New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015

Number 5

Page 1 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter 

 

NEIT at Pixar! Earlier this month, Assistant Professor, Bill Culbertson was a guest 

at Pixar Animation Studios. While in San Francisco for the 2015 

Game Developers Conference, Bill had the opportunity to cross the 

Bay Bridge to Emoryville, home of Pixar.  

 

Matthew Luhn, Pixar Story Supervisor took Bill on a two‐hour of the 

Pixar Campus. “We talked a lot about Pixar’s obsession with quality. 

Most movies take up to two years just to write. That is unheard of 

in the industry. What is really amazing is, they write up to ten to‐

tally different story versions of each film. Eventually they choose 

the strongest version.” 

 

“One of the cool things he showed me was how the color artists 

interpret the mood of the story throughout the film. There were 

huge walls with color block images that visually represented the 

mood flow of the entire film. Think of a storyboard wall, only the 

subjects in the frames are color palettes instead of drawings. He 

could tell the story just from the color changes.” 

 

“The Campus is very impressive. They are very employee conscious. 

There is a swimming pool, tennis/basketball courts, fitness center 

and walking paths. Unlike most animation studios, Pixar maintains a 

constant staff. They don’t ramp up for a production and lay‐off 

when completed.  Steve Jobs designed the main building. All the 

lavatories, eating areas, etc are located in the center of the       

building. The design creates the opportunities for employees to 

interact during the day, exchanging ideas.” 

 

“One thing is always present. High quality. Every aspect of their 

work is done at a super high level. Matthew arranged for me to 

meet with the Senior Recruiter of Student Internships. Pixar will 

hopefully be including NEIT on their upcoming visits to New         

England colleges to review portfolios of students interested in 

Pixar.” 

 

“We select up to five interns a year and we usually end up hiring 

one of them full time,” said Kim Diaz. Her recommendation for  

applicants, “Do your best work and do lots of it.” 

 

New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015

Number 5

Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter 

  GDC 2105 Assistant Professors DJ Johnson and Bill Culbertson traveled 

to this year’s Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco 

on behalf of the college. The Conference is the preeminent 

event for game Developers. The two were able to attend  

conference sessions on game education, development and 

careers. There was also the opportunity to meet and catch–

up with NEIT alumni who work in the industry. 

 

At the Expo and Career Centers, new relationships were 

formed with a number of companies to pursue future         

internships opportunities for NEIT students.  

Don’t forget to register for Spring  Classes! 

Register now before classes close! 

 

New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015

Number 5

Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter 

 

  

PIXAR Artists coming to NEIT! 

Here’s an opportunity to add to your education! Pixar 

Story Supervisor & Story Instructor, Matthew Luhn will 

be returning to NEIT in April to conduct a two day Mas‐

ter Workshop on story development and animation. Ac‐

companying Matthew for this event will be Andrew 

Gordon, a Animation Supervisor at Pixar. 

 

NEIT hosted this workshop two years ago to a large     

audience from across New England. Many attendees 

were from game companies, big and small. WB/Turbine 

sent a number of their artists to learn the nuances that 

make Pixar works excel. The Workshop features an    

inside look at how Pixar stories are developed and 

brought to life through animation.   

The Workshop is scheduled for April 10‐11, 2015.       

Registration is now open for this limited seating event. 

Special student discount rates are available at a cost of 

$295.  Come learn from the guys who made Nemo,     

Sully, Ratatouille, Woody, Buzz and others come to life! 

Jobs! Work! Jobs! The college's MIS Department is looking for a few good 

students who would like to gain hands on knowledge and 

at the same time earn some extra money.  These         

opportunities are ideal for students going into quarter 5, 

7 or 9. If you are interested, please contact: Marty 

Truchon in N240F (x3651) or email at etruchon@neit.edu 

Work Study Positions! 

