On Saturday, October 30, Full Sail University (http://www.fullsail.edu) will be holding a ceremony, dedicating its new Game Studios to late gaming legend, and co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons series, Dave Arneson. The new studios will be named after Dave Arneson’s creation, BlackMoor, the fantasy role-playing game campaign setting in Dungeons & Dragons.

The ceremony will begin with the unveiling of the new studios, with guest speakers and game sessions taking place throughout the day, where any fan of Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan, or Munchkin, can come and play their favorite game. The guest speakers include:

Malia Weinhagen - Dave Arneson’s daughter
Duke Seifried – Former Executive Vice President, TSR
Garry Jones – President of Full Sail University
Rob Catto – Program Director for Game Studies
Dustin Clingman – Founder and President of Zee Gee Games
Shawn Stafford – Director of F.I.R.E The Full Sail Institute for Research in Entertainment, and Full Sail’s Course Director for Research and Design in Game Studies.

“Dave Arneson was a pioneer in gaming entertainment and we are honored to name the Full Sail game studios, BlackMoor, after his works,” said Rob Catto, Director of Game Studies. “This ceremony will honor our dear friend and esteemed colleague.”

Full Sail’s new Game Studios were designed specifically for the institution’s gaming degrees’ Final Project process. The facility hosts student teams from the Game Development Bachelor of Science Degree, Game Art Bachelor of Science Degree, and Game Design Master of Science Degree. The facility features 8 game studio offices, 4 game development studios, 2 asset development rooms, a research room, and a conference room.

Dave Arneson taught classes in game design at Full Sail since it was first offered on campus in 1999, and was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 1984. Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game that was created by both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and was first published in 1974.

About Full Sail University:

Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in the entertainment and media industry. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has been recognized as one of the Top Five Game Degree Programs by Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the Best Music Programs by Rolling Stone Magazine, and one of the Best Film Programs by UNleashed Magazine. In 2011, Full Sail received the “21st Century Best Practices in Distance Learning Award” from the United States Distance Learning Association, was named the “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges, and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Social Media Colleges by Studentadvisor.com.

Full Sail offers Master, Bachelor, and Associate campus and online degree programs in areas related to animation, art, business, education, graphic design, film, marketing, web development, music, recording arts, sports, and video games. Full Sail graduate credits include work on OSCAR^®, Emmy^®, GRAMMY^®, ADDY^®, MTV Video Music Award, and Spike Video Game Award nominated and winning projects.

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