Drexel Game Design and the Drexel RePlay Lab welcome two new faculty: Dr. Santiago Ontanon Villar and Dr. Jichen Zhu.

Dr. Santiago Ontanon Villar was a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Researcher at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain prior to coming to Drexel. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Barcelona, and also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research spans the broad areas of artificial intelligence (particularly case-based reasoning), machine learning, and gaming, with titles including Case-Based Reasoning and User-Generated AI for Real-Time Strategy Games, Drama Management and Player Modeling for Interactive Fiction Games, and Adaptive Computer Games: Easing the Authorial Burden.

Dr. Jichen Zhu was an assistant professor of Digital Media in School of Visual Arts and Design, at University of Central Florida prior to joining Drexel. She was also the director of the Procedural Expression Lab. Her work focuses on developing humanistic and interpretive theoretical framework of computational technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), and constructing AI-based cultural artifacts. Her current research areas include digital humanities, software studies, computational narrative, and serious games. Jichen Zhu received a Ph.D. in Digital Media from Georgia Tech, under the advisement of Dr. D. Fox Harrell. She also holds a MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, and a Master of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. Her work on analogy-based story generation (ASG) was presented in IJCAI 2011 this summer, and she is an invited speaker at the Symposium on Narrative Intelligence: AI Approaches for Games and Fiction at the Expressive Intelligence Studio, UC Santa Cruz.

In its first graduate ranking ever, Drexel University's Digital Media MS degree is #5 on a list saluting the best graduate institutions in the U.S. and Canada to study game design, according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely known education services and test preparation companies.  Drexel University is remains in the Top 10 for the second stragith year at #7 on a list saluting the 50 best undergraduate institutions in the U.S. and Canada to study game design, according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely known education services and test preparation companies.  The Princeton Review developed its list in partnership with GamePro, one of the most respected brands in the video game industry, reaching over 3 million gamers a month.

The list is reported in GamePro's April 2011 issue and on the websites of The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com) and GamePro (www.gamepro.com). 

Philly GameJam 2011 Drexel University's gaming teams won the two major awards at the 3rd annual Philly Game Jam. Duck It! by Space Whale Studios won the "WTF? Award" and Winston’s Eggventure by Team UC15 was winner of the Judges’ Choice Award at the 3rd Annual Philly Game Jam,May 6-8. Held in conjunction with the Too Many Games Expo, the Game Jam included teams from nearby universities and professional game developers. Their goal was to create a video game within 48 hours based on an abstract theme. The two award categories were "Most Innovative Game" and "Game Closest to the Concept." The Space Whale Studios team, while not officially from Drexel, consisted of mostly current and former Drexel students.

Drexel Game Design and the Drexel RePlay Lab was featured in the story Game Designers' Bright Future On the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, the video game industry offers lucrative careers in a big money business. Jeff Glor reports.

Drexel University is #3 on a list saluting the 50 best undergraduate institutions in the U.S. and Canada to study game design, according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely known education services and test preparation companies.  The Princeton Review developed its "Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs" list - the first project of its kind - in partnership with GamePro, one of the most respected brands in the video game industry, reaching over 3 million gamers a month.

The list is reported in GamePro's April 2010 issue and on the websites of The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com) and GamePro (www.gamepro.com). 

Congratulations to our Digital Media senior group, The Fourmation and their head-tracking multiplayer video game, Fourmation, for winning the 9th annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards in the Non-Browser-based Design category. This was presented at the Icongrada World Design Congress in Bejiing China. The Fourmation team were competing against 3300 student entries from 37 different countries. Fourmation is a 3D action-packed multiplayer Flash game that uses Wii technology to bring virtual reality to the home computer.

Philly GameJam 2009 Drexel University's gaming team, Team Reverie, took First Place with "Most Innovative Game" at the 2nd Annual Philly Game Jam, Oct. 23-25, 2009. Held in conjunction with the GameX Industry Summit, the Game Jam included teams from nearby universities and professional game developers. Their goal was to create a video game within 48 hours based on an abstract theme. The two award categories were "Most Innovative Game" and "Game Closest to the Concept." While Team Reverie won first place in "Most Innovative Game" with their game, Insight, a team from Space Whale Studios took second place in both categories with their game, The Shovel Nose Screamer. The Space Whale Studios team, while not officially from Drexel, consisted of mostly current and former Drexel students.

Congratulations to Dan Bodenstein who took part in the GameJam! at SIGGRAPH last week in New Orleans, and his team won for 2D - Crowd Favorite