Entertainment Technology Center

“The results show that, broadly, there was a positive relationship with games console ownership and mental well-being.”

This new study demonstrating that video games can actually improve life satisfaction and relieve stress isn't news for any of us at the ETC:

Playing video games is good for you ‘as long as you stick to three-hour limit’ Researchers in Japan find owning a games console can lead to better mental wellbeing

We’re excited to welcome the ETC class of 2026 to campus this week for Orientation!

Students will be introduced to the ETC, meet each other and the second-year students, and get a tour of the building — which means for many of them, this will be the first time they encounter many of the features that make it unique.

"For years, I hoped that my children might develop a love of video games – not just any games, obviously, but specifically the ones I like." 🎮

We assume this is a sentiment many of our alums can relate to:

‘This is impossible!’ Can kids master the video games their parents loved? Our video games writers get their children to play the games they loved as kids – and get to grips with the ones they adore now. Will they be bored, baffled –or hooked?

First, the bad news: summer is almost over. The good news? We're less than a month out from our both our new director Derek Ham starting and ETC Orientation, Adventure Module, and the start of the fall semester! 🙀

Do you have any tips — whether that's advice, secrets of the building, or even just restaurant recommendations — for those new to the ETC this fall? Let us know!

Thank you to ’s Fiona Cherbak for coming to speak with students participating in this year’s National High School Games Academy last week!

NHSGA is a program for high school juniors and seniors that gives them a taste of the innovative, hands-on learning experience the ETC is known for.

Hosted at the ETC and led by faculty member Chris Klug, these high schoolers also get a chance to engage with ETC’s incredible network of industry leaders like Cherbak!

Learn more about the program at cmu.edu/pre-college

Congrats to Assistant Teaching Professor Moshe Mahler for winning Best in Show at this year’s SIGGRAPH conference. 🏆

“When I finished the film in 2023,” Mahler said, “my son pointed out that this film took his whole life to make!”

Read the full story: https://www.etc.cmu.edu/blog/moshe-mahlers-film-award/

ETC students on summer internships, featuring Bella Liu, who works for . " I'm interning as a Tool and Pipeline Technical Artist for League of Legends PC at Riot. My team focuses on making character skins, and I'm currently working on writing a Maya tool for rigging artists and animators. I love my teammates, who are incredibly passionate, talented, and supportive. It's been an amazing experience so far!

During the spring semester, the UNsolved project created a board game for the conference in New York City, June 27-28, 2024. The team designed a multiplayer game to highlight the impacts of broken recycling systems worldwide. Congratulations to the team: : Xinyu (Charlotte) Ai, Ruiwen Huang, Hongxian (Candice) Li, Sheryl (Sher) Long, Qianduowa (Aldora) Wang, and Zhiying Wei. The project advisors for the UNsolved team were Chris Klug and David Culyba. A big thanks to Candice Li for the pictures!

ETC second year, Meghna Anil is spending her summer as a Game Production Intern at Riot Games. "As a Game Production Intern on Teamfight Tactics at Riot, I work with the Gameplay initiative to help break down and organize major tasks for the various teams in TFT Gameplay, ensuring that teams feel supported during development and to help coordinate conversations and solutions when roadblocks arise. I’m thrilled and thankful to work with such talented team members and an amazing manager!"
Way to do Meghna!

ETC student Zhiying Guan is spending her summer with “As a production intern for Cortina Productions, I am involved in the day-to-day process of multimedia development, specifically for museums in the Washington, DC area. In addition, I participate in planning, testing, client reviews, and various other collaborative tasks throughout the production pipeline. I am happy to work in this talented and cross-disciplinary team! One of our instructors, Shirley Saldamarco, provided this opportunity, and we were fortunate to have Cortina Productions visit our school. I am thankful to both Shirley and Cortina Productions!”
Can't wait to hear about your summer, Zhiying!

ETC Student Xixi Huang is spending her summer interning as a Game Design Intern at Riot Games, working on League of Legends: Wild Rift. "As a game design intern, I was very fortunate to participate in the featured game mode design of League of Legends: Wild Rift. I contributed my own ideas for the future version of ARAM, designed and configured several Easter eggs in existing modes like Ultra Rapid Fire. I learned a lot through the daily work, design seminars and play tests with such talented people. Can’t wait to play more game modes with friends in the future. See you on the rift!"

Congratulations to ETC faculty member Mo Mahler. His animated short documentary, 'The Art of Weightlessness,' has been awarded Best In Show at the 2024 Electronic Theater awards. From Mo: "Thank you to all of the students and colleagues who have helped with the production, The Frank-Ratchye for helping to fund the project, and to the Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center and for creating a one-of-a-kind environment for art, storytelling, and technology to thrive together." Congratulations Mo!

Two ETC students, Ruzhang (Jim) Zhao and Sijia (Jia) Wang are in internships with Lumis Corp. Jia, who is a technical artist intern with Lumis said ""As a technical artist intern at Lumis, I contribute to the creation of 3D models, textures, animations, and visual effects. Additionally, I actively engage in idea sharing, proposing solutions, and optimizing workflows during our weekly discussions on technology and team matters." We hope both Jia and Jim have a great learning experience! Sijia Wang

Please welcome Derek Ham to Carnegie Mellon University as the new director of the ETC!

He is currently head of the Department of Media Arts, Design and Technology at North Carolina State University, where his research spans the areas of game-based learning, algorithmic thinking and immersive storytelling. Ham received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in design computation. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University 's Graduate School of Design and a bachelor of architecture degree from Hampton University- Official.

