UCF’s Video Game Programs Ranked Among Top 15 in the World | March 14, 2019

UCF’s video game graduate program ranks No. 5 in the world while its undergraduate game design program ranks No. 13, according to The Princeton Review and PC Gamer magazine. Students from FIEA cohort 14 meeting in their cubicle space “The Princeton Review rankings reflect the high quality of our interactive game development programs at UCF”—…

Creative Control | February 7, 2019

FIEA student Aaron Cendan formed Stickless to help a friend. Now he’s building controllers for competitive and disabled gamers around the world. Aaron Cendan and his custom controller “I really like doing it. I like helping people play who couldn’t previously. And people seem to love them.”— Aaron Cendan Watching Aaron Cendan play a video…

FIEA Digital Entrepreneurs To Pitch Games To Community And Investors on Dec. 12 | December 18, 2018

FIEA Startup Showcase Will Feature Students Pitching the Latest Games and Apps to a local tech investment group FIEA student giving a presentation pitch A haunted virtual reality escape room, a great emu war, cops and robbers party game and a vr chemistry game are some of the digital prototypes that will get the “Shark…

UCF Team Wins Space-Themed Game Jam | September 18, 2018

A team of UCF students and alumni won 1st place in a local game development contest dedicated to space. UCF students from winning game, Project Icarus “Indie Galactic Space Jam” is a collaborative event dedicated to creating games about space travel and exploration. In its fifth year, it was held at the Orlando Science Center…

Emmy Invasion | September 17, 2018

Jeremiah Graves (’12) wins a Daytime Emmy for ASTEROIDS!, a VR, interactive short story starring two bumbling aliens. Jeremiah Graves holding his Daytime Emmy for ASTEROIDS! “Eye contact is particularly powerful. There’s something magical and engaging about the simple act of having a character look at you.’”— Jeremiah Graves What did you win a Daytime…

Straight Shooter | September 12, 2018

Whether Creating Characters or Getting More Females Into Video Games, Karen McCarthy Leans In. “Story is king” Karen McCarthy says with emphasis when asked about how she approaches making a character. Karen McCarthy showing her ball skills at EA Tiburon Studio “It’s a really exciting industry because it’s not stale…it’s always trying to strive for…

Coding Connections | August 28, 2018

Whether building an antenna, creating an app or speaking one of four languages, Pratik Chougule loves bringing people together. Pratik Chougule programmer from Cohort 15 “It’s my dream to build engaging games for consoles and mobile devices.”— Pratik Chougule In 2017, Pratik Chougule sat on the roof of his house in Dapoli, India snipping wires.…

From Army to Animation | August 22, 2018

When it comes to hard work, Brenda Raza certainly knows how to push through. From working in a cave in South Korea to photo editing catalogs of major retailers, she has done it all. Now Brenda is ready to get back to her true passion, animation. This 1997 UCF graphic design graduate talks about being…

FIEA Class Has Most Females in History | August 20, 2018

The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), UCF’s graduate game development program, welcomed 66 new students on August 20, 2018. The class includes a record 22 females and is designed to teach student producers, artists and programmers the high-end production processes for video games, simulation and film. FIEA’s Cohort 15 class This is the fifteenth class…

Fulbright Full of Passion | August 17, 2018

Fulbright scholar Pamela Figueroa is a woman of many talents. Pamela Figueroa “Getting a Fulbright grant was like getting a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”— Pamela Figueroa Speak to Pamela Figueroa for five minutes and you can tell she has as many interests…