The Huntington news

The Independent Newspaper of Northeastern University

Conference unites gamers

Susan Gold, professor of the practice of game design at Northeastern, founded Global Game Jam (GGJ) in 2009 after returning from a game conference in Sweden. The 48-hour event welcomes students and professionals interested in game design in over 520 locations in 78 countries to create video games in the limited time available.

GGJ which began on Friday, Jan. 23 and ended Sunday, Jan. 25, simultaneously celebrated experimentation, innovation and collaboration through game design.This year, Northeastern was chosen as the Boston location.

“I thought ‘wouldn’t it be cool if students and professionals could all work together [to make a game in 48 hours]?’ and then it was like ‘what if we did it around the world simultaneously and we are all connected digitally?” Gold said. “I started in 2009 and our first Global Game Jam was in 54 locations and I was so excited because I had a location in South Africa and this year we have a location in Cuba. We have locations in places where nobody ever talks to people, so for me it has just been exciting to watch the spread and growth of game development around the world.”

Northeastern’s Digital Media Commons in Snell Library was chosen as Boston’s main location. On the other side of the Charles River, Massachusetts Institute of Technology held GGJ in its state-of-art Game Lab.

“Boston is such a great game development town. Our game program [at Northeastern] is really special and we wanted to find ways to make games real so [they’re] not just a class exercise,” Gold said. “When you get to make a game from start to finish in one weekend and it’s okay to fail then it’s a great opportunity to see if they like it, to explore the world of games.”

East Village residence hall welcomes students

With the start of the spring semester, Northeastern welcomed students to the new East Village residence hall.

Jeremy Herbert, a freshman chemical engineering major, was one of many students to move into East Village on Jan. 6. Herbert and others were welcomed by “smart” elevators, brand new laundry facilities and common rooms, some including TVs.

According to Herbert, living in East Village has provided a positive environment, but also hosts some negative aspects.

“It’s really modern and cool. Everything is very new,” Herbert, who studied abroad in Greece with the N.U.inProgram in the fall, said. “It kind of sucks not having a dining hall and a gym in the building like [International Village] does, but it is still a nice building and the common rooms are incredible.”

Similarly to Herbert, Jennifer Kollman, who also studied abroad in Ireland with N.U.in last semester, enjoys her new living environment.

“I really like the fact that we have separate common rooms and study spaces,” Kollman, a freshman business major, said. “I also really like the way the rooms are set up – that’s my favorite part. The fact that we have two doubles connected by a bathroom I think is really cool so that not a whole floor has to share a bathroom.”