The Department is looking for students  interested in be‐

ing Game Lab Monitors for the Spring Quarter. Thursdays 

and  Fridays are the main days needing coverage. Keeping 

the Lab doors open for students is the goal! Monitors will 

be responsible for keeping the lab open  during non‐class 

time for VGDD students to  utilize the high end computers 

and equipment in the Lab. Please contact Marty Truchon, 

N240F if interested in earning some extra money! 

FM GLOBAL CO‐OP Opportunities!  

Representatives from FM Global will be on campus     

Monday, March 30 at 11:30 and 5:00 PM to meet with 

students interested in  Co‐op/ Internships. Please contact 

Shirl Gerlach ASAP to sign‐up for meetings: email        

sgerlach@neit.edu or stop by Career Services. 

  To register for the Animation  

  Master Workshop with Pixar artists, go to: 

 neit.edu/animation  

“ITStudents” on Canvas 

Have you noticed the new ITStudents course on   

canvas? It is an Internship/Co‐op/Jobs resource for 

you! Check it out for the latest information about 

opportunities that you may be eligible for. 

Quarter 10 students should take note of the two 

GTEC internships currently posted. Applications are 

due now! Act ASAP!  

Register now while seats are available! 

 

New England Institute of Technology Winter 2015

Number 5

Page 2 GameTech Video Game Technology Newsletter 

 

New NEIT IGDA Chapter! The VGDD Department is hosting a new International Game Devel‐

opers Association School Chapter. Currently there are 15 chapters 

across the world. As an official IGDA Chapter, students can enjoy all 

the connections and recognition possible through the Association.  

The Global Game Jam is an IGDA function that NEIT has participated 

in over the past three years. As a local chapter, we are planning 

monthly meetings with featured events relating to the gaming    

industry. 

We are currently seeking three students willing to      

become officers for the group. These three leaders   

must be IGDA members ($30. annual membership fee  

to the IGDA).   

If you are interested in becoming an officer for the 

group (looks great on the resume!), please contact      

Jordan Dubreuil or Bill Culbertson as soon as possible. 

Non‐officer students will not be required to be paying 

members of IGDA. 

 

The new NEIT IGDA Chapter will be replacing the current Provi‐

dence IGDA Group and the IT Department’s GDN. 

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is the largest non-profit membership organization in the world serving all individuals who create games. As an international organization, we are a global network of collaborative projects and communities comprised of individuals from all fields of game development - from programmers and producers to writers, artists, QA and localization. We bring together developers at key industry conferences, in over 90 Chapters and in Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to improve their lives and their craft. We advocate on behalf of our membership to ensure quality of life, perpetuation of our craft and preparing the next generation of developers. Whether you're a student with a goal to become a game developer or a seasoned veteran, regardless if you're based in the U.S. or any country/region in the world, whether you're an indie developer or in a AAA studio, whether your primary platform is a PC, console or a tabletop - we welcome you home to the IGDA! 

Special Interest Groups

The IGDA special interest groups (SIGs) will help you connect with

others who are interested in a particular topic or specialists in a

specific discipline. SIG members work together to teach and learn

from each other, promote their specialties, identify new technical

or aesthetic challenges, and advance the art and industry of game

design.

Scholars

IGDA Scholars are the most promising students studying game development and related fields. and are selected via a rigorous application process. Scholars benefit from the guidance of industry professionals, and receive free access to industry events, such as the Game Developer's Conference. IGDA Scholarships are an opportunity for talented students to get a head start in the competi-tive world of professional game development

Crowdfunding

Many of our members, affiliates and partners rely on several popu-

lar crowdfunding platforms to build their communities and finan-

cially support their work. As a service to the IGDA developer com-

munity, we curate a list of noteworthy projects

on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We allow IGDA members to request

that we include their projects in our curated lists.

Chapters

IGDA chapters connect game developers in their local communi-ties. Chapters hold guest speaker lectures, social gatherings, plan-ning meetings, game jams, and other events in over 100 cities around the world. Our chapters are one of the easiest ways for IGDA members to meet others to learn, teach, or collaborate close to home.