DigiPen Institute of Technology

DigiPen Institute of Technology

Motto	"A serious education for a serious career."
Type	Career college
Established	1988
Academic staff	Claude Comair
Undergraduates	800
Postgraduates	40
Location	Redmond , Washington , USA
Campus	Suburban
Website	www.digipen.edu

DigiPen Institute of Technology is a college located in Redmond, Washington which has a focus on computer science, computer engineering, and art with emphasis in creating video games.

History

DigiPen was founded in 1988 by Claude Comair in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The school relocated to Redmond, Washington, U.S. in January 1998.

In May 1996 the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board granted DigiPen the ability to award an Associate and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Real-Time Interactive Simulation and an Associate of Applied Arts Degree in 3D Computer Animation. This made DigiPen the first university in the world dedicated to teaching how to create video games.

A sister campus in Singapore started in 2008 and since 2010 in Bilbao (Spain)

Campus

DigiPen consists of two campuses, the Main Campus and the Art Campus.

The Main Campus is part of a rented building from Nintendo of America. The bottom floor is Nintendo of America's warehouse where games and game systems are shipped out. The top floor is mostly DigiPen, with Nintendo Software Technology on the north-east quarter. In 2002, DigiPen expanded its hold on the second floor by acquiring approximately another quarter, adding four new classrooms and a new place for the library. Two-thirds of the rooms are filled with computers for student use — only one-third are lecture halls without computers.

The newest addition to DigiPen is the Art Campus, located about two miles away from the Main Campus near Redmond Town Center. DigiPen opened this new campus at the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester to provide classrooms for all the BFA students, and to accommodate the growing student body. However, it is uncertain how this division will impact cooperation between the RTIS and BFA students during future student projects.

In the summer of 2010, DigiPen will be moving both computer science and art students to a new, integrated campus in North Redmond. This new campus will be over 100,000 square feet, allowing the school to increase the size of the student body by up to 300 students. It features many amenities, such as art and computer labs, a cafeteria with a professional kitchen, and a general store.

Education

DigiPen has three primary educational paths: Real Time Interactive Simulation (Game/Software Development & Programming), Computer Engineering, and Applied/Fine Arts. Compared to a standard computer science curriculum, students start a very rigorous course with C, advance to object oriented programming with C++, and all take 2D Windows GUI, 3D graphics and sockets networking. Many students build robotic vehicles as projects. The art programs are taught from a computer-oriented perspective, though many art students do not intend to work in the game industry and attend DigiPen for its unique curriculum and businesslike atmosphere. RTIS students are taught aspects of development including programming, design, and marketing. Though there are liberal arts classes also in the curriculum, all required courses are pertinent to game development. Starting in the fall of 2008, DigiPen is offering a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design. DigiPen also offers a master's degree in computer science, and Comair plans to add a Ph.D. program as well.

Students

DigiPen is the only educational institution whose students have been nominated in the professional category at the Independent Games Festival. Additionally, DigiPen students have placed the largest number of student projects in the Independent Games Festival student showcase every year since it began, with a seven-year total of 24 awards given to 23 winning game projects. The next three closest institutions have placed five, four and three games in the showcase over six years.

Other student run commissions include SAPR, DigiPen's student-run Public Relations committee and the CEC, the Campus Entertainment Committee. The CEC handles tournaments, movies, and other activities.

Student work (games)

Each year RTIS students are formed into teams ranging from 4-8 developers. Art students are not required to work on the game projects but are awarded credit for participating in Junior level or higher projects. Starting in 2004, Freshman year DigiPen students work with an in-house integrated development environment (IDE) called the FUNEditor to develop a 2D graphical game. Second semester developing a text-based game over the course of the semester. Sophomore year, students game teams develop graphical games. Junior year requires that games feature 3D Rendering, and often serve as the first real experimentation with physics, artificial intelligence, and networking. Senior year students are significantly less restricted to allow for more artistic control, essentially allowing the students to focus on their specialization or the game's design.

The games are owned and copyrighted by DigiPen and are available for download.

