M.F.A.
Interactive Media & Game Development
Faculty
E. O. Agu, Professor; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 2001. Computer graphics, wireless networking, and mobile computing.
S. Barton, Associate Professor; Ph.D. University of Virginia, 2012. Human-robot interaction in music composition and performance, design of robotic musical instruments, music perception and cognition, audio production.
S. Bhada, Assistant Professor, Systems Engineering; Ph.D., University of Alabama. Modeling based systems engineering (MBSE), engineering education and team mental models.
F. J. Chery, Assistant Teaching Professor; M.F.A., FullSail University, 2010. 3D Rigging/technical art, digital sculpting, futurism, expressive game mechanics, motion capture, photogrammetry.
K. Ching, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; entrepreneurial strategy, economics of science and innovation, science and innovation policy, digitization, data science.
M. L. Claypool, Professor; Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1997. Distributed systems, networking, multimedia and online games.
R. E. Dempski, Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. Virtual and augmented reality, game-based learning and training.
R. DuPlessis, Assistant Teaching Professor; Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara. Music composition, science-inspired music, sonification, visualization, live electronic performance, music technologies.
J. deWinter, Professor; Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2008. Japanese game studies, experience design, virtual and augmented reality, games for social justice, production management and entrepreneurship in games.
E. Gutierrez, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Academy of Art University, 2007. 2D/3D animation, concept art, digital painting, character design, short film production.
L. Harrison, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2013. Information visualization, visual analytics, perception and cognition of data, modeling and quantitative analysis of human behavior, statistical literacy.
N. T. Heffernan, Professor; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, 2001. Educational data mining, learning sciences and technology.
M. Kagen, Assistant Teaching Professor; Ph.D., Stanford University, 2016. Experience design, board games, anti-colonialism in games, games and performance.
V. J. Manzo, Associate Professor; Ph.D. Temple University, 2012. Interactive music systems, algorithmic and traditional composition, electric guitar performance and innovation, music theory, music education.
E. Ottmar, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2011. Theories in developmental, educational, and cognitive psychology, and mathematics and teacher education.
C. D. Roberts, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara, 2014. Computer music, creative coding, live coding, large-scale virtual reality, audiovisual authoring.
J. Rosenstock, Professor; M.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2004. Multimedia performance, interactive installation art, electronic instrument design, light art, BioArt.
B. Schneider, Professor of Practice. B.A., Columbia University. Narrative design, procedural storytelling, quest design, interactive narrative.
G. Smith, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UC Santa Cruz, 2012. Computational creativity, games and social justice, applications of generative AI, tangible computing, computer science education, computational craft, procedural generation.
E. Solovey, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Tufts University, 2012. Brain-computer interaction, physiological computing, human-computer interaction, accessibility in design.
K. Stewart, Assistant Teaching Professor. Ph.D., Arizona State University. Visual novels, romance games, content-creation communities, arts-based collaboration and learning.
R. P. H. Sutter, Senior Instructor/Lecturer; B.S., New England Institute of Art, 2010. 3D animation, digital sculpting/character creation, games, augmented reality, traditional animation and art.
Y. D. Telliel, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UC Berkeley. Design as inquiry, artificial intelligence in design, human-AI interaction, social justice in games and design, public interest technology.
A full listing can be found here:
https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/interactive-media-game-development/faculty-staff
Annual Progress Review Milestone
In addition to the milestones specific to each degree, all IMGD graduate students must participate in an annual progress review conducted by the program. Students submit a report describing the work they have completed that year and reflection on their progress. A faculty committee reviews each report, discusses student progress, and makes a decision about student continuation in the program. There are three potential recommendation outcomes from this review milestone: a) satisfactory progress, b) program warning, and c) program dismissal. If a student receives a warning, then they will receive constructive feedback on how to improve their performance. If the committee recommends the student for dismissal, they enter WPI’s academic dismissal process as described in the “Academic Standards” section of this catalog.
Facilities/Research Labs /Research Centers
- IMGD Lab. 27-seat teaching/research lab.
- Zoo Lab. 25-seat teaching/research lab.
- Digital Art Studio. Work space for both digital and traditional art.
- Performance Evaluation of Distributed Systems (PEDS) Lab. Design and analysis of distributed systems, with a special focus on the performance on networking.
- Mixed Reality Development Group. Design, implementation, and analysis of virtual and augmented reality systems.
- Music, Perception, and Robotics Lab. Musical creativity, perception and cognition, expressive robotic and mechatronic systems.
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M.F.A. in Interactive Media and Game Design, -
M.S. in Interactive Media & Game Development, Master of Science -
Ph.D. in Computational Media, Ph.D.
Classes
IMGD 699: Phd Dissertation
Department
Can be taken any time after passing the qualifying exam, and is required in the last semester for writing and defending the PhD dissertation.
Prerequisites
Consent of advisor
IMGD 799: Ph.D. Qualifying Examination.
Department
Students are required to complete a qualifying examination process before work can begin on PhD thesis research. This examination must be approved by a committee of faculty.