“You can tell a lot about an institution by its foundations, the way it was formed and who formed it. The origin of the ETC as a place founded between the School of Computer Science and the College of Fine Arts is one that resonates with me tremendously,” said Ham about his new role.

Learn more: https://cmu.is/etc-dir

The third award given at the ETC Diploma Ceremony is the Pausch Award. The Pausch Award is inspired by and in honor of ETC co-founder Randy Pausch and is awarded to the ETC graduate who best epitomizes interdisciplinary leadership through artistic, technical, and interpersonal initiative, growth, and excellence. This year's recipient, Sy Syo, has been a great team leader and was an understanding and well-respected head TA for Building Virtual Worlds. He shows sincere dedication on his tasks, from ETC projects to the National High School Game Academy. As a result, he has earned high praise, respect, and admiration from fellow students, clients, faculty, and staff.

As part of the ETC Diploma Ceremony, we recognize three graduating class members for their impact on the class, citizenship, exceptional leadership skills, and initiative. The Tornado Award is given in honor of ETC Co-Founder Don Marinelli, in recognition of the student who goes up against the status quo, the existing parameters and limitations of the entertainment technology industry and makes an impact. This year’s recipient, Angie Mendenhall, has been noted as bringing a unique energy into the projects she’s worked on. Her work has included an Egyptian tomb, a retro telephone, colorful umbrellas, a CAVE, and a window pane next to a bed at different times. Congratulations Angie!

During the summer semester, ETC first-year students can obtain internships. While not required, students who obtain an internship have a valuable learning experience and improved chances for success after graduation. Over the summer, we will feature some ETC students on their internships. First up, Lingheng Tony Tao:
"As a Graphics Engineer Intern for Apple Vision Pro, I am working on adding more rendering functions to RealityKit to make it more convenient for AR/VR developers to use the Apple platform graphics engine. An ETC alum I met on our West Coast trip shared this internship opportunity with me, and I am very thankful!"

On Sunday, May 12, 2024, we held the ETC Diploma Ceremony, where we celebrated the accomplishments of the ETC class of 2024. As part of the ceremony, we recognize three graduating class members for their impact on the class, citizenship, exceptional leadership skills, and initiative. The first award given was The Anne Humphreys Memorial Award. The Anne Humphreys Memorial Award is inspired by and in honor of ETC faculty member Anne Humphreys. This award is given to a student who has made the most out of life by living with passion for the moment and has a focus on community-building projects that better the lives of others and, in doing so, influence others to be positive. This year’s recipient, Jessica Cromp, has shown a passion for developing transformative experiences that are more than just entertainment. At the ETC, she’s worked on projects tackling light pollution, climate change and social interaction. Congratulations Jess!

The week after ETC final presentations, but before Commencement weekend, ETC students, faculty and staff were able to enjoy a great day at PNC Park, watching Pirates baseball.

This is it! The last day of Final Presentations for the spring semester. Starting at 9:30 am EST, we will hear from the Beyond Touch, MonoMon MR, Recollection, IGT Lab, and Palooza project teams. We will be streaming live on our YouTube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaK4dfnxfP4

Day 3 of Student Final Presentations starts at 9:30 am EST. This morning, we will hear from the DelibeRide, AlighteR, UNsolved, Dust to Dawn, Puppamatics, and FeatheryFriends teams. From creating driving experiences to augmented reality to RPG indie games, the ETC students will present their work to the faculty and guests. Watch on our YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_eUWtZkpQU

Final Presentations, Day 2 happening now! Join us as we hear the final thoughts from the AR Mixtory, OurBlues, Studio Platypus, QuestMakers and Flow student project teams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxBnAKn0xjQ

Starting in just moments, ETC student final presentations. This morning we hear from the TrailblazAR, Moonsters, Voxalburgh, Vial and Questure teams. Join us at 9:30 am EDT on our YouTube Channel as we hear from the students on how their semester went, and the games/experiences they developed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCztpwrVBw0

ETC students, you made it to the last day of classes! We hope you are able to relax this weekend and we will see you on Monday for final presentations. 🥰🙌

During Carnival weekend ETC second year, Angie Mendenhall, as part of CMU TPEG (Theme Park Engineering Group), along with CMU ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), participated in the long-standing tradition of Booth, where student organizations build themed wooden rooms for fellow students to enjoy. The student groups decided to theme their Carnival booth to 'Roller Coaster Tycoon', which allowed guests to experience a roller coaster in a booth! The ASCE-TPEG team won the People’s Choice Award and first place Blitz Booth Award at Carnival 2024. Congratulations to all the members of the ASCE-TPEG team, and many thanks to Angie for providing the pictures!

One more week in the semester means a Soft Opening for the ETC projects! A soft opening is essential to the semester; ETC faculty visit project teams to give comprehensive feedback on the team's almost finished products. In the theme industry, it's called "soft opening." In the theater, it's called "previews." In software, it's called "beta release." In all cases, it refers to "we believe it is fully ready" but also acknowledges that projects probably have a few kinks that should be fixed but can only fixed by demoing it in allegedly finished form.

We are so proud of ETC Alumna Göksu Uğur'15 for being recognized as a member of the 2024 Tartans on the Rise Class. Thank you for sharing your time with students, faculty and staff during your visit to Pittsburgh this weekend. Congratulations Göksu!!

We were so happy to welcome back Göksu Uğur, from the ETC class of 2015 to speak to the students.