A hub for game design
Franklin Hall is home to a game design lab for student collaborative projects, a graphics lab for high-end animation and digital graphics work, and a visualization lab for virtual and augmented reality projects.
Game design and graphics labs
The game design and graphics labs include:
- 16 MSI Trident X PCs that connect to an HDTV to display working projects
- 27-inch eSports-ready IPS G-sync QHD monitors
- The best Wacom Cintiq graphics tablets on the market
- Pressure-sensitive styluses for creating digital paintings and sculpture
Visualization lab
Virtual reality and digital art come alive in the visualization lab, where students work on specialized virtual and augmented reality projects and test them on head-mounted displays. The room has plenty of open floor space for new technologies and to allow for walking in a virtual environment.
Two wireless handheld motion controllers track users’ movements via infrared sensors, simulating hand position so the player can grab, hold, and throw items in a 3D virtual space. The system is powered by Steam, the industry-leading PC game library store and content management system.
The lab is also set up to utilize our Wacom ONE drawing tablets. These 13” high-definition screens allow students to bring their artistic visions to life. The tablets are partnered with the latest digital art software, which runs on the PCs in the lab.
Game design equipment checkout
Franklin Hall’s Game Design checkout allows students to utilize a variety of hardware to help them work on their projects. Wacom ONE and Wacom Intuos tablets are available for students working on digital art projects. Audio-focused students can use Korg nanoKEY2 keyboards and Sennheiser HD201 headphones. The Faceware Camera System is available for students who need to track facial movement for digital recreation. iPad Pros with Apple Pencils are also available, and a variety of board games can be checked out for coursework involving analog game mechanics.