Other Side of The Screen Conference Wrap-up

Update: Pictures of the event now online!

Conference Overview:

The Conference went great! Our attendance ranged from 175-200 people!

We'd first like to thank all the sponsors who made the event possible:
- Kumon Math & Reading
- Michigan State University
- University of Michigan
- GameLoft
- Dr. Carol Prince
- Ms. Nicole Bradford of Vivendi Games

Also the exhibitors who had interesting material which related to breaking in the game industry and education in general:
- Barnes & Nobles
- University of Michigan
- Michigan State University
- Official City Prep Programming
- Kumon Math&Reading

And lastly, but most importantly thanks to our speakers which fueled the conference:

Michigan State University -
       Our keynote speaker(s) and sponsor. Thanks to DMAT (Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media) for speaking on breaking into the game industry and applying the interest for video games at the college level. The information was insightful and motivational, and the game demos, compliments of Spartasoft, were fun to play and showed the possibilities in game development.

For more information about Michigan States Degree in Game Design and Development you can check it out here: http://dmat.msu.edu/degrees/gamespecialization.html

For more information about Spartasoft, and to play many of the games they provided at the conference & more, check out the following link: http://spartasoft.msu.edu/


Mr. Barry Webster(Programming) -
       Programming is what video games are built upon and almost all programming languages are quite difficult to comprehend. It is the very technical side of video games. Mr. Webster delivered a great presentation on how programming incorporates much mathematical skill but presented in such a way that was understandable to the audience. He coded for creating a circle, then for multiple circles, and then coded for a 3D cylinder.

If you have further questions regarding programming you can email Mr. Webster at Bwebster@dcds.edu


Jay Semerad of Red Leader Audio (Audio) -
       Much isn't known on how music and audio is incorporated into video game development but Jay certainly enlightened us. He constructed music right before eyes, using professional-standard music programs which are designed specifically for game development. He also did quite the demonstration on creating and randomizing sound effects for the boxing game Fight Night which was very amusing and fun to hear.

If you would like more information on Audio of video games, or would like to speak with Jay about the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) Michigan South Chapter, you can visit his website: http://www.redleaderaudio.com/

John Wolff and Matthew Rogan (Storyboarding and Animation) -
       Our very own president and founder (Wolff) and one of the first members of UE (Rogan) presented the process of pulling all the resources (programming, animation, and music) together to make an active video game scene. They took a drawing of car in the city (by UE's Carl Collins) and brought the scene to life! Along the way they showed the tedious process and numerous challenges that occur in video game development, but also the fun that occurs during the process.

If you have questions about animation for the process of storyboarding please ask us directly on our forums: http://uegda.com/phpbb/index.php or contact us: http://uegda.com/contact.html



Thanks to everyone who attended and participated in the conference. We hope that you took away motivational information for everyone to pursue their passion in video game development!

And please look forward to the next year's conference as well as Urban Electronics' next upcoming activities!