Full Sail Hosts Legendary Game Designer Harvey Smith for the Launch of Blacksite
WINTER PARK, FL, November 16, 2007 – On Friday, November 9, Full Sail Real World Education welcomed legendary game designer and studio creative director of Midway Studios-Austin, Harvey Smith, alongside ten Full Sail graduates to discuss the launch and behind-the-scenes making of the highly anticipated game release, Blacksite: Area-51.
The group revisited the Full Sail campus in a panel setting to address an audience of students, staff and faculty regarding this release and their roles as the leading programmers, sound designers and analysts for this game title. Seven of the ten Full Sail team members graduated with a degree in Game Development and the remaining three graduated with a double degree in Recording Arts and Entertainment Business.
The complete Blacksite Team was comprised of the most talented men and women in the game design industry, and Full Sail graduates held the largest number of spots graduating from one educational institution, with other members coming from MIT and Carnegie Mellon.
Blacksite: Area 51 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Midway Studios- Austin and published by Midway corporate. It was released to the public for Xbox 360 and Windows on November 12 in North America, with a PlayStation 3 version set for release soon after.
“I can definitely say that this game is extremely well done and I’m so proud to have been a part of such a talented group of men and women,” said Full Sail graduate and Lead Technical Designer, Rusty Sempsrott. “The team on a project of this size is as important to the success of a game as the assets.” When asked what it was like to work closely with a large number of graduates from his own college institution, Designer and Full Sail graduate, Douglas Burton further stated, “Whoever comes from Full Sail, I want to work with. They know what it takes to get the job done.”
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To date, Smith and Midway Studios-Austin has hired a total of 13 Full Sail graduates and is just one example of the success of the Game Development Program. With graduates in a variety of positions at leading game companies and working on projects such as: Call of Duty, Madden NFL 2007, The Godfather, Quake IV, The Simpson Game, and so many more, the program has been internationally recognized as “one of the top five game degree schools in the world” by Electronic Gaming Monthly, and most recently as the “Harvard of Game Schools” by Tips & Tricks Magazine.
“This is a very powerful day for the Game Development Program at Full Sail. To have ten of our most talented graduates working together to produce a game such as Blacksite: Area-51 and stand alongside the leading contributors of the game design industry including Harvey Smith, is remarkable. In addition, having that group return to campus to inspire our current students and share their journey is a proud day for all - seeing it come
full circle and be a witness to our students achieving their dreams is what truly puts the fire in our hearts to keep on going,” said Rob Catto, Program Director for Game Development.
About Full Sail:
Since 1979, Full Sail Real World Education, a college outside of Orlando, FL, has been an innovative educational leader for those pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. With over 27,000 alumni, graduate credits include work on Oscar, Emmy and GRAMMY-winning projects, best-selling video games, and the #1 grossing U.S. concert tour seven out of the last seven years. Full Sail's 178-acre campus proudly welcomes over 5,600 students from 50 states and 47 countries.
Full Sail currently offers a total of thirteen degree programs including: Associate of Science Degrees offered in Graphic Design, Recording Arts and Show Production & Touring; Bachelor of Science Degrees offered in Computer Animation, Digital Arts & Design, Entertainment Business (online), Film, Game Art, Game Development, Music Business and Web Design & Development; and a Master of Science Degree in Education Media Design & Technology (online) and Entertainment Business (online and on-campus).
Students on-campus experience a real world education with a professional class structure of 8-12 hours per day and a 24-hour around the clock schedule which earned Full Sail the Most Innovative Program Award by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges. The college has also been named: The Harvard of Game Schools by Tips & Tricks Magazine; one of the top three New Media Schools by Shift Magazine (alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University); one of the Top Five Game Degree Programs in the world by Electronic Gaming Monthly; one of the Best Music Programs in the country by Rolling Stone Magazine; one of the Best Music Business Departments in the Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide; and one of the Best Film Programs in the country by UNleashed Magazine.
For more information about Full Sail, please visit www.fullsail.com.
