AIE News
Seattle
AIE Alumni Spotlight: Talon Grijalva
Talon Grijalva (Game Art & Animation) was honored with the AIE Legacy Award for the graduating class in 2019. The Legacy Award recognizes an individual’s impact that they have left at AIE and will continue to bring with them into the industry. Those who have earned the Legacy Award have proven themselves to be especially…
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AIE to Host Player Feedback Panel at PAX West 2019
About the Panel Everyone has ideas for how to make their favorite games even better. Sometimes those ideas are great! And sometimes terrible. Sometimes there are no ideas, just anger, negative reviews, down-votes, and memes that make us cry. How do developers listen to all this different kind of player feedback? How can players give…
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What Is Minor Production?
If you’re new to how the Academy prepares for group projects, you’re in the right place. This is one of the many things that sets us apart from most colleges, and it’s something we especially take pride in. For many of the students, this will be their first foray into video game production. Roles on…
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Can I Get Into the Video Game Industry Without a Degree?
For someone seeking a career in the game industry, this is a common question. If you are standing at Point A, your current level of experience, and are looking towards Point B, your future job in the game industry, you are likely asking, “What’s the best way to get there?” You are going to need…
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Seattle Graduation Ceremony
To celebrate our new grads, Nathan Camp (2015 AIE alumnus, Industrial Light & Magic) visited all the way from California to give a speech. Once an aspiring actor, Nathan was able to his passion for film at AIE Seattle, under the tutelage of Vic Bonilla, the instructor for 3D Animation & VFX for Film program.…
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AIE Student Placement Specialist Honored in Game Advocacy’s 50 Over 50 List
Cami Smith, our specialist in Industry Relations and Student Placement, has been honored in Game Advocacy’s 50 Over 50 list. Originally created by the former IGDA executive director, Kate Edwards, the 50 Over 50 list takes a stand on ageism in the video game industry. “For this initial, experimental project, a Google form was created…
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Why Mentors Are So Important
You’re at a point in your life where you know exactly what you would like to do as a career. You’re probably wondering: What comes next? Whether you have chosen AIE as your college, having a mentor at your side along the way is crucial to your career development. Identifying a mentor(s) in the early…
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What Are the Most Sought-After Skills in the VFX Industry
The VFX (visual effects) industry looks for more than an animation education and a decent portfolio. Technical skills learned at school must be added to softer, business-world skills and then combined into a stellar application, portfolio and that showcases individual creativity. We’re going to look at what some of those technical skills are, but before…
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A Tour Inside Valve Headquarters
Our students had the opportunity to get an inside look at the legendary Valve Corp Headquarters, the studio that has brought us the Half-Life series, and the distribution platform, Steam. Kelly Cline and Mike Belzer, who were our guides for our group throughout the tour, showed Valve’s state of the art motion-capture room, sound design…
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iFEST: When Gaming & Learning Collide
Once again, the city of Seattle was fired up for iFEST (Indie Game Festival), which was held at the Seattle Center Armory and hosted by The Academy of Interactive Entertainment. AIE has partnered up with over 40 indie game studios allowing them to exhibit a booth to promote their games in the busy Seattle Center…
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Seattle Graduation Ceremony 2019 Information
Come celebrate passion and dedication with us! Our Graduation Ceremony introduces the next generation of Game Developers, 3D Artists, Animators, and VFX Artists. Please join us at the SIFF Cinema Uptown to celebrate their outstanding achievements. Date: Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019 Time: 1pm-3pm Place: SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109…
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10 Games in 3 Days: Year 1’s Alphabet Game Jam
10 games in 3 days? How is that even possible?! In a game jam, anything is possible! When you are well-equipped with the top-tier tools and a studio environment with a creative team, you’d be surprised how easy it is to churn out 10 games in 3 days. About the Alphabet Jam This is the…
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Diversity Collective+ Speed Mentoring & Roundtable Event
