Digital Entertainment Technology

Regularly we are asked which engines are used to teach game development as part of the Digital Entertainment major and minor.

While we use a host of products to create the content for the games (Photoshop, Gimp, Illustrator, Flash, Premier Pro, etc) we primarily use two engines for our classes:

For 2D/mobile projects the SDK of choice is Corona by Corona Labs.  We have found it easy to learn but powerful enough to handle the most intricate of projects.

For 3D projects we use Unity3D.  Again, easy to learn, wonderful pricing structure for the indie developer, and powerful enough to make the most intricate multi-player games, Unity was a natural choice for the DET program.

Digital Entertainment Technology
Software used in Major/Minor
Spring/Fall 2012

 In most situations you are able to select the software that you find most comfortable to use (or can afford).  There are times when we use several pieces of software from one category during a course so that students are able to become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Modeling

Google Sketch-up (free)       PC/Mac
*3DS Max  (student edition is free http://students.autodesk.com)       PC
Maya (student edition is free http://students.autodesk.com)                PC/Mac
MudBox (student edition is free http://students.autodesk.com)          PC/Mac

 Texturing

*Adobe Photoshop    PC/Mac
*Adobe Flash                        PC/Mac
GIMP (free)               PC/Mac

Engines

*Corona SDK (unlimited trial is free http://www.CoronaLabs.com)        PC/Mac
*Unity3D (basic version is free http://www.unity3d.com)               PC/Mac
*UDK – Unreal Developers Kit (free http://www.udk.com)                    PC

Sound

Adobe Soundbooth  PC/Mac
Audacity  (free)         PC/Mac
Sony Acid Pro                        PC
GarageBand               Mac

Film

*Adobe Premier Pro       PC/Mac
*Final Cut                            Mac

Compiler

*Visual Studio            PC
*Eclipse IDE               PC/Mac
GCC (free)                  PC/Mac
*Java Developers Kit (JDK) free    PC/Mac
*Apple xCode                         Mac
Python IDLE  (free) PC/Mac

• *- Industry standard
• Bold – required software in one or more DET courses.

Rich Tanner (class of 2010) was one of the first students to graduate from ACU with a emphasis in Digital Entertainment Technology.  Rich now works at USAA creating mobile applications and, more recently, games!  USAA held an internal competition for it’s employees to create a game.  And Rich was the clear winner!

I’m trying to get some screen shots from Rich to show off his game design prowess, but for the time being, we will just celebrate with him!

(Sniff, I’m so proud!)

If you haven’t seen Jacob Kitt’s movies and parody’s then you have been missing out!

Jacob graduated with a minor in DET in the Spring of 2012 and has already been freelancing in the film industry (expect to see many more announcements as soon as the film is released).  But on campus, Jacob is best known for his parodies and award winning work at film fest.

If you haven’t seen Jacobs’ work, check out his Parodies  and demo real

Corona Labs’ Corona SDK, which is used to develop mobile apps and games, was recently featured in inc magazine. (http://technology.inc.com/2011/09/15/anscas-simplisitic-mobile-app-publisher-rises-in-popularity/)

The popularity and ease of use of Corona is no surprise to DET and Mobile Computing students at ACU, they have been using it for over a year to develop apps and games for mobile devices.

The software is so popular that our own Dr. Brian Burton has even undertaken the project of writing an eTextbook on how to develop apps and game using Corona.
Corona allows someone who want to make an app to develop for both Apple and Android mobile devices at the same time, dramatically simplifying and reducing the time needed to develop an app.

During the summer of 2010, Dr. Burton submitted a grant proposal to Unity3D (http://www.unity3d.com) to develop course content that used the Unity 3D game engine.  We are excited to announce that his proposal was accepted as a winner for the first round in this very competitive grant!

Dr. Burton received the Pro version of Unity3D, the Android Pro plugin, and a Google Nexus phone for testing.  Even though supporting Android devices might make him a bit of an apostate on campus, Dr. Burton has committed to supporting as many mobile technologies as possible as a part of the DET major.

Dr. Burton’s entries for the second round of the competition can be viewed on YouTube below:

Developing a Space Game for Android phones – Part 1

Developing a Space Game for Android phones – Part 2

The new major is here! The new major is here!

It has been a long time coming (4 years to be exact), but as of Fall 2011, Abilene Christian University will have an interdisciplinary major in Digital Entertainment.
Of course, the minor in DET has been available since 2009, but the excitement around the major is evident around campus!

The new major draws from departments across campus to create a flexible program that teaches game development.

What will you learn in DET?

• story boarding
• 3D modeling
• texturing
• animation
• level design
• 2D game development
• 3D game development
• scripting
• developing for the web, PC, MAC
• mobile game development for: iPhone, iPad, Android, & Nook
• and much much more!

Want to learn more about DET?  Contact info@acu.edu, your academic adviser, or Dr. Burton (Brian.Burton@acu.edu).

You can download the full degree plan here: DET Major Degree Plan