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.

MUSPERF 300: Video Game Music (Fall 2014)

Just wanted to spread the word about a game-related music class being taught again in the Fall.

MUSPERF 300: Video Game Music

This course charts the evolution of video game music from the first synthesized “bleeps” and “bloops” of early games, through the rise and fall of the video arcade, to the nearly ubiquitous games/consoles found in most households, and the latest craze-causing games on mobile devices.  

In-class discussions will provide methods for simple analysis of game audio, consider the interactive nature of game audio, and examine the composers who create this music and how they do it.  Class sessions will also include Skype Q&As with industry experts.  In lieu of formal written papers, your contribution to a listening blog will create a vibrant online community.  The course culminates with a creative final project: your composition of video game music.  

Examined music includes games/series: Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Punch Out, Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Myst, Diablo, BioShock, Red Dead Redemption, Farmville, Angry Birds, DDR, Guitar Hero, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and many others, as well as game music of class choice.  

This course is designed for non-music majors, thus: the ability to read standard music notation is neither required nor advantageous.  

Special Note: This course qualifies as intellectual breadth credit for engineers.

Tues/Thurs.  Central Campus: Chem 1300.  2 credits.  
For more information contact Matthew Thompson: mattthom@umich.edu

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.

Sid Meier's Game Design Boot Camp

A piece appeared in UM's Michigan Today about Sid Meier's Game Design Boot Camp, which took place earlier this Summer. In it, we discover what gave him the idea for the boot camp, which companies were involved, and a bit about how it was structured. We also learn that not only was Sid Meier's son Ryan involved (a UM graduate), but also his mother, who attended the event as well.

Read more about it here: http://michigantoday.umich.edu/story.php?id=8413

Sid Meier's Game Design Boot Camp

UM is hosting a two-week game design boot camp at the Computer Science Building on North Campus, led by award-winning game designer Sid Meier and UM EECS professor John Laird.

It will be held May 7-18, and is targeted at undergraduates in their junior/senior year or recent graduates, with previous class-related or independent game design experience.

More about the boot camp can be found here.

Retro/Grade Using Guitar Controller

Matt Gilgenbach, an alum of UM as well as the university's game development group Wolverine Soft, has been featured in a guest editorial on Kotaku.

In it, he discusses his soon to be released game Retro/Grade, which is designed to be played with a guitar controller, although a game pad will suffice as well.

In the editorial, he discusses the lack of new game material designed for the guitar controller, which he believes is a major determinant in its gradual decline in popularity over the past few years.

The trailer for Retro/Grade can be found on the game's website and is also below. Though an exact release date hasn't been established, the game is slated to be available "soon."

Alter Echo: A Slice of Ann Arbor History

This week, the archive received a donation that was a special treat, a glimpse into our local video game industry from almost a decade ago: Alter Echo.

Alter Echo was the last game developed by an Ann Arbor-based company called Outrage Entertainment, which developed games in Ann Arbor from about 1997-2004. And the generous donor of said game? None other than one of the testers of Alter Echo, Tod Schlegelmilch.

The game isn't yet available for play, but keep searching Mirlyn to stay up to date on its status. I'm sure it will be a game well worth checking out!

Wolverine Soft's 48 Hour Game Dev Contest This Weekend

Wolverine Soft is hosting a game development contest this weekend in which a group of participants design a game within 48 hours. Game themes are announced at the beginning of the event.

Participants don't need to be game programmers - musicians, artists, and people with design ideas are welcome as well. Registration is open to current students of any university in Michigan or alumni who have graduated in the past 6 years (except those currently involved in the video game industry). Pre-registration is encouraged.

Read more about the event and its rules here.

Arcade Masters Series Finals @ AADL!

Ann Arbor District Library is holding finals for the Arcade Master Series this Friday from 6-8:30pm at the downtown library, so don't forget to check it out! Food and musical Chiptunes entertainment will also be included.

Participate for a chance to win an iPad 2 with iCade mini arcade cabinet! Hope to see you there.

More about the event here.

A2 GeekTour Explores the CVGA

We recently had the opportunity to host a social event for the A2 GeekTour, whose aim is to create "a chance for geeks to get together and explore a physical space that has some claim to geekdom." 

Highlights included the group experiencing moments of nostalgia as they checked out our Atari games and some of the older equipment, as well as an opportunity for them to rock out with a few Rock Band songs, complete with the string guitar controller.

You can read more about the event on the group's blog.

Video Games Giving Young Brains a Workout

University of Michigan psychology professor Susanne M. Jaeggi was quoted today in an L.A. Times article about research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that explored the possibility of certain video games improving the reasoning and working memory ability of children who play them.

According to the researchers, the children have to want to play the games and not be pushed into doing them, and there has to be what Jaeggi calls a "delicate balance between too much or too little" in order for the games to be effective.

