robin's blog

Please read through for full postings of both positions:

1. Assistant/Associate/Full Project Scientist, cross listed as Programmer/Analyst 3 (T13-31)

The Center for Games and Playable Media invites applications from outstanding scientists for a Project Scientist position as a Research Game Developer.  The Research Game Developer will participate in research focused on the application of Artificial Intelligence to games, with emphasis on autonomous character AI, social simulation, and dramatic interaction with synthetic characters.

We are especially interested in candidates with experience in social modeling, character AI, and strong behavior authoring skills. 

Experience required:

BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field.

One or more shipped game titles.

Significant experience developing interactive applications, including games.

Significant experience with game AI for non-player characters (NPCs).

Significant experience with multiple programming languages, especially C, C++, C#, and Java 

Demonstrated familiarity with multiple scripting languages

Experience developing games using 3D games engines, including Unity. 

Details at:

http://apo.ucsc.edu/academic_employment/jobs/T13-31.pdf for candidates with an academic interest (PhD required)

https://jobs.ucsc.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=66380 for candidates with a development focus

UCSC's graduate program ranked 8th, up one spot from last year, and the undergraduate program once again received an Honorable Mention. We are pleased to be recognized for our commitment to academics, research, and community. 

From the Princeton Review:

The Princeton Review has selected the best undergraduate and graduate institutions in the United States and Canada where you can study video game design. We ranked the top 15 undergraduate and top 15 graduate programs. We gave another 20 outstanding programs “Honorable Mention” designations, saluting 50 schools in all that we highly recommend for game design study.

We chose these programs based on a 2012 survey of administrators at institutions offering game design coursework and/or degrees. Selection criteria included the quality of the curriculum, faculty credentials, facilities and infrastructure as well as data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.

Learn more about our ranking methodology.

See The Top Undergraduate Game Design Programs

See The Top Graduate Game Design Programs

Last week we were thrilled to take a first glimpse at the 21 boxes of games donated to UCSC via the UC San Diego library. With each box containing just under 100 games, we're expecting around 1,600 games to be added to UCSC's already expansive video game collection, hosted in the Science and Engineering Library. (If you haven't explored that collection yet, we highly recommend you do, by the way.) This donation includes original Playstation games, Playstation 2 games, and the occasional PSP game and random other treasures. We spotted a how-to-code accessory at one point, and had only peeked in four boxes. The enormous collection has never been catalogued, but we suspect this may be the entirety of Sony's Japanese releases on PS 1 and 2. The interesting collection crosses cultural barriers, with numerous pachinko games, anime-based games, and even the elusive train genre! For anyone who watches GameCenter CX, the hit Japanese television series based on challenging retro games, I suspect you might be able to find some of Arino's favorites here. The collection is thanks to the efforts of a number of people.

It all started with a game tester, who was also studying Japanese, was asked to dispose of the games. Instead of throwing them away, he contacted the head of Japanese Studies at UC San Diego. From that point they moved around, without joining any library, until the right connections were made and UCSC became the lucky recipient. For years the collection seemed destined to be the victim of campus reorganizations, only saved through the efforts of Stefan Tanaka, Jeremy Douglass, Lev Manovich, Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Sam Dunlap, and Christy Caldwell.

Last weekend UCSC hosted one of the many Global Game Jams across the country. Three UCSC students created a game - The Polygraph - that was singled out in PC Gamer as one of the five best games to come out of the nationwide event. Huge congratulations to James Farmer, Chloi Rad, and Peter Hunter!

From PC Gamer:

What better way to spend a few minutes than being strapped to a pixelated polygraph? Set against a noir backdrop, The Polygraph is a game about accuracy and maintaining composure, which asks you to manage the fluctuations of your tremulous heart as faceless figures probe you for the truth. The Polygraph is a simple yet elegant interpretation of the theme, one further enhanced by the moody musical accompaniment, the detective vibe and surprisingly good writing. Chloi Rad, James Farmer and Peter Hunter are responsible for this fine piece of work.

Read the full article: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/29/five-terrific-games-from-the-global-game-jam-2013/

In addition, another UCSC team was mentioned in Rock, Paper, Shotgun for their beautifully named Bear Game 2013: The Unbearable Curse That Bearly Makes Sense but Just Bear With It Fur Surely You'll Get to the Bear Bones of the Situation.

From Rock, Paper, Shotgun:

Tim Stephens from University News wrote up the following article, also viewed here: http://news.ucsc.edu/2012/12/brenda-romero.html

December 18, 2012

By Tim Stephens

The Center for Games and Playable Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has appointed Brenda Romero (formerly Brenda Brathwaite) as a game designer in residence, the first such position on a UC campus. An award-winning game designer, Romero is co-founder and chief operating officer of Loot Drop, Inc., where she plans to continue working on game titles currently in development.

The new Game Designer in Residence program brings a leading game designer to UCSC to teach courses and serve as an adviser and resource for game design students, faculty, and researchers on campus. The one-year, 80-percent appointment includes teaching foundational courses in game design, giving students an unequaled opportunity to learn directly from an expert practitioner. Romero's appointment starts January 1, 2013.

"It is tremendously exciting to have Brenda Romero as UCSC's first game designer in residence," said Jim Whitehead, professor and chair of computer science in the Baskin School of Engineering. "She brings to the position over 30 years of experience in game design and an extensive understanding of the business of games, and she is an innovator in the teaching of game design. It's huge that our students will have the opportunity to learn directly from her."