Video Game-Themed Pops Concert on Campus

THE MICHIGAN POPS ORCHESTRA PRESENTS “GAME OF POPS” on April 13, 2014 at
7:00 P.M.

(ANN ARBOR) - Led by Music Director Tristan Rais-Sherman, the Michigan Pops Orchestra presents Game of Pops on Sunday April 13th Michigan Theater. This April, the University of Michigan’s only student-run, student-directed orchestra will perform its annual spring concert!

This semester, the Michigan Pops is putting on a show guaranteed to thrill audience-members of all ages, including the music of John Williams, Mario, Shostakovich, The Olympic Games, Hercules, Halo, Kingdom Hearts, Prokofiev and, of course, Game of Thrones. This concert is sure to defy any stereotypes of a typical “orchestra concert” by utilizing a unique combination of vocal performers, multimedia, stage antics, and special effects. This semester, we will be featuring the Michigan Pops Concerto Competition winner, Allen Chang. Once again, Game of Pops promises to be an epic, adventure-packed show!

Pops appeals to the music-lover in everyone with its diverse repertoire, from classical pieces to video game themes to popular film scores! Working under the guidance of the University Activities Center, the Michigan Pops Orchestra’s members comprise a diverse group (undergraduate and graduate) from all disciplines, from English to Environmental Studies to Engineering! This 97-member, tightly-knit ensemble demonstrates commitment to and passion for musical collaboration each semester with an exhilarating performance! Join in on the games with the Michigan Pops in Game of Pops on Sunday, April 13th! Those who go…will be champions.

Concert and Ticket Information:

Sunday, April 13, 2014, 7:00 PM
Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty
$5 for Students, $8 for Adults
Children/Students in Public Schools and Ann Arbor Day Cares are FREE at the door
Seniors 65+ are also FREE at the door
Tickets sold at TICKETMASTER.COM, AT THE DOOR (April 14) OR IN ADVANCE.

Pick up a “Passport to the Arts” with an MCARD from April 1-15 at Office of New
Student Programs in the LSA Building and redeem it at the door for a FREE TICKET!

For more about the Michigan Pops Orchestra, please visit our website:
http://www.michiganpops.com/

Contact:
Anitha Menon
Michigan Pops Orchestra, External Publicity Director
616.328.9893
avmenon@umich.edu

Game Design Jam

Just passing along an upcoming opportunity for those who are interested in educational games and game design on campus.

Game Design Jam! Game Design Jam! Game Design Jam!

Wednesday, April 2, 7:00pm-10:00pm 2435 North Quad

Gamers Wanted!!!

Are you a video game addict? Game designer? Or both? Have you been frustrated by game play, poor plot points, or lack of action in educational games?  Have you ever envisioned the perfect game? 

The waiting is over! We intend to do exactly that and we want YOUR input on what the perfect game looks, plays, and feels like! 

On April 2nd you can:

- Contribute to the creation of the ULTIMATE educational game!

- Meet and talk with other gamers who share your passion 

- Have fun playing games as they are played in different countries around the world.

- Pig out on beverages and snack. 

All you have to bring is your IMAGINATION!!!

Sponsored by the Language Resource Center.

2014 NPHC Step Show: Game Over

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC's) Step Show fundraiser for this year will be entitled "Game Over" and will feature each of the chapters in the NPHC performing their rendition of various video games.

Each year, the NPHC Step Show is a highly anticipated event, in which chapter's practice for months to participate in because it is the NPHC's largest fund raiser. Tickets will be on sale in March. Check out "Game Over" on Facebook and be on the lookout for more promotion by the council!

This year's show will take place on Friday, April 4, 2014 at the Power Center for Performing Arts.

Party and Tournament Results

We held a party and Smash tournament on Saturday to celebrate our fifth anniversary of being open, as well as to highlight International Games Day @ Your Library. Both were well-attended, and the cupcakes predictably disappeared pretty quickly.

As promised, we'll post the winners of the Smash tournament here for official bragging rights. Congratulations to our top five winners, who won Amazon gift cards, and thanks to everyone who attended!

CVGA Anniversary Week!

It's the CVGA 5th Anniversary Week! We have many fun, celebratory and hopefully illuminating events and activities scheduled:

Monday (today!): We kick off our week-long Classic Games Tournament. Show your mastery of classic video games by playing Dr. Mario, Sonic Blast, Double Dragon, Asteroids, and Paperboy. Prizes!

