UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

Congratulations, Cohort 20 🖤⚔️💛

Yesterday, 77 artists, producers and programmers from Cohort 20 earned their Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment from the top-ranked graduate game design program in the world, according to the Princeton Review. Over the past 16 months, this band of creators formed lifelong friendships in the largest cohort to pass through FIEA. They pushed themselves and each other to develop the skills to shape the future and solve the most challenging problems. But this game is not over. Together, they join a network of more than 1,000 other FIEA alumni working in the video game, film, simulation and other tech-related fields. We can’t wait to see what they will do next!

The pursuit of excellence ✨

Finals are over, internships are complete, and the Venture showcase was an amazing display of teamwork, creativity and potential unleashed. With a full 16 months of FIEA under their belts and just a few days to go until they walk across that stage, Cohort 20 students have produced some of their best work (so far).

One of those creations is Studio Point Blank. Animator, Project Lead, and Cinematic Director Tori Gillis led a team of 13 producers, programmers and artists from FIEA’s Digital Venture Practicum to produce AAA-level, high-quality cinematics within game engines.

“Assault and Battery is a proof of concept cinematic cutscene developed in Unreal Engine to showcase Studio Point Blank’s capabilities,” Gillis said. The team described the premise for the project: “The main character, codenamed David, is a cybernetically enhanced rogue who is breaking into the dilapidated weapons manufacturing facility that plays home a mysterious deadly cyborg.”

We are excited to see what our Cohort 20 FIEAns will create in the weeks, months, and careers to come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEI1Cb5VcwU

Assault and Battery | Cinematic Fight Scene by Studio Point Blank Assault and Battery is a Proof of Concept Cinematic Fight Scene produced entirely by Studio Point Blank. Check out the dev team on linkedin! Project Lead, Ci...

Next week, students in the Digital Venture Practicum course will present their creations, an array of 17 games, tools, asset packs plug-ins, and more, to be offered on a variety of online stores.

The venture course provides opportunities for students to work on their own product and/or company idea while in their final semester at FIEA. Students select their own teams, concepts and manage the entire development, marketing, and distribution processes. The course utilizes the Lean Startup methodology and experts in intellectual property rights, marketing, contracting, and financial management contribute to the course.

Each student or team will provide an overview of the product market and demo the game, prototype, asset or tool in a brief presentation. Read about each project on our blog: https://fiea.ucf.edu/news/graduating-cohort-20-students-to-showcase-venture-projects-on-monday/

Join us on Monday at 12 p.m. in the Bridge (CMB 127)!

LIFE @ FIEA

As part of their Trippin’ through LIFE program, members of the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE at UCF), took a tour of FIEA’s studios to see how video games are designed and developed. Escorted by FIEA Executive Director Ben Noel and Graduate Student Services Coordinator Kenny Koloski, members learned about how FIEA started 20 years ago and the development of the Creative Village into an innovation hub for Orlando and the tech industry. Cohort 20 grad student Yegues Schettini spoke with members about his experience as a producer and leading a capstone team over the past year, as he prepares to graduate next month.

LIFE at UCF is a nonprofit enriching the lives of Central Florida’s diverse senior community, offering experiential trips providing cultural, environmental, and learning opportunities on and off campus. This was LIFE’s second visit to FIEA this calendar year.

Questions? 🙋🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ We’ve got answers! If you’re thinking about applying to FIEA, UCF’s top-ranked graduate-level game design and development school, we're here to answer your questions during our LIVE ONLINE CHAT on TUESDAY at 7pm EDT!

This chat comes a few weeks before the first portfolio review deadline for Fall 2025 admission. FIEA faculty and staff will demystify the admissions process, curriculum, GRE scores, portfolio reviews, jobs, cohort culture, student life, scheduling a tour, and more!

Register for the chat: https://applynow.graduate.ucf.edu/register/f25fac1

Game Changer Files 🎮 📁 Erin Marek ’17MS, Game Director at Secret Door (Dreamhaven)

We’re asking FIEA alumni five questions about their experiences before, during and after graduating from UCF’s top-ranking game development program. From the harsh cold of the Arctic Circle to the Florida heat, to sunny California, Erin Marek (Cohort 13) shares her story of discovering her love for crafting games.

