To get app designers going on their submissions, the FDA will host a “code-a-thon” on Oct. 19 and 20. Final submissions are due to the agency by Nov. 7. 

 

Any interest?

I know many of you are probably still recovering from the Fall Game Jam. But,

Fall 2016 Game Jam Winners

The best Fall Game Jam winner was....

We will announce the winners of the best game jam awards and the track awards on Friday...

Phew, what an awesome weekend. We are really impressed by the turn out (161 registrations) and the quality of some of the games being produced.

 
Closing ceremonies will start at 5:00 pm in Q202 where we will announce the winners of the in-jam award.

Visit the Marietta campus student center on 8/21 from 3-7pm to play games, win prizes, and get your picture with Scrappy and Sturgis.  Food courtesy of KSU Division of Student Affairs - Department of Residence Life

From the article:

Peek into Allan Fowler’s office and you might find him surrounded by his high-tech gear, but his latest addition has the Kennesaw State gaming professor smiling.

Fowler was recently selected as one of the first in the U.S. to receive Microsoft’s HoloLens, a virtual reality system that enables users to interact with high-definition holograms in the physical world.

It’s the newest technology tool added to Fowler’s ensemble of virtual reality devices. With the $3,000 HoloLens’ developer’s edition, he is experimenting with gaming applications for the new system.

“I don’t play a lot of games. I spend most of my time making them,” said Fowler, who joined Kennesaw State’s Computer Game Design and Development faculty last year as an assistant professor of game design and software engineering.

The HoloLens is different from its competition, according to Fowler. The wireless headset, although a bit heavy, is transparent, allowing users to see their physical surroundings and have a peripheral perspective not found in other VR systems. He said the new design could reduce vertigo and motion sickness felt when using a virtual reality system that encloses a user’s vision entirely.

Fowler has been making games for more than 30 years and is excited about the possibilities that holograms bring to game development. When he dons the headset and pinches the air, he’s actually interacting with the interface by selecting icons.

“As an educator, what’s exciting is developing educational apps that teach anatomy or anything that requires a detailed explanation, and have it in a virtual environment so students can physically interact with it in a way that has never been possible before,” Fowler said.

Fowler said that things like basic surgery or structural engineering could benefit from having this virtual reality tool. He said he believes it has more potential as a teaching tool than a gaming tool, citing opportunities for education, libraries, museums or “anywhere you are trying to communicate information that is better communicated in a 3D world.”

This summer, several senior CGDD students will begin to develop educational games for the HoloLens under Fowler’s guidance.

“There are lots of advantages to being an early adopter and getting products out to market,” he said. “One thing that will make it successful is having lots of content out there, and that’s why I want our students to be making games for it.”

Fowler applied for the developer’s edition, which was available by request in the U.S. only, and was selected during phase one of Microsoft’s development rollout. Kennesaw State colleague Rongkai Guo, assistant professor of gaming, has been selected for phase two.

“I’ve been in the industry a long time, and sometimes the new tech comes about and it’s just mediocre,” said Fowler. “But this? It’s seriously cool.”