Category Archives: MSc Computer games and Entertainment

Events, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News, Staff profiles and activity

Organic Art VR: a psychedelic experience unveiled at New Scientist Live

oranicartweb

Visitors to this month’s New Scientist Live event in London will be the first to experience Goldsmiths computer artist William Latham’s organic art in virtual reality.

Organic Art VR surrounds the viewer and places them inside strange evolving forms resembling sea anemones, ancient ammonites and multi-horned organisms with which they can interact. The forms the viewer sees are reminiscent of those one might encounter in an alternative alien evolution.

Bred and crossbred in software from multiple parents, Organic Art’s bizarre forms are created by a process of artistic evolution driven by human aesthetics.

The aim of Organic Art VR is to give viewers a surreal and immersive experience in which they shape the world around them.

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Organic Art 2016 VR derives from the pioneering work of Latham and mathematician Stephen Todd in the late 1980s and is now fully immersive, enabled by HTC Vive VR headsets and high-resolution NEC video wall screens.

Organic Art VR has been developed in the Goldsmiths Department of Computing by Professor Latham, visiting professor Stephen Todd and research fellow Lance Putnam under the Digital Creativity Labs research project.

The inaugural New Scientist Live event, created by the team behind the world’s best-known science magazine, is a four-day festival of ideas and discovery for all the family. British astronaut Tim Peake will open the show and visitors will see the latest science and technology including the Bloodhound 1000mph rocket car, the world’s leading robots and drones, Virtual Reality experiences, science workshops for all ages, more than 100 world-leading scientists, a robotic cocktail bar and plenty more.

Adapted from a news release by Sarah Cox first published on Goldsmiths News

Events, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News, Students, Women in Computing

Goldsmiths students win Ukie Game Jam again!

Student Game Jam Winners - Copy_0

‘Code Name Spy’ has been named as the winner of the biggest ever Ukie Student game jam, making it the second consecutive win from students at the University of Goldsmiths.

The jam, which ran 11-12 May 2015, saw 14 teams from Ukie’s student membership competing against each other to create the best game possible in 36 hours, with the theme’ identity crisis’.

The teams were paired with industry mentors and supplied with food and drink, with the winning game being given an exclusive pitch on Square Enix’s project Collective and receiving a specially made trophy for their university.

Goldsmiths student team leader Aldo Curtis said:

We had a great time and we are ecstatic to have been chosen as the winners with our game, Code Name Spy.

“We wanted to make something different which fitted the jam theme and this is why we came up with a conversation game where you play through a seven year old’s idea of a spy movie. We spent a lot of time laughing about the art, sounds and the ridiculous script, but we learned so much from the jam.

“We had a great venue at Goldsmiths, and being partnered with an industry mentor, like our own mentor Ed Fear, meant we could get valuable critique, tips, advice and comments on the game which really helped us create the best game possible in the given time.

The full Goldsmiths team were Aldo Curtis, Sam Hayhurst, Sokol Murturi and Andrea Castegnaro, all students on the MSc in Computer Games & Entertainment.

Dr Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie said, “The standard of games that the Ukie students managed to make in such a short period of time was amazing. The jam offers invaluable experience to games industry stars of tomorrow and gives them a chance to get quality one-to-one time with key industry people. All the entrants have really done themselves proud.”

Mentor of the Universe and CEO of Utopian World of Sandwiches, James Woodrow said:

“I am completely lost for words. It is such a privilege to have been awarded Mentor of the Universe! It’s very moving to have been put forward by the team. They put in a lot of hard work and it was an absolute pleasure to have worked with such a terrific bunch over the course of the jam.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the future as they really came together to produce something quite beautiful for their first ever game jam and I am sure they all have bright futures ahead of them in the industry. I hope that everyone involved enjoyed the experience as much as I did.”

‘Code Name Spy’ and all other game entries from the game jam will be available on Ukie’s website in the coming weeks.

Study games computing at Goldsmiths:

Careers, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, Students

MSc Games Programming graduate on working at Fuzzy Frog

IMG_6126In an interview published in Develop magazine, April 2015, MSc Computer Games & Entertainment graduate James Gamlin discusses his work at Fuzzy Frog.

What do you do at the studio?
I’m currently a gameplay designer, which entails a lot of the level design for the current project as well as working on general gameplay functionality. I perform minor scripting tasks awa well, though usually to help the level development process run smoother on my end.

How did you get your current job?
I started out on the Creative Skillset trainee programme as part of my MSc at Goldsmiths, University of London. This meant I was on a work placement with Fuzzy Frog, that was in turn assessed by the university. Once my placement came to an end I was asked to remain with Fuzzy Frog in full-time employment.

What perks are available to employees at the studio?
Being relatively new to the games industry, I’m a bit unsure as to what the standard is on this situation. However what I can say is that from a graduate perspective it’s been a great environment to learn about the industry and the development process outside of academia.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to attend the East Midlands Indies events which would not have been possible without the relevant networking connections that were available to me.

What is the recruitment process like at your studio?
fuzzyWe’re currently in the midst of growing as a company so our recruitment consists of job postings on our website and through various connections within the industry.

We normally have quite a lot of applicants selected for interviews, and if successful will be put on a probation period for a month.

What was your own interview like?
My placement interview was with the CEO and creative producer at Fuzzy Frog, which might sound quite intimidating, but in actuality was quite informal and relaxed.
We began by talking about the current projects and what would be expected of me if I were to join these projects.

