Virtual Worlds: Much More Ute Pilot for the TV Series, the Wright Report
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Vol. 8 Fall 2008 Students get it “Wright” the first time Students aspiring to careers in script- writing or TV production were given new options for a hands-on capstone experience this past academic year. Two interrelated courses resulted in a 44-min- Virtual worlds: Much more ute pilot for the TV series, The Wright Report. The courses were conceived and than fun and games developed by lecturer Susan Kelly. With her background in film studies and script- you hear the term “virtual world” and think of bleary-eyed geeks writing, Kelly guided students in writing camped out in front of computers for hours on end, think again. and then producing a quality television I Virtual worlds — online, immersive environments and games that mix real- episode suitable for broadcast. f world characteristics with fantastical elements and allow users to interact with potentially The process started with a fall semester millions of other users — have grown beyond the stereotype of hardcore escapism. They’ve advanced scriptwriting workshop for an gone mainstream; they’re now played by casual Web users and gamers. And the creation of hour-long dramatic television series. Kelly virtual worlds has spread beyond Silicon Valley, to the halls of academia. provided the series “The faculty at IU are among the world’s tional expert on virtual worlds, Castronova concept and basic leaders in the creation and use of virtual and was an economics professor at California character profiles. synthetic worlds for both research and edu- State University, Fullerton. For years he As a group, the cation,” says Dmitri Williams, an assistant wished social scientists could rely on empiri- class fleshed out the professor at the Annenberg School for Com- cal data like natural scientists do. concept, pitched munication at the University of Southern “If you have a natural science problem, ideas, and devel- California. like physics or chemistry, what’s the first oped the plots and IU faculty and students—including thing you do? You do an experiment,” he character arcs for telecommunications professors Edward Cas- says. “In biology, you take a couple of 2 episodes. Each tronova, Lee Sheldon, and Steve Krahnke— petri dishes and you pour iodine in one and writer was ultimate- have forged this reputation by working on don’t pour iodine in the other, and you ly responsible for a several virtual worlds in recent years. These see what happens to the bacteria. You can’t full episode script, worlds are among the first developed by uni- really do that in social science,” especially at and along the way, (continued on page 6) versities, and they are redefining the genre. the national and global scale of most social “The fact that we have at least four proj- problems. ects [at IU] of people making virtual worlds In order to conduct experiments at the In this issue using student labor is, to my knowledge, global level, he decided to create his own unprecedented globally,” Castronova says. world. He laid out the vision for a virtual “It’s four ahead of anybody else.” world based on the works of William Shake- 5 • Game Zombies speare: in a pastoral village, players would A virtual petri dish talk with Falstaff, play cards with Nym, and 7 • Q&A with Herb Terry For Castronova, virtual worlds are more learn about the Bard and his plays. 10 • Sound Bites: firsthand than games—they’re large-scale petri dishes. Castronova and his team, which included alumni stories Before he became an associate professor several IU students, received a $240,000 of telecommunications at IU and an interna- grant from the John D. and Catherine T. (continued on page 4) DEPARTMENTAL NEWS New scholarships reward,encourage excellence Three scholarships, presented for the first with the opportunity to participate in a The first Chairman’s Award recipient, time in April 2008, reflect the breadth of conference or industry trade show beyond Matthew Bregger, BA’08, clearly met the the department’s curriculum. They were the borders of the university,” he said. parameters. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa funded by the generous gifts of people Doctoral student Xiaofei Wang, MA’06, with a double major in telecommunications whose careers involve distinct industries but MA’07, received the inaugural award of and art history, Bregger provided leadership are all related to the department’s academic $500 for travel to two conferences, where and expertise in several advanced produc- offerings. she presented her research on the eco- tion classes and worked in the department’s nomics of foreign language media. Wang production lab. He looks forward to Tom and Jay Darragh Confer- completed double master’s degrees in 2006 building a career in production or post-pro- ence Support Endowment in telecommunications and economics and duction and has various freelance projects Thomas and Josephine Darragh, both conducts research in collaboration with already to his credit. friends of the department, established the Professor David Waterman. She is a native