PRESS RELEASE
TUMO CENTER FOR CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Address: 16 Halabyan Str.,
0038 Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: +374 (10) 398-413
Email: [email protected]
Workshop Exposes Students to Video Game Development
The roles were reversed at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies this
past spring as video game enthusiasts went from users to developers. With
the guidance of information system specialist Hovsep Stepanyan, a group of
students journeyed to the other side of the console to create video game
levels of their very own.
`In the beginning, the kids generally had no idea what video game design
entailed,’ explains Stepanyan. `But at the end of the workshop, they were
all able to fully devise their own special levels for whatever game they
chose.’
Using the CryENGINE software program, students in the two-month workshop
had the opportunity to design advanced, specially tailored video game
environments.
They started off with an empty 3D space provided by the program, on which
they arranged landscapes, modified colors, and established point triggers
between various objects. The easy-to-use program and support from Stepanyan
succeeded in familiarizing participants with the otherwise daunting maze of
video game design and visualization.
`Now that I can create my own levels for video games, my attention
automatically drifts to the background environment when I play,’ says Arman
Kirakosyan, a two-year Tumo student who took the workshop and plans on
pursuing game development as a career. `When you begin already creating
levels yourself, you naturally focus more on the details of the game rather
just playing it as a regular user.’
Stepanyan holds high hopes for young people like Arman who are learning
game development in Armenia. With the video game market having surpassed
both film and music globally in recent years, he believes the country can
play an important role in this growing industry.
`We have a lot to offer and present to the outside world, given our unique
culture and ability,’ insists Stepanyan. `If we build up the game
development industry here in Armenia, we have the potential to show global
audiences something they have never seen before.’
On Saturday, June 22, the student body at TUMO got to test out the game
levels developed by participants in the CryENGINE workshop. Six computer
modules were set up in the center’s installation area for groups of kids
to
take turns throughout the day enjoying the game their peers designed.
The success of the workshop will be carried forward into the summer session
with Beginner and Intermediate level workshops being offered in the months
of July and August.
For more information, visit
The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is a unique digital media
resource center in the heart of Yerevan, Armenia. Since its opening in
2011, the center has provided thousands of students aged 12-18 an open
environment where they can utilize the latest in digital communications,
learn from media professionals, and explore the intersection of art and
technology.
###
Captions
“IMG_0721 copy.jpg”: Tumo students test out video game levels designed by
their peers.
“_MG_7872 copy.jpg”: Students take turns playing a video game developed
in the school’s CryENGINE workshop.
“Editor_Ship.jpg”: Screenshot of a video game level designed by
18-year-old Tumo student Arman Stepanyan.