Game development student grads from Flashpoint Academy featured in College Magazine

From the article:

"Just about every person of our generation has gone through at least one phase of obsession with video games, and can relate to the way a player gets wrapped up in that interactive experience. And how many kids dream of making these games, only to “grow out of it”? Well, in a time when video games are more popular than ever, among kids, college students and even elderly people (Nintendo Wii has hit retirement homes, believe it or not), there’s more opportunity than ever to pursue a career in video game development—which is exactly what two Chicago-area students are doing.

Justin C. Moore and Joshua Hernandez are recent graduates of the Flashpoint Academy in Chicago, IL, where they met and collaborated on designing a game that can now be found on Xbox Live Marketplace and soon on the iPhone. Moore, who studied game design, says he heard of Flashpoint Academy at just the right time. “I got a flier in the mail; it was really fortuitous, as I was unemployed for the summer of 2007 and didn’t know what I was gonna be doing in the fall,” says Moore. After completing his undergraduate degree at MIT a few years ago, Moore knew he wanted to pursue his hobby of programming, and Flashpoint was the perfect place to learn his trade."

Read More About Game Development Graduates from Flashpoint Academy!

Upping Your Game's Usability

I found this recent article from Gamasutra.com to be very useful. In today's world "user interface" and "human-computer interactive" (HCI) are keys to the either success or failure of interactive entertainment products out there. It's largely about making things clear, simple -- and complementing our typical approach as humans in a) controlling our environment and b) learning more about our environment to control it more efficiently.

Check out this excerpt:

"Upping Your Game's Usability

A common gripe I hear from developers is that a game has a really great concept or aesthetic, but that the user interface (UI) is lousy. Games that are hard to control or that mystify users by not providing useful or sufficient feedback are pretty damn frustrating to play. This can translate into worse sales, so it's worthwhile for game developers to really spend a lot of time thinking about a game's UI."

Web link to full article:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4110/upping_your_games_usability.php

FanBox for my iPhone Group

I'm going to integrate this widget into my website to see what kind of feedback and results I get (at http://www.blipfungames/ ... it will be updated shortly). The special widget is called the FanBox. It allows you to embed a small piece of code into any web page so that people can become a "fan" of something you're trying to promote with zero hastle. It seems to be pretty cool!

BLiP Bloink on Facebook

NBC, DEW Tour - Flashpoint Studios Game

Check it this new Flash game called "Ramping Up!" created by Flashpoint Studios at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago.

Flashpoint Studios is a unique component of our curriculum where the school interfaces with outside businesses in the development a many types of interactive and digital media projects.

In this most recent project, a group of students from the game department and recording arts department (working in conjunction with some faculty) developed this fun BMX bike racing game and gained real-world development experience in the process!

http://www.nbcchicago.com/station/as_seen_on/Play-Our-Exclusive-Ramped-Up-Online-Dew-Tour-Game.html

BLiP Bloink featured on NBC

Check out this story on iPhone game development featuring my game BLiP Bloink, from the Chicago NBC affiliate.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/iphone-applications-money-business-boot-camp-061009.html

Check out the full report here...(you'll have to watch an ad first)