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Jack W

- Research Program Mentor

MS at Carnegie Mellon University

Expertise

Game Development, Production, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Design

Bio

I am a game developer and Virtual Reality designer who completed studying entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon. I am now a Professor and teach at Quinnipiac and Yale University. I received my B.A. at Yale University in Computer Science and Art. While there, I founded Yale's first Virtual Reality design program for students. I also designed a new curriculum teaching Neuroscience and Neuroanatomy with the Yale School of Medicine, and worked alongside professors as a teaching assistant for 3D design and animation at the Yale School of Art. As an alumni, I continue to mentor undergraduate students there in game development, for first time game designers. I have always been a gamer. And I probably always will be. While growing up, I would get so excited about upcoming games, and I would track their development right until they finally released. Eventually, I tried it out myself and was bewildered to learn I could build video games and theme park rides for a living (which is is why I 'm studying to become an Imagineer right now). Additionally, I am also definitely the biggest Avatar: the Last Airbender fan that you will ever meet. Hands down. I don't know anything about wine tasting, but I'm great at sounding like I do and have my friends convinced that I'm a professional. I speak a good amount of Chinese, and also can read and write some Elvish.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Turn any Movie into a Game

Have you ever watched something (a TV show, a movie, or even a book) and thought to yourself: "this would make an INCREDIBLE video game?" If so, then this course is for you. We will take a look at any piece of media that you find interesting. Then, we'll structure an interactive game around that, which you can build into something that your can have your friends and family playing by the end. We'll follow the structure of game development in the industry, so you'll be able to see under the hood of the video games you play and understand how it creates its magic. Once you're comfortable with this pipeline, you'll be a proven game developer who can turn future ideas into video games from scratch.

Coding skills

C, C#, C++, Python, Javascript, HMTL, CSS, PHP, SQL

Languages I know

Chinese (but probably not well enough to teach computer science in only Chinese)

Teaching experience

I first worked as a tutor for elementary and middle school students while in high school. At Yale University, I founded and oversaw a mentoring group that taught faculty and students how to program Virtual Reality experiences through project collaboration. Additionally, while an undergraduate, I was the teaching assistant for Yale's immersive experience design class, as well as for the 3D modeling and digital animation courses. Currently, I am a graduate student, but I still serve as an alumni mentor for projects in game development for undergraduates who want to make their first game.

Credentials

Education

Yale University
BA Bachelor of Arts (2019)
Computer Science and Art (Focus: Virtual Reality)
Carnegie Mellon University
MS Master of Science
Entertainment Technology

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