Becoming a Video Game Designer: Student Success Stories

University of Utah  - EAE students have published 33 video games since 2010 on a variety of platforms.

Bradley University  - Not only do Bradley students create their own video games, they own the games they create. Last year, Starcats (a Bradley senior project) was one of five student games selected to be featured at E3. Since graduating last Spring, the Bradley students who made Starcats started their own company and have continued working on their game with an eye to bringing it to market — something that would not be possible at many other schools.

Drexel University  - Drexel students build upon the strong digital media foundation taught at Drexel, so they are well positioned to see convergent opportunities, like a student who combined his interest in cinematography with his experience with game engines and interactive hardware to create a virtual cinematography system that introduced him to a successful career in the film industry. A recent accelerated student helped launch NeatherRealm’s Injustice 2 with an Assistant Producer credit to add to her resume right after graduation. A new studio started by Drexel students, Gossamer Games , was launched with help from Drexel’s Baiada Institute and their Entrepreneurial Game Studio. Another accelerated student combined her passion for paleontology with immersive media to create mixed-reality recreations of the world’s largest dinosaur.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute  - Worcester alumni demonstrate leadership in the field, including Darius Kazemi ’05, a former IGDA board member and leader in Internet bots for ethical engagement. Alex Schwartz ’09 just won Best VR/AR game at the 2017 Game Developer’s Conference—indeed, Schwartz’s company Owlchemy Lab launched a Rick and Morty VR game in collaboration with Adult Swim Games, and his company was just acquired by Google. Ichiro Lambe ’98 established Dejobaan Games in 1999 and has been winning awards and earning critical acclaim since then. WPI alumni go on to leadership in established companies as well: Elisabeth Beinke-Schwartz ’09, at Certain Affinity, has been a senior-level designer on such franchises as Doom, Call of Duty, and Mafia.

Cogswell Polytechnic College  - Cogswell College has many notable alumni who have made their mark in the videogame industry. Graduates such as Raymond Crook, Senior Animator at Double Fine Games; Cogswell Instructor Rosie Katz, Designer at EA and Activision; Ronald Andaya, Technical Artist (  Call of Duty  ) at Sledgehammer Games; Collin Hennen, Senior Animator at EA; and I-Wei Huang, Character Director at Toys for Bob, Creator of creatures for  Skylanders.  I-Wei is also the inventor of combining real toys with digital characters for gameplay. Some of Cogswell’s more recent success stories include Bugi Kaigwa, Character Rigger Visual Concepts/Activision (NBA 2K) and Matt Bard, Technical Artist at EA.