Conference Support Endowment. Tom of Xi’an, China. After she completes her Jeri Taylor Prize for enjoyed a career in the telecommunications doctorate, her goal is to teach and conduct Scriptwriting industry and taught as an adjunct instructor research in the U.S. before returning to Jeri Taylor, BA’59, is a prolific television in the department for almost 0 years. “We China. She wants to put her work to use, scriptwriter and producer best known for established the gift to provide a student assisting developing countries. her contributions to the Star Trek series and is an Emmy recipient in 994 for Star Trek: Chairman’s Award The Next Generation. Taylor wanted to sup- ➤ These new awards The $,000 Chairman’s Award recognizes port the IU Telecommunications Depart- a senior telecommunications major for ex- ment while encouraging budding script- represent a 30-percent ceptional academic performance coupled writers. The inaugural Jeri Taylor Prize for increase in the number with activities or scholarly endeavors that Scriptwriting was presented in April 2008 of scholarships presented clearly further a student’s career goals. In- to the winner in the scriptwriting category dianapolis-based Creative Street Media annually. of the department’s annual Media Showcase Group — a venture founded by Steve Competition. The top three scripts were But with more than 800 undergrad- Katzenberger, BA’77, and Dave Smith episodes of The Wright Report (see cover uate majors, the department sees — supports the award. story). Winner of the Taylor Prize ($,000) these 10 scholarships as only the Katzenberger is a member of the was Brett Harris, BA’08, principle writer Telecommunications Alumni Wall of Fame beginning of a concentrated effort of the episode that was produced as a pilot. who actively supports the department, Second place went to Casey McClatchey, to recognize the intellectual and provides internship opportunities, and BA’08, and Sharquita Sims, BA’08, placed creative excellence of our students. mentors many students. Smith wanted third. to honor his father and sister, both IU For information about scholarships, graduates. contact Legene White, (82) 855-7086. Game Studies Area Certificate added to curriculum From handheld Nintendos the size of a Edward Castronova, author of Exodus Designed for students not majoring in BlackBerry to massive, multiplayer, online to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is telecommunications, the certificate attracts role-playing games that engage thousands Changing Reality, teaches “Multiplayer creative students from a variety of academic simultaneously, electronic games are every- Game Design.” Thom Gillespie, who initi- disciplines including informatics, general where. Keeping pace with this burgeoning ated the department’s adoption of game studies, English, and music. Such students field, the department now offers an under- design courses, teaches “Introduction to may hope to work in game-related fields graduate Area Certificate in Game Studies 3D Digital Modeling and Animation.” Lee with vigorous economic growth. DFC for students who want to focus on design- Sheldon, author of Character Development Intelligence, a strategic market research and ing and building interactive games. and Storytelling for Games, teaches “Theory consulting firm, predicts that worldwide The certificate requires 28 hours and Practice of Game Design.” videogame and interactive entertainment of course work and allows students to The interdisciplinary character of the revenue will reach $57 billion in 2009. combine telecommunications classes with game certificate reflects the nature of games Such predictions are encouraging for designated courses in theatre and drama, and game design. “I like the prospect of General Studies Degree-student Downey. computer science, fine arts, and music. working in a field that combines [some] of He says such growth “gives [me] hope that In the Telecommunications Department, my personal interests – computers, games, there is a job out there for me in this excit- faculty members known for their research art and music,” said Zachary Downey, who ing field.” and creative work in the field teach many of plans to earn the certificate. —Jeanne Myers, academic advisor the game studies classes. 2 MultiVisions Conference offers top-notch experience 2008 MultiVisions panels by the numbers The Department of Telecommunications heartily thanks the panelists of the 2008 Mul- ➤ students attended. 380 tiVisions Communications Conference, held ➤ 25 professionals from 12 different April 4. Learn more at http://www.indiana. cities served as panelists. edu/~telecom/multivisions2008. ➤ 140 informational interviews took Brand Aid: Marketing/Advertising/ place. Media Relations ➤ 60 undergraduates planned the Moderator: Professor Rob Potter conference. Panelists: Amy Krider, BA’99, Dream- Jim Krause Works Animation; Lloyd Wright, BA’76, Vicki Boutwell, BA’95, Fleishman Hillard; 230 attendees ➤ WFYI; Steven Gilbert, Big Tree Concepts; Liz Dee, BA’96, Creative Street Media consumed a free Jeff Smith, BA’76, Carlson. Group; Laura Sanchez, Radio Disney. lunch of four 6- foot subs.