Tuesday: Join us at 4pm in the Hatcher Library Gallery for a panel discussion with U-M faculty in "Game On! Video Game Research & Teaching at the University of Michigan."

Wednesday: Our director Dave Carter will join AADL's Eli Neiberger in an appearance on the Comics Are Great podcast with host Jerzy Drozd in a talk about the intersection of comics & gaming.

Thursday: We debut our new online exhibition "CVGA Disassembled"

Saturday: Our big 5th Anniversary Bash! Join us at the CVGA from 1-5pm for food and fun and our Smash Tournament.

Game-related events in the Duderstadt Center

Two events coming up this week that you won't want to miss:

The Digital Media Commons Present

Leap Motion Launch Event:

The future of Human Computer Interaction?

A live demo and Q&A with: 

Dan Gill, Head of Enterprise Sales, Leap Motion

The Duderstadt Center now has Leap Motion USB controllers available for checkout to Students, Faculty and Staff. Bring a valid MCard at the 2nd floor circulation desk.  

To celebrate this initiative, join us for a discussion of how Leap Motion’s new 3D motion control technology is changing the way developers design applications for:

Gaming

Healthcare

Desktop Productivity

Education

Manufacturing

Security

Data Visualization

Defense & Aerospace

Wednesday October 16th, 2013

3:00-4:00pm

Duderstadt Center Room 1180

 

AND...

Character Animation (Thursday, 10/18/13)

Character Animation

Friday, 10/18, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm 

 

Learn how characters in 3D movies and games are put into motion. Participants will be provided with a 3D character that they will manipulate and be introduced to the nuances of portraying realistic movement.

Prior experience in a 3D package is highly encouraged as you will be moving objects around in a 3D environment. Comfort with viewports, transforms, and selecting objects required.
 

Location:
VisLab 1, 1401 Duderstadt Center
2281 Bonisteel Boulevard, North Campus 

 

Session level: Beginner
Sponsor(s): Digital Media Commons
Presenter(s): Eric Maslowski, Stephanie O'Malley

 

Register here!

Dance Central 2 Competition for Extra Credit

Today we hosted a dance-off in which a professor-who-will-remain-nameless challenged her students to compete with her using the video game Dance Central 2. They would get a few extra credit points just for showing up, and could get quite a few more if they managed to beat her on one of the songs.

Two of her students showed up, one of which had never used the Kinect before. Little did they know that their professor knew the game fluently and had shown her expertise at some of our previous events (or maybe she did mention this to them, who knows).

Everyone was a great sport, including the professor, who set her difficulty to Hard and the students' at Easy to level things off a bit. Only one of the students managed to beat her, however, and just barely. The same student later competed with her on Medium difficulty and didn't fare so well.

Then, our fearless leader Dave rounded out the event by challenging the professor to a match, where he showed off his freestyle. Overall, the event seemed to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.

Motion Capture in Feature Films and Video Games

A little last minute, but here's an interesting event going on in the building today:

Join us for an informal show-n-tell and open discussion around Motion Capture in feature films and video games with Marc Morisseau, an alumni of U-M and the UM3DLab. Marc is currently working for Just Cause Entertainment and played a large role in the Motion Capture for Avatar 1, Resident Evil 6, Star Trek 2, and several yet to be announced feature films. It should be an exciting discussion as Marc talks about some of his recent projects and challenges that accompany large productions.



Where: UM3D Lab, VisLab 2

             1405 Duderstadt Center

When: 04/24/2013, 12:30pm

Cost:  Free

Just Cause Entertainment: http://www.for-the-cause.com/english/

Different Games Conference in Brooklyn, NY

Here is an interesting conference coming up this month:

Different Games is a two-day conference on diversity and inclusiveness in digital games, hosted April 26-27, 2013 at NYU’s Polytechnic Institute in downtown Brooklyn. Different Games is a space for radical discussions of representation in games and the relationship of the medium to designer and player identity. See our website at: www.differentgames.org.

As game designers, theorists, journalists and players often produce their work in contexts separated by their specialized fields, we see Different Games as an opportunity to share across these professional boundaries. By presenting games, scholarship and hands-on workshops engaged with these topics, we hope to foster a dialogue between artistic, academic and commercial practice unique to how discussions of diversity and representation are able to exist in academic and industry settings. We welcome all individuals, groups and companies invested in games as creative, critical tools, and who are committed to aiding commercial game design, indie games and academic game studies to reflect the complexity, depth and diversity of all involved.