Read more about the research here.

WolverineSoft Tech Day

Save the date!

WolverineSoft, a student group on campus that focuses on game development, is planning a Tech Day on Saturday, October 8th. The event is designed to give a broad introduction to the University of Michigan's College of Engineering by inviting high school students and college transfer students to see the Engineering campus. They will have a table to display their club and its games.

You can read more about WolverineSoft here.

What draws us to horror games?

Why do we enjoy playing scary games so much?

Nicholaus Noles, a developmental psychologist at the University of Michigan, gives us a psychological perspective into the science behind our attraction to games that inspire a sense of fear, horror or danger.

One of the reasons he gives is that they "allow us to experience powerful and complex emotions in a safe way," and that developers use situations in which gamers have limited control over a scary situation to create an effective horror-filled experience.

Read his article here.

Video Games as Culture/Form

Professor Sheila Murphy is teaching her class again this semester, entitled "Video Games as Culture/Form."

Besides a trip to our archive to get up close and personal with some of the more violent games in our collection, students from the class are also contributing to the course blog at http://videogameform.blogspot.com/, where they give their unedited perspectives on a variety of topics related to video games and culture. Feel free to take a look.

Video Games as Culture/Form

Students in Sheila Murphy's class SAC 368: Video Games as Culture/Form are this semester blogging about video games on their blog at http://videogameform.blogspot.com

There are some great posts there and I invite you to give it a look-see.

The Electronic Revelation

One of our regulars, Grace Lieb, wrote an article about the CVGA for LEAD Magazine, which never got to be published before she left the magazine. So here is the article, in its entirety. Thanks, Grace! 

TITLE: THE ELECTRONIC REVELATION

SUBTITLE:  A Gamer’s Dreamland Awaits at the Most Well-Kept Secret on North Campus

BY: Grace Lieb

To Central Campus-Goers: you never thought that it was worth while paying a visit to North Campus, eh? You never thought that the monotonous, mind-numbing 15 minute bus ride would lead to anything significant, eh? Well listen, and listen good, because this next part is not going to be easy for me. I am about to sacrifice my oath of confidentiality to tell you about the grandest, most precious jewel on North Campus. Because I know that once I tell you, this technological treasure trove will never be the same calm, hushed reprieve again. Ok, here it goes: there’s a video game archive here. Yeah, a VIDEO GAME ARCHIVE. Sure, there are video games in the Union, but you have to cough up the cash for those. THIS IS FREE. 

Tucked away in the basement of the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library in the Duderstadt Center, the Computer and Video Game Archive has every console ever created since the birth of gaming. From the NES to Playstation 3, from classic games like the Super Mario Bros. series to the newest, cutting-edge games like Assassin’s Creed II, there’s a niche for every kind of gamer. I don’t want to give away all the titles, though. After all, there are just too many to name in this meek article. 1,508, in fact.

So, how did this neat little fantasy become such a big reality? The Archive is the brainchild of David Carter, a librarian here at U of M. It launched in 2008 as an educational center for observing media effects, art design, and programming, but since then has become more than a sort of laboratory; it’s a center for fun. Walking into the Archive and feasting your eyes upon the giant wall adorned with video games is like walking into a room with an all-you-can-eat buffet: your senses overwhelm you; your mind whirls; you don’t know what to grab first because it all looks so good. The added bonus is the environment is serene and quiet (due to the provided headphones next to each gaming station), so you can play in peace.

Still not convinced this whole thing is worth your while? “It’s a place where you can go and have fun,” states School of Engineering freshman Lanxin Liu, “It’s just really cool how you can come here and relax.” Simply put, it’s a place to game your stresses away. Need a break from 24/7 studying? Clear your head with your favorite game. Want to hang out with friends? Round them up and play Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Whatever mood you’re in or motive you have, it’s just an enjoyable, friendly place to hang out. To sum it up, Elizabeth Caliman, an LSA junior who commutes frequently from Central to the Archive, observes, “It’s got a wide variety [of games], it’s free, it’s open 6 days a week, and the staff is great.” ‘Nuff said.

For the full video game catalog, hours, and phone number, visit http://www.lib.umich.edu/computer-video-game-archive.

Rock Band-a-Palooza! - Tuesday

Rock Band-a-Palooza!

Tuesday, September 14 (During Northfest), 11am - 2pm.

In the Duderstadt Center Gallery.

Play Rock Band on a giant screen!

Sponsored by the MLibrary Computer & Video Game Archive.

Game development picking up steam at UM-Flint

UM-Flint offers a game development track in their Computer Science program, which is picking up steam amongst other departments, such as their Nursing program, where they are using educational games to teach their students. Students from a number of departments are getting involved in the game development, including the Computer Science, Nursing, Biology, Communication and Visual Arts departments.

Read more here.

Serious Games Expo, Nov 19