Skip to main content

Game Development

The CPL Arcade Cabinet

CPL Arcade Cabinet

The CPL Arcade Cabinet showcases the potential for all available multimedia and creative technologies housed in the Lab to come together as a single mega-project. The entire cabinet was designed by staff and student workers using the Autodesk Suite to be cut from a single sheet of ply. The button input deck was laser cut, and all cabinet art was printed inside the CPL. Internal electronics and finishing applications were done on-site from newly created and existing components.

Submitting a Game for the Arcade

Come in to the CPL and talk with the current CPL Supervisor to discuss starting your project and how it can live on our cabinet. If you have something at-the-ready and are working in a contemporary engine, the following punch-list is a must-have.

Make it as a standalone windows executable with the following specifications:

  • Main Title Screen scene with player ability to press 1 or 2 player start to launch main game
  • Demo Scene or Attention Getter scene to transition to during idle state
  • If game remains idle (no button input), automatically returns to Title Screen, or shows Demo Scene from Title, back to Title Screen from Demo Scene after set time period or player input
  • Fullscreen mode capable, with no in-game ability to exit to desktop
  • Offline only; No network access or web-link requirements
  • Screen Resolution: 1280x1024 @75hz (5:4 aspect ratio) or baked-in letterboxing

Accessibility Requirements:

  • Language independent
  • Colorblind accessible (shape-as-color, high-contrast)
  • Input playable left or right-handed per player

System Specifications:

  • 64bit Windows 10 operating system
  • Intel Core i7 processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • AMD FirePro W2100 graphics card
  • Dell UltraSharp 1702FP monitor
  • EG Starts USB digital encoder for arcade input control, in custom layout

Download the arcade button layout and input commands

Create Your Own Boardgames

If you need to make any form of tabletop game or analog experience for a class or your portfolio, the CPL is the best place to start.

  • Print your main gameboard on our large format Epson P8000
  • Print and cut pieces using our Epson ET-7750 and Cricut
  • Etch and cut custom pieces using out Epilog 40w Laser
  • 3D print pieces in Plastic or Resin
  • Assemble your game in our wet-works area and makerspace
  • Photograph your final project with our photo equipment in the greenscreen area
  • Do a video walkthrough or voiceover with our greenscreen and whisperbooth recording studio
  • Format rules, boxes, and art with the Adobe Creative Suite
  • Receive feedback and guidance from our full-time staff

Dungeons, Dragons, & Tabletops

The CPL laser and 3D printer are perfect for making terrain or custom figurines for your current or upcoming campaign. We're players too! Pull your .stl file from Hero Forge and let us print your character in high detail resin for under $5.

Need to learn about miniature painting or creating dioramas for your Warhammer scenarios? Check out our Durango Valley setup and ask for a quick demo or workshop invite! These skills are perfectly applicable to theatrical and architectural design. Take a wild guess where we took these processes from in the first place...

Creating Video Games and Assets in the CPL

With access to the entire Adobe Suite, Autodesk Education Edition, Unity, Unreal, Z-Brush, Blender, and a pile of other software, we're ready to help you sink your teeth into the nexus of contemporary multimedia.

Videogames bring together every option we have in the CPL and illustrate how technology, art, and the humanites can thrive when pressed toward a common goal of communication and entertainment.

The CPL is proud to host a number of game jams throughout the year including:

  • Global Game Jam - (January)
  • Ostra: Games for Spring - (April)
  • Insert Game [Here] - (July)
  • Spoopy Jam - (October)

Each event gives you a unique seasonal flavor and challenges participants to build a complete game from the ground-up in just 48 hours based on a secret theme announced during the event.

Use your current skills and learn new ones in finding a potential development team. Make something funky and end up as the Game of the Month on our Arcade Cabinet!

Questions? Stop into the CPL or email the supervisor for details!