for a production and lay‐off
when completed. Steve Jobs designed the main building. All the
lavatories, eating areas, etc are located in the center of the
building. The design creates the opportunities for employees to
interact during the day, exchanging ideas.”
“One thing is always present. High quality. Every aspect of their
work is done at a super high level. Matthew arranged for me to
meet with the Senior Recruiter of Student Internships. Pixar will
hopefully be including NEIT on their upcoming visits to New
England colleges to review portfolios of students interested in
Pixar.”
“We select up to five interns a year and we usually end up hiring
one of them full time,” said Kim Diaz. Her recommendation for
applicants, “Do your best work and do lots of it.”
New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015
Number 5
Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter
GDC 2105 Assistant Professors DJ Johnson and Bill Culbertson traveled
to this year’s Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco
on behalf of the college. The Conference is the preeminent
event for game Developers. The two were able to attend
conference sessions on game education, development and
careers. There was also the opportunity to meet and catch–
up with NEIT alumni who work in the industry.
At the Expo and Career Centers, new relationships were
formed with a number of companies to pursue future
internships opportunities for NEIT students.
Don’t forget to register for Spring Classes!
Register now before classes close!
New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015
Number 5
Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter
PIXAR Artists coming to NEIT!
Here’s an opportunity to add to your education! Pixar
Story Supervisor & Story Instructor, Matthew Luhn will
be returning to NEIT in April to conduct a two day Mas‐
ter Workshop on story development and animation. Ac‐
companying Matthew for this event will be Andrew
Gordon, a Animation Supervisor at Pixar.
NEIT hosted this workshop two years ago to a large
audience from across New England. Many attendees
were from game companies, big and small. WB/Turbine
sent a number of their artists to learn the nuances that
make Pixar works excel. The Workshop features an
inside look at how Pixar stories are developed and
brought to life through animation.
The Workshop is scheduled for April 10‐11, 2015.
Registration is now open for this limited seating event.
Special student discount rates are available at a cost of
$295. Come learn from the guys who made Nemo,
Sully, Ratatouille, Woody, Buzz and others come to life!
Jobs! Work! Jobs! The college's MIS Department is looking for a few good
students who would like to gain hands on knowledge and
at the same time earn some extra money. These
opportunities are ideal for students going into quarter 5,
7 or 9. If you are interested, please contact: Marty
Truchon in N240F (x3651) or email at [email protected]
Work Study Positions!
The Department is looking for students interested in be‐
ing Game Lab Monitors for the Spring Quarter. Thursdays
and Fridays are the main days needing coverage. Keeping
the Lab doors open for students is the goal! Monitors will
be responsible for keeping the lab open during non‐class
time for VGDD students to utilize the high end computers
and equipment in the Lab. Please contact Marty Truchon,
N240F if interested in earning some extra money!
FM GLOBAL CO‐OP Opportunities!
Representatives from FM Global will be on campus
Monday, March 30 at 11:30 and 5:00 PM to meet with
students interested in Co‐op/ Internships. Please contact
Shirl Gerlach ASAP to sign‐up for meetings: email
[email protected] or stop by Career Services.
To register for the Animation
Master Workshop with Pixar artists, go to:
neit.edu/animation
“ITStudents” on Canvas
Have you noticed the new ITStudents course on
canvas? It is an Internship/Co‐op/Jobs resource for
you! Check it out for the latest information about
opportunities that you may be eligible for.
Quarter 10 students should take note of the two
GTEC internships currently posted. Applications are
due now! Act ASAP!
Register now while seats are available!
New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015
Number 5
Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter
New NEIT IGDA Chapter! The VGDD Department is hosting a new International Game Devel‐
opers Association School Chapter. Currently there are 15 chapters
across the world. As an official IGDA Chapter, students can enjoy all
the connections and recognition possible through the Association.
The Global Game Jam is an IGDA function that NEIT has participated
in over the past three years. As a local chapter, we are planning
monthly meetings with featured events relating to the gaming
industry.
We are currently seeking three students willing to
become officers for the group. These three leaders
must be IGDA members ($30. annual membership fee
to the IGDA).
If you are interested in becoming an officer for the
group (looks great on the resume!), please contact
Jordan Dubreuil or Bill Culbertson as soon as possible.
Non‐officer students will not be required to be paying
members of IGDA.
The new NEIT IGDA Chapter will be replacing the current Provi‐
dence IGDA Group and the IT Department’s GDN.
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is the largest non-profit membership organization in the world serving all individuals who create games. As an international organization, we are a global network of collaborative projects and communities comprised of individuals from all fields of game development - from programmers and producers to writers, artists, QA and localization. We bring together developers at key industry conferences, in over 90 Chapters and in Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to improve their lives and their craft. We advocate on behalf of our membership to ensure quality of life, perpetuation of our craft and preparing the next generation of developers. Whether you're a student with a goal to become a game developer or a seasoned veteran, regardless if you're based in the U.S. or any country/region in the world, whether you're an indie developer or in a AAA studio, whether your primary platform is a PC, console or a tabletop - we welcome you home to the IGDA!
Special Interest Groups
The IGDA special interest groups (SIGs) will help you connect with
others who are interested in a particular topic or specialists in a
specific discipline. SIG members work together to teach and learn
from each other, promote their specialties, identify new technical
or aesthetic challenges, and advance the art and industry of game
design.
Scholars
IGDA Scholars are the most promising students studying game development and related fields. and are selected via a rigorous application process. Scholars benefit from the guidance of industry professionals, and receive free access to industry events, such as the Game Developer's Conference. IGDA Scholarships are an opportunity for talented students to get a head start in the competi-tive world of professional game development
Crowdfunding
Many of our members, affiliates and partners rely on several popu-
lar crowdfunding platforms to build their communities and finan-
cially support their work. As a service to the IGDA developer com-
munity, we curate a list of noteworthy projects
on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We allow IGDA members to request
that we include their projects in our curated lists.
Chapters
IGDA chapters connect game developers in their local communi-ties. Chapters hold guest speaker lectures, social gatherings, plan-ning meetings, game jams, and other events in over 100 cities around the world. Our chapters are one of the easiest ways for IGDA members to meet others to learn, teach, or collaborate close to home.