A university program showcases the games created by students and addresses drone traffic



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SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah's Electronic Arts and Engineering program showcased a variety of student-designed games at their launch on Wednesday, including an app that will help Salt Lake City manage drone traffic at come.

The annual launch day of the program offers the public the opportunity to try out games designed by students, many of which are published as free download. "Drone Command", one of these games, will be used in planning the growing prevalence of drones in the skies of Salt Lake City.

As drones become more and more popular for things other than photography, experts predict that it will not be long before the sky above cities is alive with drone drones delivering packages. , carrying passengers or medical supplies. To prepare for this eventuality, a group of students from the EAE program is currently developing an app to help city officials plan for drone traffic, according to a University of Utah press release. .

"Drone Command is a game built as part of an ongoing research project conducted by the Games and Therapeutic Apps Lab of EAE, sponsored by the Utah Transportation Department," said at KSL.com Michael Young, director of the EEA, professor at the School of Computing at Columbia University. . "The game simulates drone operations on the Salt Lake Valley, and players can face challenges that reflect a number of real problems related to drone operations."

The application, created as part of the EAE program's Game and Therapeutics Lab (GApps Lab), is very similar to the "Sim City" game with a properly sized Salt Lake City illustration, according to the press release. By showing where drones could occur, city officials will be able to better plan congestion.

Screen capture of Drone Command; University of Utah Electronic Arts and Engineering

They titled their game "Drone Command". The application will be delivered to the Utah Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration once completed, and then used in Salt Lake City, one of the first cities to experience the city. A heavy drone. traffic.

The group of students presented its game at the annual EAE launch on April 24, which is held annually to show the latest collection of video games revealed to the public.

"EAE Launch is the annual student work showcase for our program, which is scheduled for completion of our students' Capstone project classes and the publication of their games," said Young. "At the launch of EAE, the public has the opportunity to play all the completed games of our students, chat with the students who created the games and the teachers who taught them, and learn all about the activities of education and research of EAE. "

Young said that this year, more than 400 visitors attended student games and more than 30 projects were presented. Students have been working on these games for at least one semester and some have been done as long-term synthesis projects. Here are some of the games that were presented at the event:

  • Hard Light Vector: This 3D first-person game allows the player to traverse an alien environment and fight to protect the memories of death from corruption.
  • Sky Shepherd: An "atmospheric" game that features a lone survivor from a celestial tribe. The player uses a flute to gather a group of mysterious creatures as they explore the sky.
  • Fast Travel: A racing game where the player rides a hovercraft through strange and dangerous landscapes in an attempt to deliver boxes of loot.
  • Lonely Sky: The player steals an airship in ruins in a dangerous landscape, stealing pieces from other ships so that the vehicle can continue to roll along the path.
  • Time Break: The game takes place in another reality in which the player controls a cop who uses a watch that slows down the time to stop the crime and save the city.

"One of the new elements of the EAE launch this year has been the addition of games designed by students in our group of projects focused on alternative controller games – students who have designed games designed to be used with physical controllers other than mice, keyboards or the usual console controllers, "added. "Our students presented games where they built controllers ranging from Tesla Spheres to boards for ouija to martial arts mannequins. As you can imagine, these games have been very popular with visitors. "

To learn more about the other projects presented at the launch of EAE, check out the Games Department of the University of Utah.

The University of Utah's Diploma in Electronic Arts and Engineering is one of the best game development programs in the world. The department has assembled a set of instructors and professors with extensive knowledge in every aspect of game development and production. Students not only develop skills, but they also create professional game portfolios.

"For 11 years, we've been offering courses and degrees focused on creating, improving and studying games," said Young. "These courses integrate the art of play, design, engineering and production to prepare our graduates for interdisciplinary team work that is at the heart of the gaming industry."

He is ranked # 3 in the country for both his graduate program in electronic arts and engineering and his undergraduate program and has published more than 99 student projects. "Our professors and students are working on research issues in a number of areas, including games for health, learning and training games, modeling and simulation, and Game AI," said Young.

He added that all students are required to publish a game before they graduate. This year, EAE students have published more than 20 games. "Many of our published games are free to download on digital publishing sites such as Steam, IOS App Store and Google Play," Young said.

Take a look at some games published as part of the EAE program here.

Cara MacDonald

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