Students, Faculty, Families Attend Game Showcase

Students sitting infront of gameAuburn faculty, students and members of the community headed to Foy Union to try out games developed by 15 teams from an Auburn University introduction to engineering class. The games, which ranged from trivia and board games to a miniature demolition derby to a variety of sports-themed competitions, were part of the student's final design project for the class.

Student teams were asked to design a game that could be fully played in 20 minutes or less, and was suitable for persons 12 and older. The game had to be easy to explain, fun to play and could not resemble any existing games. Students first presented their games to their classmates. The game showcase provided them with a chance to debut their games outside the classroom and served as their final exam in the class.

"I felt the challenge of designing an original game subject to a variety of constraints would fit well with the engineering design process, was compatible with the backgrounds and experiences of the students, and would be fun," said Nels Madsen, associate dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, whose class hosted the event. "We were thrilled that a broad cross section of the population came to test drive these games. The students put a lot of time and energy into this project, and in the process learned quite a bit about real-world project management, design, scheduling and working as a team."