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The se­nior the­sis pro­ject, uti­liz­ing skills in an in­no­v­a­tive way to de­velop a pro­ject that re­lates to the en­ter­tain­ment in­dus­try. Pro­jects are de­vel­oped through courses in the en­ter­tain­ment tech­nol­ogy and/or emerg­ing media tech­nol­ogy pro­grams. Pro­jects re­quire ap­proval by the ad­vi­sor and must demon­strate man­age­ment, tech­ni­cal de­sign and pre­sen­ta­tion skills. Doc­u­men­ta­tion of plan­ning, de­sign and re­al­iza­tion is pre­sented to a com­mit­tee of in­struc­tors, both in en­ter­tain­ment tech­nol­ogy and re­lated dis­ci­plines, as well as to in­dus­try pro­fes­sion­als se­lected by the stu­dent and ap­proved by the ad­vi­sor. Though stu­dents en­roll in this course dur­ing their se­nior year, de­vel­op­ment of the pro­ject should begin dur­ing the sec­ond se­mes­ter of the ju­nior year.

The senior thesis project, utilizing skills in an innovative way to develop a project that relates to the entertainment industry. Projects are developed through courses in the entertainment technology and/or emerging media technology programs. Projects require approval by the advisor and must demonstrate management, technical design and presentation skills. Documentation of planning, design and realization is presented to a committee of instructors, both in entertainment technology and related disciplines, as well as to industry professionals selected by the student and approved by the advisor. Though students enroll in this course during their senior year, development of the project should begin during the second semester of the junior year.

All writ­ing is cre­ative, in­clud­ing the writ­ing you do for school, in­ter­net posts to so­cial media, and text/email mes­sages. Where there was a blank page–vir­tual or oth­er­wise–and you fill it with your words, you have, in fact, drawn on your in­tel­lec­tual re­sources to cre­ate pat­terns of mean­ing with those words. “Cre­ative writ­ing,” how­ever, gen­er­ally refers to po­etry, fic­tion, drama, and some forms of non-fic­tion–mem­oirs and nar­ra­tives that use the tech­niques of story-telling. We will focus on un­der­stand­ing how form and mean­ing work to­gether and on un­der­stand­ing the types and com­plex­i­ties of each genre–no­tably, fic­tion, non-fic­tion, po­etry, drama, and cross-gen­res–so each stu­dent can begin to de­velop their unique, in­di­vid­ual voice.

All writing is creative, including the writing you do for school, internet posts to social media, and text/email messages. Where there was a blank page–virtual or otherwise–and you fill it with your words, you have, in fact, drawn on your intellectual resources to create patterns of meaning with those words. “Creative writing,” however, generally refers to poetry, fiction, drama, and some forms of non-fiction–memoirs and narratives that use the techniques of story-telling. We will focus on understanding how form and meaning work together and on understanding the types and complexities of each genre–notably, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and cross-genres–so each student can begin to develop their unique, individual voice.

This hands-on stu­dio course will focus on the cre­ation of in­no­v­a­tive work­able pro­to­types ex­plor­ing ex­pres­sive forms of game­play using a va­ri­ety of multi-me­dia ap­proaches, method­olo­gies and ma­te­ri­als. The aes­thet­ics of game de­sign, in­clud­ing asset and char­ac­ter de­vel­op­ment, level de­sign, game play ex­pe­ri­ence and de­liv­ery sys­tems will be cov­ered. Sup­ple­men­tal read­ings on the com­plex in­ter­play be­tween story and game will be ex­plored to an­a­lyze ef­fec­tive nar­ra­tive de­vices and game me­chan­ics. The class will in­volve lec­tures on game the­ory, de­sign ex­er­cises and in-depth analy­sis of works across com­mer­cial, art & so­cial change sec­tors.

This hands-on studio course will focus on the creation of innovative workable prototypes exploring expressive forms of gameplay using a variety of multi-media approaches, methodologies and materials. The aesthetics of game design, including asset and character development, level design, game play experience and delivery systems will be covered. Supplemental readings on the complex interplay between story and game will be explored to analyze effective narrative devices and game mechanics. The class will involve lectures on game theory, design exercises and in-depth analysis of works across commercial, art & social change sectors.

This course of­fers a cross-dis­ci­pli­nary foun­da­tion for the de­sign of games and in­ter­ac­tive multi-me­dia tech­nol­ogy for artists, de­sign­ers and tech­nol­o­gists. Stu­dents will learn hu­man-cen­tered de­sign prin­ci­ples and apply these method­olo­gies to col­lab­o­ra­tive team-based pro­jects across web, mo­bile and games. Using case stud­ies, brain­storm­ing processes, and rapid ana­log and dig­i­tal pro­to­typ­ing, stu­dents learn de­sign think­ing and prob­lem-solv­ing tech­niques to en­hance us­abil­ity, in­cor­po­rate sen­sory ex­pe­ri­ence, in­flu­ence per­cep­tion, in­crease ap­peal, and make more ef­fec­tive in­ter­ac­tive de­sign de­ci­sions.

This course offers a cross-disciplinary foundation for the design of games and interactive multi-media technology for artists, designers and technologists. Students will learn human-centered design principles and apply these methodologies to collaborative team-based projects across web, mobile and games. Using case studies, brainstorming processes, and rapid analog and digital prototyping, students learn design thinking and problem-solving techniques to enhance usability, incorporate sensory experience, influence perception, increase appeal, and make more effective interactive design decisions.

This lab-based course of­fers sup­port­ive in­struc­tion and train­ing for dig­i­tal media de­sign and con­tent de­liv­ery using a va­ri­ety of soft­ware pro­grams and plat­forms. Top­ics cov­ered in­clude but are not lim­ited to raster graph­ics, vec­tor graph­ics, 3D mod­el­ing, dig­i­tal audio, and dig­i­tal video pro­duc­tion and edit­ing. The class of­fers com­pre­hen­sive the­o­ret­i­cal and prac­ti­cal in­struc­tion of the tools and tech­niques for dig­i­tal imag­ing, graph­ics, video, sound, and in­ter­ac­tive de­sign. Specif­i­cally, stu­dents will be in­tro­duced to Adobe Pho­to­shop, Il­lus­tra­tor, In­De­sign, Word­Press, Au­dac­ity, Au­di­tion, Pre­miere, and Unity. In ad­di­tion, work­shops have been de­signed to fos­ter a cul­ture of col­lab­o­ra­tion and sus­tain­able learn­ing com­mu­nity.

This lab-based course offers supportive instruction and training for digital media design and content delivery using a variety of software programs and platforms. Topics covered include but are not limited to raster graphics, vector graphics, 3D modeling, digital audio, and digital video production and editing. The class offers comprehensive theoretical and practical instruction of the tools and techniques for digital imaging, graphics, video, sound, and interactive design. Specifically, students will be introduced to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, WordPress, Audacity, Audition, Premiere, and Unity. In addition, workshops have been designed to foster a culture of collaboration and sustainable learning community.