More information here: http://differentgames.eventbrite.com/#

Banned Books Week

Since this week is Banned Books Week, we have decided to expand the theme a bit and highlight some video games that have been banned around the world.

Video games may be banned in parts of the world for several reasons, including excessive violence and/or cruelty, adult content, political or religious themes, etc.

So stop by this week and check out our display to learn more about it.

Gaming Week Day 4: Shooting Games

Shooting games comprise one of the most played genres in the Archive.  Barely a day goes by without patrons requesting to play shooters like Call of Duty or Halo: Reach.  Shooting games have a rich and varied history, first coming into popularity in the early 90s.  The Archive is proud to showcase a wide variety of shooting games from all points in the genre’s history.

Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

Fight your way through Hitler’s secret fortress in this great-granddad of shooting games.  While Wolfenstein is not the very first shooter ever made, nor as well-known as DOOM, this classic is arguably the epitome of the genre and paved the way for all the shooting games that followed.  In any case, what can be more fun than fighting Mecha-Hitler with a chaingun?  The Archive has the MS-DOS and Atari Jaguar versions.   

Doom (1993)

This ubiquitous game really needs no introduction and may be solely responsible for starting the shooting game craze.  You play a battle-hardened marine cleansing a military research facility where all Hell (literally) has broken loose.  Sparking a number of sequels, the original is still notable for its fast-paced action and iconic music.  The original was ported to many different platforms. The Archive has the MS-DOS, SNES, Genesis 32x, and GBA versions.

Quake (1996)    

Quake on PC is notable for its online multiplayer.  Incredibly fast paced, the game gave players blazing speed and maneuverability. The high skill level required to succeed spawned a large group of competitive players, leading Quake to be among the first games considered an “e-sport.”  The original spawned several sequels, many of which the Archive has.

GoldenEye (1997)

No discussion of shooting games would be complete without a mention of GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64.  Containing a fun single player mode based on the James Bond movie of the same name, Goldeneye’s real claim to fame was in its multiplayer capabilities.  Featuring frantic four-player split-screen action, Goldeneye established that shooting games were just as viable on consoles as on computers.  Just remember: no one is allowed to play as Oddjob. That's just unfair.

Halo (2001)

The original Halo helped make the Xbox a great success.  Set in a grim future where mankind is losing a war against a powerful alien foe, Halo follows the fight of the power armor wearing, genetically enhanced “Master Chief” as he explores a mysterious space structure in the shape of a ring, or halo.  A mix of exploration, frantic gunplay, vehicle combat, gripping story elements, and even a bit of horror, combine to give Halo a lasting impression.  The sequel, Halo 2, allowed online multiplayer, helping spring Microsoft’s Xbox Live service into prominence.

Steel Battalion (2002)

The Archive staff had a bit of an argument over this one: what really makes a game a “shooter?”  Well, call it a mech simulator, shooter, or leftover dinner, Steel Battalion for the original Xbox is an awesome game.  You pilot a VT (vertical tank) from the cockpit, using a massive controller complete with two joysticks, three foot pedals, and a couple dozen switches and buttons.  Even learning the controls is a challenge, to say nothing of the game. If your mech gets destroyed and you fail to eject (yep, button for that too), your save file is deleted.  Having a working Steel Battalion setup is, in my opinion, one of the cooler things we have at the Archive.

Call of Duty Black Ops (2010)

No discussion of shooting games would be complete without the incredibly popular Call of Duty series.  Massively successful, Activision rotates the game design between two studios to produce a new CoD game every year (and they sell like hotcakes).  The fast-paced gunplay emphasizes hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes. Your character can only survive a few hits, and many of the enemies carry automatic weaponry.  The campaigns are usually short, epic in scope, and often stir up controversy--Modern Warfare 2’s No Russian level in particular.  The online play is immensely popular, with numerous options for outfitting your character: dozens of guns, each with multiple attachment choices, as well as character perks and killstreaks.  Of particular note in the Archive collection is Black Ops, which contains a game mode called Nazi Zombies.  Players attempt to survive as long as possible against an endless horde of Nazi zombies, demonic dogs, and other vicious undead enemies.  At least among Archive patrons, that game mode is more popular than the normal online multiplayer mode.