“I can’t imagine a world where I would have been able to break into the game industry without FIEA,” Marek said. Read more about Marek’s journey changing careers from biology research to creating games at FIEA: https://fiea.ucf.edu/news/game-changer-files-erin-marek-17ms-game-director-at-secret-door/

Game Changer Files: Erin Marek '17MS, Game Director at Secret Door - Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy We're asking FIEA alumni five questions about their experiences before, during and after graduating from UCF’s top-ranking game development program. From the harsh cold of the Arctic Circle to the Florida heat, to sunny California, Erin Marek '17MS shares her story of discovering her love for craf...

Breaking barriers. Defeating demons.

FIEA students connected with Drew McCrory, lead accessibility designer for the action RPG Diablo IV at Blizzard, for a virtual guest speaking event just one month into the semester to learn how to improve accessibility in games.

Organized and moderated by Cohort 21 students Kurt D’Amour and Avery Hart during class, McCrory shared the challenges that studios and game developers face while making games accessible for players with disabilities. He discussed specific examples of how studios have addressed these challenges and integrated solutions into games.

“It’s crucial to consider from the start of game development,” D’Amour said, who learned from McCrory that even simple changes, like font choices, can significantly improve playability and can be easy to implement. Diablo IV features accessibility options like button remapping, cinematic subtitles, built-in speech-to-text and screen reader technology, improving the experience for more players.

FIEAns, UCF Downtown, EA Tiburon and Creative Village friends! Join us for a cookout and potluck with competitively good barbecue on Oct. 4! Bring BBQ or a side dish to enjoy the event. Unable to bring a dish? You can still attend for $7.

Details at the RSVP link. RSVP by Oct. 1: https://applynow.graduate.ucf.edu/register/BBQCookout

WE’RE GOING ON TOUR 🚗💨 Catch us LIVE at the venues listed below. FIEA Graduate Student Services Coordinator Kenny Koloski will have info and answer your questions about our program and the admissions process (and might sign some autographs).

9/18 UCF Grad Fair @ UCF Student Union
10/2 UCF Character Animation Program @ UCF Main Campus
10/23 FSU Grad Fair @ FSU Student Union Ballroom
10/24 UF Grad Fair @ Reitz Union Grand Ballroom
10/25 UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science @ UCF Main Campus
11/15 FIEA-GaIM Open House @ UCF Downtown
1/31 FIEA Open House @ UCF Downtown

For more info, email [email protected].

Winning healthcare innovations 🦽 Five FIEA students won prizes for their innovative prototypes solving healthcare-related problems at the Indienomicon MeGa Health Jam last weekend in Lake Nona!

Artist Noa Baggs (Cohort 20), along with his fellow teammates from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, took home first place for a prototype that involved turning a wheelchair into a game controller for therapy. Third place went to the Silly Chefs team, made up of Willow Rachels (Cohort 20), Morgan Schafer (Cohort 21), Avery Hart (Cohort 21) and Zach Webb (Cohort 21). The Silly Chef game helps to train players to prepare meals for those on restrictive diets, like individuals diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

Read more on our blog:

Five FIEA Students Win at the Indienomicon MeGa Health Jam - Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Five FIEA students placed first and third at the Indienomicon MeGa Health Jam last weekend for their innovative prototypes for the healthcare industry.

Introducing our newest FIEA faculty member, Technical Director Jeremy Paulding! 👋

With more than 28 years of professional experience in the gaming industry, and almost 40 years making computer games, Jeremy teaches programming and tech design courses at FIEA.

Jeremy started out as employee No. 20 at a little-known startup game studio called Tiburon Entertainment right out of college, developing games like Soviet Strike on Sega Saturn. Tiburon Entertainment later became Electronic Arts Tiburon. His favorite game credit is NCAA Football for PS2, a precursor to the recently released, top-selling College Football 25. Jeremy recalls making that game with four engineers out of a dozen total team members. His innovations, like pitching out of a wrap tackle using inverse kinematics (IK), were incorporated into the highly successful game. Driven by the desire for further innovation, he co-founded a company in 2011 which used big data to optimize KPI performance for games.

Outside of gaming, Jeremy loves puzzles and his grandmother’s beef stroganoff. He enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons, and dog Sophie, and is an avid beach volleyball player.

If you see him around FIEA, say hello and ask him about his favorite Billy Idol song. 🎵