Since the launch of Mario Kart Tour a few weeks ago, it is not a rare sight to catch a Rattler playing the addictive racing game. Turns out, it is not difficult to create a similar racing video game.
A new club on campus gives students an opportunity to use and enhance those that are interested in game design and developing their computer skills. The new club held its first interest meeting Friday, facilitated by the club’s founder, David Kaul.
The meeting was held in the newly renovated, Foster-Tanner Computer Art Lab, which was developed to prepare students for graduate work, professional careers and design internships. The lab is equipped with six expandable HP Compaq 7700c convertible minitowers, six 20-inch TFT Flat Panel Displays, 4 Wacom Displays, nine HP z220 Workstations which are all equipped with Adobe Creative Suite, according to famu.edu.
This lab expands on various teaching methods through the program.
Kaul, an assistant professor at FAMU, assisted eager students in the development of a game similar to the well-known video game, Mario Karts.
“We believe gaming will be a big part of the visual arts department at FAMU,” Kaul said.
Unlike your ordinary interest meeting filled with PowerPoint slides and a brief question-and-answer session, this interactive meeting allowed for interested students to create their own computer games with direct help from Kaul.
The meeting was geared for beginners with no game development background but students with all skill-sets were present during the meeting. The game design interest meeting attracted students from various majors through campus. Devon Watson, a FAMU SJGC student, said that this initial meeting met his expectations of what to expect from joining the club. He says that this experience will allow him to enhance his skills in computer graphics and also computer programming.
Kaul said he was extremely pleased with the turnout for the game design’s interest meeting. There were only 12 seats available and over 50 students signed up to attend the meeting to learn more about the club. The design club does not have an official name yet but is open for suggestions.
If you would like to join or have any questions about the organization, David Kaul can be reached at David.Kaul@famu.edu or 912-844-4595.