A previous blog post made mention of the ‘extra-curricular groups’ which have been established at the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) program at the Great Northern Way Campus (GNWC) in Vancouver. The goal of each of these groups is simple: design and develop a product, independent of the MDM curriculum for the express purpose of displaying the talents, skills and dedication of the students of the MDM program.

Two groups have been established: the Animation Group and the Games Development Group. The Animation Group is moving forward with one project, while the slightly larger Games Development Group is planning on two. Although neither group has yet determined a final delivery date for their product it will most likely be next spring, since class-work and projects take priority for all students involved.

The Game Development group has decided to pursue two projects. Each is a small game, the original concept for which was developed by students in the group. Currently, the students in each sub-group are exploring design and programming related questions to determine the direction that development will take. Once that has been completed, the real work on the two games can begin, starting with early prototyping (both on paper and using the Blender Open Source Game Engine), then moving into full development in Microsoft’s XNA and C#, respectively.

The Animation Group will be putting all their energies into one short piece, probably around a minute and a half or two minutes in length. The first month for the Animation Group has been very productive. Already the group has developed the outline for a short story to base the animation on, come up with the design of the main character, and defined the visual style the animation will take. In the coming weeks, the team will begin story boarding and character modeling.

Keep an eye on the MDM blog for future updates on the status of both the Animation and Games Development Groups.

Ashley Blacquiere is a Firstborn MDM student.  'In Silico' is Latin for 'via a computer simulation'.