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Aram Cookson

Interactive design and game development, immersive reality professor

Education

  • M.F.A., computer art, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2001
  • B.F.A., sculpture, Boston University, 1994

Credentials

  • Professor of Interactive Design and Game Development, 2002–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
  • Contract Work, 2017, Epic Games
    Developed instructor training material. Conducted training seminar introducing the Unreal engine to Gulfstream development teams.
  • Designer, developer, 2013–15, IF Humming Bird Foundation
    Designed and developed game prototype that integrates into a 10th grade social studies curriculum. Responsibilities included game design, managing a team of four, created a playable protype using VC pitch, scripted level design, scripting modeling, designed and implemented a dialog system.
  • Technical Designer, 2012–14, Impeller Studios
    Responsibilities included systems design and prototyping for In to the Black.
  • Freelance illustrator, 2013
    Cover design for The Game of Hearts, A Quince McCool Mini-Mystery for Kindle
  • UI Designer, 2010–12, Ascent Games
    User interface design and video editing

Awards, recognitions, and honors

  • SCAD Interdisciplinary Award, 2017
    Received the 2017 SCAD Interdisciplinary Award for working with faculty members from VFX and Architecture Departments using GIS and spatial data from ESRI City Engine Software to create VR/AR Prototypes
  • Unreal Dev Grants, 2015
    Awarded educational developers grant by Epic games to write a book on how to use Unreal Engine 4 Editor. https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/new-round-of-unreal-dev-grants-fund- education
  • National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB), 2012
    Awarded a grant from NCARB to develop a digital game to be used in architectural professional practice courses in collaboration with SCAD Architecture and Interactive Design and Game Development departments and professors Greg Hall, Luis Cataldi, Carole Pacheco, and Matthew Dudzik
  • Guided four graduate students to top three finalists in the 2010 “A Thin Line” national competition, 2010
  • Jury member for the fourth annual “Encore Series” exhibition; selected best graduate thesis shows for the year, 2010
  • Voted “Professor of the week” by students for an interview in a September 11, 2006 issue of The Chronicle, 2006
  • Named in special thank-you section of “Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood” credits, 2005
  • Interview with WTOC (local news) to discuss the Interactive Design and Game Development major at SCAD, 2004
  • Guided three student groups in designing and creating interactive PSA games for the Chatham Effingham Tobacco Use Prevention Program where students were collectively awarded $1,500, 2003

Organizations

  • IGDA, member
  • ACM SIGGRAPH, member
  • IGDA Academic Summit
  • Game Developers Conference

Publications and presentations

  • Unreal Engine 4 Game Development in 24 Hours, Sams Teach Yourself
    Co-authored with Ryan Dowling Soka, Clinton Crumpler, published by Sams Publishing.
  • DesignIntelligence, volume 19 number 3
    “Disentanglement and Gates: An Interactive Game of Architecture and Practice” (co-authored with Greg Hall, Luis Cataldi, Carole Pacheco, and Matthew Dudzik), DesignIntelligence 19, no. 3