Promotional imagery created by Ashley Rivas. Our sponsored hosts for the third-ever DC+ event was none other than our friends at Amazon. We are so grateful for their support and contributions to help continue Seattle’s goal of diversity and industrious innovation. Our gracious hosts provided the perfect space for the occasion – in their clean…
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iFEST: Behind the Scenes of Demoing
Written by Anthony Ritchey Edited by Lizz Rizzo, Josh Curry, and Steven Hitchcock Input by William Pheloung, Allyson Woods, and Tim Cullings Photography by Emilio Cerrillo, Daniel Craig Beebe, and others, all credited in-line. Photos by www.emiliocerrillophotography.com Photo by Emilio A dinosaur sitting at our booth. After we demoed our game at SIX [Seattle Indies…
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Video Game Math: Polar and Spherical Notation
What is Polar and Spherical Notation? These systems are alternate ways of describing a position in space. This allows us a different way of calculating positions. Polar and Spherical Coordinates In a “normal” Cartesian coordinate system, you have coordinates in an (x, y) pattern (or (x, y, z) for 3D) – along with an arbitrary…
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Video Game Math: Matrices
What are matrices? Matrices is plural for a matrix – which is a collection of numbers represented in a grid, very similar to a table or spreadsheet. They look a little like this. By itself, that collection of numbers is mostly meaningless, but if you use them to assign values – such as the coordinates…
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Video Game Math: Collision Detection
What is collision detection? Collision detection is one of the most important pieces of math for a programmer to understand. Why? Games are all about collision. Virtually everything you do in a game depends on collision. Whether it’s a bullet hitting a target, Mario landing on a platform or coming in contact with a pickup,…
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AIE Behind the Scenes: VFX Film Shoot
Film day for the VFX crew was set at the Book-It Repertory Theatre. From 7am to 5pm, the 3D Animation & VFX for Film crew was busy on set! Lighting equipment, dolly and camera equipment was provided by David Burns, a Seattle director of photography and long-time co-worker of Vic Bonilla, 3D Animation & VFX…
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Something Was in the Air at Emerald City Comic Con
The City of Seattle was once again fired up for the 2019 Emerald City Comic Con. Which was held at the Washington State Convention Center in Downtown Seattle, WA. Once again Academy of Interactive Entertainment has partnered with ECCC having them allowing us to exhibit a booth providing information about AIE! At our booth we…
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Is Game Programming Right for Me
You might be a programmer when… Have you ever wondered what’s going on under the hood of the games and software tools you use? You might be a programmer! Perhaps you have learned a bit about programming, but you’re wondering whether to pursue it as a career. Let’s go over some ways you can explore…
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Major Production Pitches 2019
Throughout the entire 2nd year, students enrolled in our Game Programming and our Game Art & Animation programs are divided into game development teams to create their first game. All student games below will have a demo presented at IFEST 2019, as it is a milestone shared among all teams. Before they get to showcase…
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AIE at 343 Industries
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment’s students and staff visited 343 Industries, the studio most known for the Halo series (the studio is also named after a Halo character: 343 Guilty Spark.) The tour included an exclusive Q&A panel with 343 Industries staff. The Q&A covered a wide range of topics, from concept art to engineering…
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Art Institute Seattle Displacement Info Sessions
If you are a displaced Art Institute student, please take note that the Academy of Interactive Entertainment Seattle Campus offers learning track towards careers in the following: Game Art & Animation Game Programming Game Design & Production 3D Animation & VFX for Film We are aware that every person’s situation is different, and there are…
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Recruiting and Networking Mixer
In response to the King/Z2 Games and ArenaNet layoffs, The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE Seattle) partnered up with the Seattle chapter of the Indie Game Developers Association (IGDA Seattle), Experis Seattle, and TurboPlay to co-host a Recruiting and Networking Mixer, on March 6th, 2019. From Seattle to California, tons of studios and recruiters attended,…
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