IMGD 5000: IMGD Studio
Department
This is a “studio” course in which the instructor will guide and mentor the students on individual and/or joint projects. The focus of the course will be on the design of interactive media and games, with the students designing (and optionally implementing) one or more games or interactive experiences. There will also be readings and discussion of design theory as it relates to student projects. This course can be taken for M.S. credit twice if desired.
IMGD 5010: IMGD Fundamentals
Department
In this course, students learn foundational theories and gain foundational skills in interactive media, game development, and computational media targeted at the graduate level, for students with a prior undergraduate background in related fields. Students will read about contemporary challenges in application of these fundamentals to IMGD-related projects, and build disciplinary knowledge and practices necessary for the creation of interactive media and/or games. Topics covered in this course alternate each year based on instructor. Different instantiations of the course cover topics in programming and computing in media contexts (computation studio), art asset conceptualization, creation, and iteration (visual arts studio), audio remixing and composition methods (audio lab), and narrative in interactive contexts (narrative design lab). This course will be offered each year, with topic defined by the faculty member teaching it.
IMGD 5099: Special Topics in IMGD
Department
IMGD 5100: Tangible and Embodied Interaction
Department
Tangible and embodied interaction sees humans at the center of the designed experience. A number of systems continue to emerge to immerse the body into a system, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, alternative controls in the forms of guitars or cockpits, sewing machines, mobile phones and technologies, and even more. Through a combination of traditional lecture, literature review, and hands-on work, students will learn to critically evaluate different alternatives, build prototype systems, and design comparative evaluations to test the effectiveness of various techniques.
Students will be expected to implement several techniques as part of this course.
IMGD 5200: History and Future of Immersive and Interactive Media
Department
This course will familiarize students with the history of the development, deployment, commercialization, and evolution of immersive and active media. The lesson plan will cover a broad range of enabling technologies, such as geometric perspective drawing, pre-20th-century panoramic displays, photography and the stereoscope, sound recording and reproduction, motion pictures, radio and television, the planetarium, immersive and 3-dimensional cinema, and special attraction venues, with a particular focus on digital games. Current trends and future directions will also be considered. Students will attend seminars and lectures, read and discuss texts on media history and aesthetics, and write an original research paper. Midterm and final exams test students’ knowledge and understanding of important events and developments. A student may not receive credit for both IMGD 3200 and IMGD 4200.
Prerequisites
An understanding of dominant themes and genres in video games
IMGD 5300: Design of Interactive Experiences
Department
This course will introduce students to the theories of design, the purpose of which is to guide students in articulating a design vision that can then be implemented in an interactive experience such as a computer game or an art installation. The design elements addressed in this course are as follows: narrative, visual, sound, spatial, challenges and objectives, and characters. This course also emphasizes the communicative strategies needed to sell other people on a design in order to enter production, convince investors, and engage users. Students will be required to design an environment that is populated in a meaningful way that is dependant on the purpose of their visions. They will provide mock-ups of this environment that they must present to their stakeholders - the professor and peers - and finally create prototypes that help them sell their design idea. Throughout the class, students will be writing their designs in professional genres, presenting their designs to the class (often called a pitch), and discuss the theories and practices of design during in-class meetings.
Prerequisites
A course on game design, or equivalent work experience
IMGD 5400: Production Management for Interactive Media
Department
This course focuses on the process of creating a set of documents encompassing the design and vision of a piece of interactive media, methods for structuring the implementation of the design, and tools for successfully managing the project. Students will analyze different types of design documents, focusing on form and purpose while also considering audience and publication medium. Students will write design documents, give peer feedback, and revise their own documents based on feedback received. In order to see their design transform from document to product, students will study different project management methods and employ them, defining in detail discrete components, timelines, milestones, players and their responsibilities, and status reports to stakeholders. Tools common to managing interactive media projects (e.g., source-code revision control, asset management, scheduling) will be used throughout the process.
Prerequisites
Experience working on development projects
IMGD 5500: Serious and Applied Games
Department
This course covers methods and analysis for designing, implementing, and assessing games in serious, applied contexts. Often called “serious games” or “applied games”, these are game-based media that teach, engage with social issues, aim to increase empathy, or affect behavioral change. Students will read contemporary literature in the field of serious and applied games, design and implement their own games, and measure the effectiveness of those games in achieving educational or motivational goals.
IMGD 5600: Multidisciplinary Research Methods in Computational Media
Department
This course covers research methods used in computational and interactive media. As an interdisciplinary field, computational media relies on multiple research methods, such as qualitative, quantitative, design-based research, iterative design methodology, player and user-testing, historical and cultural research methods, computational reasoning, data analysis, and visual analysis. Students will read broadly in research methodologies and discuss applicability and adaptability for particular processes and research questions.
IMGD 6000: IMGD Colloquium
Department
This course introduces students to the state of the field and current research in the program. Both faculty and external visitors to IMGD will speak at the colloquia on contemporary and emergent topics in interactive media and game design. This course is taken with a pass/fail grading option.
IMGD 6001: IMGD Career Colloquium
Department
This course meets weekly to professionalize students preparing for the academic or artistic job markets. Topics will include goal setting, application materials, practice interviews, practice teaching demonstrations, portfolio development, and other materials as needed. This course is taken with a pass/fail grading option.