I
enrolled at Bramson ORT College in February 2013 seeking knowledge in game
design and programming. I already had my degree in media and wanted to gain more
updated and hands-on skills in game design. My goal was to gain advanced skills
and create a portfolio that would lead towards a career in the video game
industry. During my first year at the college, I have met some remarkable
people and learned a handful of new talents and skills. I am most appreciative
of my newfound competency in programming fundamentals, CG modeling, and
animation. One of the most important things I have done in my time at Bramson
ORT was to help organize the Bramson ORT Game Design Club. The BOC Game Club
was organized by a group of passionate game design students and faculty. The
club is mostly run by students, but Bramson ORT’s faculty help oversee projects
and deadlines. The team is currently working on an adventure and strategy game
that will be showcased at the end of June. The game design team had arranged
several visits to places such as Quirky Studios in Chelsea, the Global Game Jam
at NYU Polytech, NYC Game Forum meetings at the Rockefeller Center Microsoft
Building, APEX 2014 in Somerset, New Jersey, and the Indie Cade Expo at the
Museum of the Moving Image located in Astoria. These wonderful educational
experiences, in the classroom and beyond, have allowed the gaming students to
meet a variety of people with their own types of passion for gaming. The trips
have also given us exposure to professional game design techniques and industry
experience.
As
my time at Bramson ORT is nearing completion, I have been able to acquire a
remote internship with Primer Labs and their upcoming game, Code Hero. I had
been one of the many people who helped fund the game’s production in 2011. With
this project, there is a wealth of opportunity to reach out further and educate
programmers and nonprogrammers alike on the concepts and execution of game
programming through playing a game created on the Unity Engine. In addition to
my internship, I will also be working with Game Truck New York as the head of their
mobile laser tag division. I will also be working on a 2D side scroller with a
good friend of mine from Bramson ORT College. I plan to continue pressing
forward towards my goals. I feel more determined to continue learning through
play, and incite ideas that will provoke thoughts, evoke feeling, and
ultimately entertain. Bramson ORT College allowed me to gain the hands-on game
design skills needed and opened up a door of opportunities for me.
The
Game Design and Programming Degree and Certificate Program at Bramson ORT
College is one of the few well-rounded programs that offer courses in 3D
modeling and animation using Autodesk Maya software, C++ Programming, Game Software Engineering, Game Engine Architecture,
Game Programming Direct3D, Al Game Development, Game Audio Development, Java
Games, Multiplayer Game Programming, Mobile Application Development, Game
Console Programming and Programming Linux Games. These courses are designed to
prepare students in many game design genres and platforms by focusing on both
the technical and creative end of this growing and multi-faced field. Courses
in digital animation, character development and modeling, level design,
interactive game storytelling, and light rendering add to the uniqueness of
this program. Liberal Arts courses are also required such as Physics for Game
Developer, Math for Game Developer and additional elective Liberal Arts courses
for the degree program. The college offers career internships and job placement
assistance through the Career Services Department. For more information about
the game club contact Professor Dominika Juraszek at djuraszek@bramsonort.edu.
To view our student gaming and animation portfolio gallery visit
http://www.bramsonort.edu/studentprojects/index.html
To join the Bramson
ORT Game Portal visit: http://gamedesign.bramsonort.edu
-Dennis Patrick Ilagan
- Bramson ORT Game Design
& Programming Student, 2014
