Jennifer Gutterman

Jennifer Gutterman, visiting professor of animation and game design, holds a master of fine arts degree in Visual FX, focusing on 3D modeling and concept development from the Academy of Art University and a bachelor of fine arts from Syracuse University, with a double major in computer graphics and painting.

Jennifer’s primary research interests are in 3D development for animation, analog and digital games, and accessibility and intersectionality of world building and concept development for games and animation.

Jennifer developed and runs the Game Design Program at Manchester Community College in Manchester CT and is a freelance artist and game designer. Jennifer has spoken at Metatopia and PAX Unplugged on topics such as Queer Worldbuilding, Eat, Drink, Be Merry: Developing Cultural Touchstones for Immersive Worldbuilding, Queer Game Design: More Than Just Representation, Latinx Game Designers, Games and Education, and How to Pitch: Pitching Games at Every Level of Development.

Currently Jennifer is working on several projects that include hybrid games utilizing digital and analog elements, a cooperative board game introduced at Metatopia 2018 and freelance work on several in progress projects in both analog and digital games.

Recent and Upcoming Courses

Hybrid Games: Creating games during and after a Global Pandemic
This course will look at how the digital and analog game worlds were impacted by the global pandemic. We will explore how the pandemic changed game design workflows and expectations of human interaction in the games industry and focus on project-based game design that is relational to the human experience of the pandemic. Students will be encouraged to consider in person and remote elements to game design challenges in the process of creating a hybrid game that utilizes user experience that contains both remote and in person/community game elements. Students will consider accessibility and technology limitations as well as physical game component questions that are designed to work between local and remote play. Students should expect research and documentation as well as game prototyping in digital and paper format. Keywords: analog games, digital games
Game Mechanics, Genres & Representation: Building accessible games from the ground up
This course will look at different game mechanics from analog, digital and hybrid games and systems through the lens of intersectionality and accessibility. Students will explore game mechanics and game genres throughout modern game design and develop or, in some cases, redevelop them further with the goal of inclusivity and accessibility. Can this game be accessed by everyone? If so, what value systems are applied to player identity in visual, written and game play elements? If not, what changes to the mechanics, genre, visual or written elements must be addressed to bring a game into full accessibility? Game design for the masses or game design for specific groups, this course will help students develop a broader understanding of what mass market focus really means and how that can be changed moving forward. Key words: game development, game art, entertainment design, game design
Concept Art with Digital Tools
This course is designed to give students a strong introduction to the workflow of creating concept art for the entertainment industry using professional digital tools. Students will be expected to have their own graphics tablet and computer to handle the software used in class. While this course is designed to give students, who have no other digital art background a strong foundation in concept art skills that will help with future digital art courses, the course does not teach basic drawing in a traditional manner. While we explore techniques and workflows pertinent to the entertainment industry, we will be looking at concept design that is not limited to the current popular culture norm. Students will be encouraged to explore concept development that takes in account accessibility, inclusivity and diversity issues from character design to color palette choices. Key Words: games, game design, digital ilustration
3D Character Modeling: Advanced Poly-Modeling for Games, Animation, and 3D Visualization
In this course, students will further develop their 3D modeling skills, with a focus on character modeling for games and animation. Students are expected to have at least one course, or equivalent experience in 3D Poly Modeling for games and animation using an industry standard software, preferably Autodesk Maya. The course work will include practical examples and project-based work, ideally providing useful material for student portfolios. By the end of the course, successful students will be able to model characters that can reasonably be used in games and animation. Students will be encouraged, in the development of their 3D assets that they dive deep into concept design that is not limited to the popular culture norms of the time. Students will explore the necessary modeling and design workflows for consideration of inclusivity, accessibility and diversity in the 3D design and modeling. Key Words: game design, creature modeling, 3D printing
Introduction to 3D Modeling
In this course, students will focus on workflow and techniques for creating polygonal surface models for game assets, character models and 3D environments for animation and video games, as well as 3D prototyping for physical game assets. This class will focus on poly resource management, modeling workflow and the creation of 3D assets from conception/reference art through modeling, basic materials, lighting and rendering. Project requirements will range in complexity and detail, and students are expected to work outside of class to apply in-class demonstration of techniques to projects and assignments. Students should have a level of comfort with computers that goes beyond basic tasks. Key words: game design, game development, analog games, 3D Modeling, 3D
Interdisciplinary Game Project
In this course, students will work in teams to develop, from conception to formal output, a fully realized game project that focuses on an aspect of Analog or Digital Game Development. Students will brainstorm, document, iterate, develop, report on and finally deploy a finished element of the game design process - this can be focused on game art, UX/UI, game animation, level design or an analog game. All projects will be documented professionally, reported on each week by the teams working on them and have full cooperative development over the course of the semester. This is intended to allow students to bring their skills sets developed over the course of their education into a fully realized final product that showcases their attention to detail, their ability to multitask and work in groups as well as professional communication, documentation and deployment. Key words: game design, game development, analog games, game art
Introduction to Game Design
This course provides an introduction to the history of games, terminology, and principles of game design and game mechanics. We will also explore the development of analog games and game systems from inception through playtesting and prototyping. Students will learn to analyze, design, prototype, and document different non-digital games using professional processes for game development in non-digital and digital games. (keywords: game design, game development, analog games)
World Building: Creating Dynamic Worlds for Games and Animation
In this course, students will learn to create dynamic worlds with diverse populations, mythology, and characters for games and animation. Students will use a variety of techniques and processes to develop and design worlds for their concept. World building gives a rich and dynamic canvas on which to develop characters, obstacles, motivations, macro and micro issues, and conflicts and resolutions. Such practice allows for more robust and consistent worlds in which to set singular or serial events in linear and non-linear ways. Using visual and written content, students will develop characters and environments that are influenced by both created and existing cultural and historical content. Students interested in tabletop games, RPGs, and/or digital games are all welcome.
Special Projects
No description available.