The Computer Science Department completed its first collaborative student project with the Art and Design Department and the Electronic Arts program, the development of the computer game River. A team of twelve students spent two semesters developing the game, a nonviolent side-scrolling 3D platformer. River was implemented as a total conversion of the game Unreal Tournament 3, thus leveraging the Unreal Engine and associated development tools. All of River’s content is original, including the story, level design, art, animation, sound, and puzzles.
The game was the senior project for three Electronic Arts students. Computer Science students junior Cameron Murdaugh, junior Josh Hollingsworth, and sophomore Michael Nuber did all the programming for the project as an independent study. Dr. Eric Shade supervised the independent study, met weekly with the River development team, and served as one of four faculty executive producers for the game. River was unveiled to the public at the Electronic Arts Showcase on May 13, 2009.