Students in Southern Illinois University’s School of Media Arts are celebrating the 2024 solar eclipse by developing and releasing a video game about it!
Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a combined class for RTD 489: Electronic Media Workshop and MCMA 543: Media Arts Studio Seminar have been working on the game all semester with the set in stone deadline of releasing before the solar eclipse on April 8. Professor Kevin Mercer has guided students in developing the game using the Unity game engine, while they also created all the visual and audio assets from scratch.
The game is described as, “Enjoy this 2D platformer set on and around the SIU campus. Explore Thompson Woods, check out books from Morris Library, collect eclipse viewing glasses, speak with students, and much, much more!”
The development teams were:
Morris Library & Student Center:
Caleb Carter*, J.T. Armstrong, Xavier Dunlap, and Anna Hainline
Thompson Lake & Woods:
Jordan Bardgett*, Jadan Bible, Emanuel Blackwell, and M.J. Smothers
Communications Building & other Academic Buildings:
Nathaniel Ogden*, Derrick Ashford, Aubrey Kinsel, Kevin Lehker
The Strip:
Justin Young*, Zylan Moss, Kenny Young, and Yarauseth Zavala
Asterisks denote graduate student team leads.
You can play the game via this link or via the embed below!
