Franklin produces video games as the executive producer of "The Sims 4." She weaves big data into improving players' experiences, capturing real-time feedback to improve on these virtual worlds.
Monday, February 23, 2015
The Game of Life
Franklin produces video games as the executive producer of "The Sims 4." She weaves big data into improving players' experiences, capturing real-time feedback to improve on these virtual worlds.
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3 comments:
I've been playing the Sims franchise my entire life--to read about our Carnegie Mellon playing essential roles in the creation and continuation of the series is so cool and so satisfying. It's refreshing to get your head out of the Drama world and remember all of the incredible people around us in other majors. The students in this university are doing and will do wonderful, amazing things. What a lovely inspiration. I also enjoyed hearing that the featured alumnus combined her love for technology with her enjoyment of acting, and pursued something that played to both of her passions. That's so in the essence of creating your own work--figure out exactly what you want to do, no compromises, and go do it. There will always be a place for someone with the passion and the commitment. Very interesting and cool read.
Like Kennedy, I've been playing The Sims since release 1. I remember getting the first expansion pack- The Sims Unleashed- which introduced pets into the game. I used to play so much when I was little and have since played every version since. It's really exciting to see that CMU alumni are playing such a vital role in the development of the game. I wasn't quite sure where the article was going, just because it's definitely very unique that she managed to combine her love for the performing arts as well as technology with game design. I at first just assumed she graduated from the design & production program, so it was even more interesting to see that her passion was for acting and not actually design at first. If you're going to pick a game to develop that allows you to live out your acting dreams, The Sims is definitely the best choice.
I think it is credit to Carnegie Mellon University's diverse undergraduate programs that Franklin has experienced as much success as she has (not to discredit her intelligence and drive). I don't know if really any other schools can boast two so disparate (Computer Science and Drama) majors with such prestigious programs. And as we're traveling into a hyper-technological age, it has begun to make more and more sense for the two to be combined. With computers and film and video games, we as hopeful entertainment professionals have so many more careers to choose from than simply theatrical designer or technician. To be honest, I would love a class for designers that experimented in video game realization, or even animation. We know how to work Sketch-Up and AutoCAD, yes, but I feel that's not giving us a full breadth of the outside professional world. Perhaps in a few years there will be a stronger partnership between the two schools -- we've got a bridge now, so anything's possible.
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