The first 12 graduates of the University of Central Florida's new graduate videogame development program received their master's degrees during a ceremony Dec. 11, 2006, at the UCF Arena.
The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy graduates enrolled in summer 2005, when UCF first offered the program. They spent 16 months preparing to become producers, artists and programmers in the videogame industry.
FIEA's current fall enrollment is 63, including 17 students who are scheduled to graduate in the spring.
FIEA students had three of the top nine games in MtvU's Game0RZ Showcase. The showcase started this past summer, when MtvU solicited submissions from student game developers for the best online games. FIEA students submitted three games -- BUGAHOLIC, UP YOUR KILT AND SERPENTS ON A JET -- all which placed in the showcase. The games had to be completely produced by students and had to meet numerous requirements related to file sizes and online playability.
The following list includes all of the FIEA graduates and their hometowns: Jon Albertson of Winter Park, Florida; Carlos Barbosa and Rich Grula of Orlando; Colleen Cleveland of Valrico, Florida; Tim Metzler of Brewster, Kansas; Brandon Plagemann of Verona, Wisconsin; Matt Read of Winter Springs, Florida; Jeff Riggall of Homer, New York; Rob Simon of Daytona Beach Shores, Florida; Chris Smith of Dothan, Alabama; David Verble of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; and Adam Volker-Yoblick of Gainesville, Florida.
FIEA (fiea.ucf.edu) is a graduate videogame development program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Students earn an accredited master's degree in interactive entertainment while replicating the production processes found in industries, like gaming and film.