I brought my portfolio with me, which consisted of both programming and design projects I had worked on throughout my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. It was quite fortunate that a lot of the work in my portfolio had connections to current projects at Fuzzy Frog.

Describe what the atmosphere is like at your studio.
Since the company is relateively small-sized (though it has grown considerably in the past year), we all work closely with each other, meaning that different departments are all in the same room. It creates a comfortable atmosphere to be surrounded with a range of people with different skills and backgrounds.

We work very vocally, asking for advice for problems and creative feedback for our implementations, or assets. This means that everyone is given a portion of responsibility for making design decisions, which we then review and discuss collectively at the end of each sprint.

Inspiration, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News

Develop lessons for British Museum’s Samsung Digital Discovery Centre

samsung_homepromo

The British Museum want to hear from organisations or individuals who can design and deliver innovative and experimental digital learning sessions that engage visitors with the British Museum’s collections. 

The museum’s Samsung Digital Discovery Centre delivers a programme of digital learning for schools, family and teen audiences – and are seeking new sessions to be developed and delivered by external partners. These sessions will be included in the monthly one-off ‘Innovation Lab’ programme.

Pitch a session
Session proposals should be experimental or scratch-like, and should test out new ideas or technologies, or ways of working with family audiences. British Museum do not expect new software to be developed as part of these sessions, but the Innovation Lab will be a great forum to test out new software or new uses of software with a family audience in a digital learning environment.

“We want our audiences to be excited about using new technologies, engaged with our collections, and experiencing new things. We are also interested in sessions that do not replicate what we already provide in the Samsung Digital Discovery Centre.”

If you would like to pitch an idea, send your idea using the following headings:

  1. Title: (or working title)
  2. Session description: (One paragraph description of your activity. Please include learning outcomes, and any outputs created by visitors.)
  3. Session times: (We deliver drop-in sessions on Saturdays (11-4pm), and workshop sessions on Sundays (11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm). Will your activity be a drop-in or a workshop session? Please feel free to suggest alternative times within the 11am-4pm timeframe if it is more appropriate for you.)
  4. Target audience and age range: (Is this an activity for families or teens?)
  5. Brief session plan: (Please detail a brief session plan.)
  6. Collection: (How does your idea your engage your target audience with the British Museum’s collection? If appropriate, please give examples of objects you will use or reference.)
  7. Technology and resources: (Please include what hardware from the SDDC you will use (see notes below), what additional resources you will need, and if you will be bringing in or require the hire of any additional equipment that is not available in the SDDC.)
  8. Budget: (We expect submissions of between £350-£1,000. Please detail how this money will be spent on development time, delivery time, resources and other expenses. We would expect one day of delivery to be included in this cost.)
  9. You: (Tell us a bit about you or your company, including why are you qualified to develop and lead this activity, or what skills do you hope to develop by doing this project.)

Notes on technology available in the Samsung Digital Discovery Centre

  • 75” eboard with touch screen overlay
  • 46” LCD TV and 55” LED TV
  • 25 High spec laptops with internet access, Adobe CS5 Pro production suite, Blender,
  • Audacity and standard Microsoft Office software
  • 55 Galaxy Note 10.1” android tablets with stylus
  • 40 Galaxy Note II and Note III smartphones
  • 25 digital cameras, 40 Galaxy cameras and 6 digital SLR cameras with standard and wide angle lenses (Samsung NX1 and NX100)
  • Kinect system
  • 6 HD digital camcorders with microphone jack
  • 6 digital USB microscopes
  • 3 scanners
  • 1 Samsung SUR40 multi-touch table
  • Green screen

Please send your completed pitch to Lizzie Edwards and Juno Rae by 12 noon, Monday 13 April 2015.

Events, MA/MFA Computational Art, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News, Staff profiles and activity

Colliding Worlds

william_Latham

Professor Arthur I Miller and William Latham in conversation:

7:00pm, 10th February, 2015

Shoreditch House
Ebor St, London E1 6AW

Professor Arthur I Miller of UCL will be at Shoreditch House to explore exactly how cutting-edge science is redefining contemporary art, the subject of his latest book ‘Colliding Worlds’.

Arthur will explain the new and exciting era of digital contemporary art as artists strive to depict the wonders of our age of information – take a look at huge data sets worked aesthetically, sculpting with sound, folding together concepts of art with physics, using living matter to manipulate inert materials into new and beautiful forms, and artists who are striving to investigate what changes chip implants, gene transplants, and 3D printed organs make to our idea of what it is to be human.

Following his presentation Arthur will be in conversation with the pioneering computer artist Professor William Latham of Goldsmiths College.

If you would like to attend email Professor Arthur I Miller: a.miller@ucl.ac.uk

Inspiration, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News, Staff profiles and activity, Videos

Andy Lomas and Patrick Tresset award winners @ The Lumen Prize!

Cellular Forms ~ Andy Lomas

Andy Lomas, Head of Computer Graphics at Framestore is the winner of Lumen Prize Gold for ‘Cellular Forms’. Andy regularly gives lectures and seminars at Goldsmiths and will be included in the ‘Creative Machine’ exhibition opening on 6th November 2014.

Patrick Tresset a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths also obtained 3rd prize with his project ‘5 Robots Named Paul’.