Dream Maker
Spring 2020 | By Gene Kruckemyer 鈥73
this new state-of-the-art environment, which聽opened in November in the Communication and聽Media Building, students and faculty have access聽to a digital fabrication lab with high-performance聽equipment that allows them to experiment and create聽games, web designs and interdisciplinary projects聽with other departments and colleges.
鈥淪tudents benefit from this environment by聽collaborating and sharing ideas in a space that聽promotes community and interdisciplinary work,鈥澛爏ays Jordan Lipscomb, who manages the makerspace.聽鈥淎 major theme of the programs within the Games聽and Interactive Media department is the ability to collaborate with others and create something that is more than the sum of its parts. Digital media students take workshops in their final semester to fulfill this ideology.鈥
The Ultimaker S5 is a powerful 3D printer that uses plastic to create detailed sculptures and functional prototypes. Students can use the printer to make custom controllers, figurine miniatures for board games, and other items for gaming.
The Oculus Quest is a virtual reality headset that is lightweight and doesn鈥檛 require cables to operate controllers. This makes it easy for game developers to take their projects with them to conferences and events to show how their systems work.
An augmented reality system, the Magic Leap allows students to develop applications that can be used for games, education and simulation. The wearable computer does this by assessing the size and shape of the immediate surroundings and superimposing digital images into the headset.
The Glowforge is a user-friendly laser cutter that uses a beam of light the width of a human hair to cut, shave and engrave wood, metal, and other materials. Students use this instrument to create artwork and intricate 鈥減hysical computing鈥 projects that can sense and respond to the world around them.
The Maker Space recording studio has two rooms 鈥 one for editing audio/video projects and another for sound dampening 鈥 which game design students use to add voice-overs, sound effects and instrumental work for games being developing.