Awards won by student games include:

Year	Award	Game
2010	IGF Student Showcase	Dreamside Maroon
2010	Indie Game Challenge Finalist	Dreamside Maroon
2010	IGF Student Showcase	Igneous
2010	Indie Game Challenge Non-Professional Grand Prize	Gear
2010	IGF Student Showcase Honorable Mention	Gear
2009	IGF Student Showcase	The Power of Paint
2009	IGF Best Student Game	The Power of Paint
2008	IGF Student Showcase	Synaesthete
2008	IGF Best Student Game	Synaesthete
2008	Finalist, Excellence in Visual Art Award, professional category, IGF	Synaesthete
2008	IGF Student Showcase	Empyreal Nocturne
2007	IGF Best Student Game	Toblo
2007	IGF Student Showcase	Toblo
2007	Finalist, Design Innovation Award, professional category, IGF	Toblo
2007	Slamdance Finalist	Toblo
2007	Slamdance Finalist	Base Invaders
2007	IGF Student Showcase	Base Invaders
2007	IGF Student Showcase	Gelatin Joe
2006	Intel's Best Game on the Go	Toblo
2006	Northwest Games Festival Audience Award	Toblo
2006	Finalist, innovation in game design, professional category, IGF	RumbleBox
2006	Slamdance Physics Award	RumbleBox
2006	IGF Student Showcase Winner	Narbacular Drop
2006	Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition Finalist	Narbacular Drop
2006	GameShadow Innovation In Games Festival & Awards Nomination	Narbacular Drop
2006	Game Informer The Top 10 Games You've Never Heard Of	Narbacular Drop
2006	Edge Internet Game of The Month	Narbacular Drop
2006	Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: Most Important Games "Honorable Mention"	Narbacular Drop
2006	IGF Student Showcase	Orblitz
2006	IGF Student Showcase	Sea of Chaos
2005	IGF Student Showcase	Scavenger Hunt
2005	Slamdance Audience Award	Scavenger Hunt
2005	IGF Student Showcase	Rock Station
2005	Finalist, professional category, IGF	Kisses
2004	Winner, innovation in game design, professional category, IGF	Bontãgo
2004	IGF Student Showcase	Ice Wars
2004	IGF Student Showcase	Scrapped
2003	IGF Student Showcase	Vektor Space
2003	IGF Student Showcase	Crazy Cross
2003	IGF Student Showcase	Valence
2003	IGF Student Showcase	Mall Monster
2002	IGF Student Showcase	Commando Attack Sub
2002	IGF Student Showcase	T.H.U.G.S.
2001	IGF Student Showcase	MatrixAttack
2001	IGF Student Showcase	GenJox

Notable staff

• Claude Comair
  • Founder
  • President
• Xin Li, Ph.D
  • Dean of Arts and Sciences
  • Former Department Chair of Computer Science

Summer camps

There are several facilities which host DigiPen Advanced Computer Science classes for high school students to take during their regular school day. These same courses are available to everyone to take during the summer for a fee.

These courses, intended for grades 8 and up, include Game Programming, 3D Animation, and Robotics. These classes focus on hands-on teaching philosophies. Each student is always working via a personal computer during class, and there is a “low student to teacher ratio.” Additionally, the summer courses provide students with the tools and environment to experience the gaming industry for themselves; there are frequent tours of portions of Nintendo of America and Microsoft’s Visitor Center.

Additionally, DigiPen hosts a “Junior Workshop” for students attending grades 5 through 7 located in Redmond, Washington. The junior level covers two tiers of game design and one tier of animation, which are designed to prepare students for the major classes intended for grades 8 and above by introducing children to less of the technical studies and more of the concepts and ideas behind these courses.

References

• DigiPen Fact Sheet
• IGF Award Winners
• USA Today - DigiPen
• DigiPen facts from GameCareerGuide
• DigiPen moves to larger campus

External links

• DigiPen's Site
• DigiPen Summer Workshop Site
• DigiPen´s Bilbao Site
• DigiPen´s Bilbao Blog