School of Interactive Games and Media | What World Will You Create?

Welcome to Interactive Games & Media

Welcome to the School of Interactive Games & Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology. This site contains information about several related academic initiatives and explorations across our campus, located primarily within the IGM School and the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing & Information Sciences and in affiliation with the RIT Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction & Creativity (MAGIC), but with partners both across RIT and abroad. From here, you can find information about our degree programs (such as the Bachelors of Science in New Media Interactive Development, the Masters of Science in Game Design & Development and the Bachelors of Science in Game Design & Development), our labs, our work, our students and our alumni. Through this site, you can find out more about the school, the academic programs and coursework that we offer, the research and development projects in which we are involved, connect with the faculty, and check out some of our recent work. IGM at RIT is a community effort in almost every sense - we invite you to see what we're up to, and, if interested, to join our ever expanding family.

The RIT Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction & Creativity

RIT has recently formed the Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction & Creativity (MAGIC), as a conscious and deliberate effort to blur the lines between the arts and the sciences, between technology and expression, between the study of the creation of digital media and its impact and effect on society and the human condition. Through collaboration with faculty, staff, students, colleges and divisions throughout RIT, coupled with new and unique models of research and production and a sustained emphasis on multi-disciplinary collaboration, MAGIC represents a one-of-a-kind approach to the study of digital media. Established by RIT President William W. Destler in 2013, the MAGIC Center is a unique and constantly evolving approach to the study of digital and creative media at RIT. IGM has a special and unique relationship with MAGIC as a 'birthplace' of this initiative, and MAGIC is now the intellectual home of our scholarship and creativity, as well as numerous student projects and research initiatives. It is, in a sense, our studio.

IGM GDD Academic Programs Rank in the Top 5 in the US - Princeton Review

Rochester Institute of Technology is one of the top schools to study video game design for 2013, according to new international rankings from The Princeton Review. RIT’s game design and development programs rank fourth at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. RIT’s program is housed in the School of Interactive Games and Media within the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. This is the 3rd year in a row that our programs have ranked in the top 10. More information is available through university news coverage of the Princeton Review listings.

Join IGM and MAGIC March 28 for Alumni Event @ SF / GDC!

Be our special guest! Once again IGM will be hosting an alumni event on Thursday evening of the Game Developer's Conference, which this year is Thursday, March 28, 2013. The event will be held from 6:00 PM - 8:00PM PST at the Bucca di Beppa near the Moscone Center, and registration is required at the alumni website. The evening provides a wonderful opportunity to catch up and network with fellow RIT alumni, current students, faculty and staff. Professor Andy Phelps will update guests with the latest news, projects, research, scholarship and student achievements taking place within the School of Interactive Games and Media, as well as RIT's new Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC). (NOTE: Current RIT students attenting the conference that wish to attend to meet our alumni and guests will also need to register.)

Games in Education: Getting Girls in the Game

More coverage for our work with Second Ave. Learning and the Martha's Marvelous Machines game (funded through the SBIR program of the National Science Foundation). This time we made the news at Gamification Corp. in an article entitled Games in Education: Getting Girls in the Game. Thanks to everyone involved in this effort!

IGM Welcomes Global Game Jam 2013

It's that crazy time of year when we build lots of stuff... that's right, it's time for Global Game Jam ! We are once again hosting a local node of the world-wide event (organized by IGM Prof. Jessica Bayliss and our entire crew), and we also have Microsoft on campus for a Windows 8 Phone hackathon leading into the event. More information is in the weekly newsletter to students - have fun!

IGM Research into Games, Gender, and Education featured at MindShift

Our work with partners Second Ave. Learning (funded by the National Science Foundation) was the source of a recent article at KQED MindShift. In addition to the talented group at Second Ave., IGM Professors David Simkins, Adrienne Decker, and Christopher Egert are engaged in the current project. We are also excited to note the synergy of our efforts with our colleagues at the University of Rochester, as well as others throughout the nation.

IGM Hosts Microsoft Imagine Cup 2013 Development Weekend

It's that magical time of year again, as we host Imagine Cup 2013 on campus! From Nov. 30th - Dec 1st the GDD lab will be the local site for development for this exciting event. We are grateful to Microsoft for their continued partnership on this and other events, and their gracious blog post about #ImagineCup13 from @LadyNaggaga http://bit.ly/ImagineCupRIT.

IGM Helps Support Random Hacks of Kindness

Random Hacks of Kindness is an innovative twist on what are traditionally known as random acts of kindness. As a part of this initiative, our work in open-source software creation through Associate Professor Stephen Jacobs and the Lab for Technological Literacy is engaged in this activity. The Lab is sponsored by StormFrog Inc. and Red Hat Inc. You can read more about the event here via University Press coverage and the RIT article.. Press coverage from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle is also available.

IGM's Elizabeth Lawley Talks About JPP on Spark

Nora Young, host of Spark on CBC Radio, speaks with IGM's Professor Elizabeth Lawley about Just Press Play at the Rochester Institute of Technology. They talk about adding a "game layer" to education. Check out the interview here! [MP3 format]