By: Griffin Carlson, Game Design '21 Over the past months, I've had the privilege to get my first real taste of what it's like to work in the game industry. This opportunity has all been because of Power Level Studios, a small team of freelancing developers overseen by Danny Forest, the company's owner, and my […]

Continue reading →

By: Matthew Randolph, Game Design '21 I work at a small Indie studio known as Power Level Studios founded by Danny Forest. The company was founded in 2013 and released a game titled "Unreap Commander" in which the game pinned players against each other in an RPG style setting that heavily relied on strategy. Danny […]

Continue reading →

By: Tyler Lamon, Game Design '21 I recently got an internship at Power Level Studios as a Level Designer to assist in making the levels and world in the game Soul Reaper. Power Level Studios was founded by Danny Forest, who is my direct supervisor. Power Level Studios was founded in 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, […]

Continue reading →

By: Giancarlo Gioielli, Game Design '21 While studying abroad in Montreal this semester, I was fortunate enough to land an internship at a small indie studio called Back to the Game. Back to the Game is known for developing and publishing several mobile games, as well as a piece of software called rob0 that specializes […]

Continue reading →

By: Ryan Littleton, Game Design '21 A few days ago, I was sitting down for lunch with a friend of mine when I had a bit of a realization. We'd both just finished up some work on Soul Reaper, the game that we're working on for our internship, and decided to take our lunch breaks […]

Continue reading →

By Charlie Grabber (GPROD '20) and Wes Weitzman (GDES '20)

During the Fall 2018 semester, Charlie and Wes both interned at Back to the Game.

Wes (far left) and Charlie (far right) with partners from Back to the Game.

Charlie

During my time in Montreal, I worked as a Production Intern at Back to the Game. The company was founded by Richard Rispoli, an industry veteran who worked at EA Interactive and Ubisoft during his 15+ years working as a producer and project lead. I learned a lot about managing a team of 8-10 people, organizing schedules and keeping the project running smoothly via Trello, and how to organize and prioritize multiple clients for a service-based product. Continue reading →

By Genevieve Guimond (GDES '20) and Megan Hoins (PWRT '19)

During the Fall 2018 semester, two of our students interned at Double Stallion's Montreal studio.

Genevieve

Double Stallion was founded in 2013, and was helped along in its inception by the game company incubator Execution Labs. Their first two games were mobile: Big Action Mega Fight! was released on iOS and Android in 2013 and OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo! was released in 2016. That game is actually a property that Double Stallion partnered with Cartoon Network to create based on their show OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes. During development on two of these games, Double Stallion moved on to start their most recently released project: Speed Brawl. Continue reading →

By Megan Hoins (PWRT '19)

I'm going to be honest: I really didn't think Montreal would have a huge impact on me. I just figured it would be another semester, albeit with a lot of new, fun experiences in a totally new place.

That didn't happen. If anything, this semester had the most impact on me out of any I've had at Champlain, since it allowed me to get to know myself for, really, the first time in my life.

Going abroad meant depending on myself, in a lot of ways: making my own food, commuting to work, and living apart from the big college community I was used to. It also meant spending a lot of time by myself, which, as a social introvert, sounded perfectly ideal to me. Continue reading →

By Emmett Friedrichs (GDES '20)

Among the many off-campus activities I participated in this semester, there are none that I enjoyed more than the company visits. While many of our visits are simply tours of the establishment, some are more personal. Even the tours opened up untold secrets of the game industry, and new possibilities for networking. This all packaged into a single trip in which we explore the city of Montreal just a little bit more. Parties set up by companies/studios or events and conventions such as MEGA or MIGS allow even more networking and communication through direct conversations. Continue reading →

By Jonathan Vogt (PRWT '19)

Stacey speaking to a group of prospective game devs at Meltdown Esports Bar.

I t started with a Facebook reminder: A career soiree was going on that night, giving me only a couple hours to get ready. "It's not like I'm doing anything else," I thought.

Five minutes before the event, and I'm wandering down St. Denis trying to find the venue, counting down the addresses. I'd expected it to be held in some office or conference room somewhere, but no: it was in an arcade bar—the Meltdown Esports Bar to be exact.

It was already crowded; the event hardly looked like an event, and I began to wonder just what the hell I'd signed up for. I stumbled to the bar, ordered a shot of bright red something , and that's when it happened—

Continue reading →