SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – Student video game creators at the University of Utah have their eye on the future as they showed off their games Wednesday.
At the Entertainment, Arts & Engineering (EAE) launch party, members of the public got their first chance to play some of the video games created by University of Utah students.
Many of them said they head toward careers in the gaming industry with both eyes open.
Recent reporting shows some big game developers deal with stressful conditions and long hours, but the students who spoke to ABC4 News said they have plans to shake things up.
“I encourage my team to take care of themselves, and have a good work-life balance, and bring that change to the industry,” said Light, producer of a video game called ‘Mechromancy.’
“That’s the dream. Right now, technology is advancing. The industry needs to keep advancing, too. The industry is trying to use the same models it has been for several years, and it’s starting to hit the point where it can’t sustain itself if we keep going this way. So, yeah, that’s the plan.”
This year, the students in the graduate program had an added challenge–create a game with a new and innovative controller.
Some examples of the alternative controllers include a turntable, a wooden kung fu dummy and ouija board!
‘Mechromancy’ uses a Tesla ball as a controller.
All of the grad students will submit their games to the San Francisco gaming conference alt.ctrl.GDC.
You can see all the student-created games exhibited at the launch party by clicking here.
To learn more about the Entertainment Arts & Engineering programs at the University of Utah, visit their website, games.utah.edu.
Christie Porter 