Game Design students, IN THE DARK participants demonstrate their work

Technology meets art when students in CIA’s Game Design major and those participating in the wearable-technology competition IN THE DARK demonstrate their innovative designs at the 2014 Cleveland Mini Maker Faire at Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Ave., N.E., on March 29.

The event is open to the public from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., but IN THE DARK students will be there from 1-3 p.m.

Presented by the Cleveland Public Library and Ingenuity Cleveland, the Mini Maker Faire bills itself as “the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.”

Try their game designs for yourself

CIA’s Game Design Department has adopted a new approach to teaching sophomore students to be 100% self-sufficient in their design and development of three video game projects based on the golden age of arcade games: Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. Mini Maker Faire participants will have opportunities to play-test their in-progress games.

Also adjunct faculty member and high-tech authority Jared Bendis ’04 will present live demonstrations showing how these games were made in Game Maker: Studio.

IN THE DARK works will shine

For IN THE DARK, a wearable-technology-with-light competition, seven CIA students and two Case Western Reserve University School of Engineering students rose to a 21st century challenge: design wearable technology that incorporates light for a strong visual impact before a live audience. The creators will present these items of fashion, concept and functionality in the library’s Stokes Auditorium, in the lower level of the Stokes Wing between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Since October, students have been working on their designs. To date, they have shown their work at MOCA Cleveland and Brite Winter. As part of the design process, the entries were further refined for each successive venue. Final judging for the awards competition will take place at the final venue, Great Lakes Science Center on April 12.

IN THE DARK is a program of the Cleveland Institute of Art's Cores + Connections, CIA's academic vision which supports the development of students' social agency by connecting students, faculty, curricular cores and institutional values with mutually beneficial community partnerships in real-world immersion experiences. For more info., please visit http://www.cia.edu/academics/curriculum/cores--connections.

To read more about IN THE DARK, the entries in the competition, the students and faculty behind it, and to view a slideshow of student work, click here.