Was your favorite video game born at Carnegie Mellon University?

Location: Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Featured guests: Derek Ham, ETC’s director, and Steve Audia, director of information technology at the ETC

3 things that surprised me:

1. The ETC doesn’t neatly fit into any academic category. It was founded at CMU in 1999 by Randy Pausch, a computer science professor who later became famous for “The Last Lecture,” and Don Marinelli, a professor of drama. It’s an “interdisciplinary playground for people who want to create what’s next in gaming, storytelling and technology,” according to ETC staff.

2. The ETC campus is lined with movie posters and giant statues of ET and Pixar characters. There’s a Millennium Falcon hanging from the ceiling and a giant Creature from the Black Lagoon lurking around a corner. Derek explained that the decor not only encourages a sense of play, it also gives a sense for where some alumni have gone on to work. Graduates of the program work at every major technology and entertainment company. They’ve created popular video games (including “The Last of Us”) and designed rides at Disneyland and Universal Studios.

3. The ETC is full of state-of-the-art technology, some of which doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. Professors regularly challenge students by presenting them with a unique projector or robotic system and asking them to figure out unique and creative uses for the technology. Steve showed me the C.A.V.E., a massive curved screen that invites players to don 3D glasses and interact with an array of characters and worlds. He also showed me the Jam-O-Drum, a digital drum circle interface that students over the years have used to create hundreds of unique games.

One thing that didn’t make the final cut: The Jam-O-Drum system is especially impressive because it uses a unique gaming projector in conjunction with special glasses that allow each player to have a unique view of the game play. Each player, thanks to their glasses, sees only the information that’s relevant to them while guarding in-game secrets that they don’t want their competitors to know about.

Additional info: You can learn more at the ETC website. You can also watch a Yinzer Backstage Pass installment we filmed at Schell Games, a gaming company founded by ETC faculty member, Jesse Schell.

Want more Yinzer Backstage Pass? Check out our visit to a fabrication studio where they’re re-creating Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for a new exhibit.