CENT 101 Students Showcase Tabletop and Virtual Reality Games Wednesday, December 3, 2025

This semester’s Center for Experiential Narrative Technologies 101 class is creating games in both tabletop and virtual reality versions, which they will demonstrate from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Dec. 5, in the CENT suite.

CENT 101 is a course designed to introduce students to cutting-edge technologies and techniques for creating immersive narratives across AI, gaming, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The course is project-based, epitomizing hands-on learning. 

 

At the start of the semester, each student came up with a board game idea and pitched it to the class. The class voted on their favorites, and the top three were selected for development. Those who pitched the selected games became the creative directors, who then interviewed the rest of the class to form their development teams.

Alyse Fay, a senior animation major, is on the development team for Conspire, a trivia game about conspiracy theories. Fay primarily serves as a designer, creating the board, deck of cards and 3D-printed game pieces.

The team brainstormed which virtual environment would suit their game theme and decided on a low-lit room with a poker table. As they began to implement the vision, Fay’s familiarity with design software was key.

 

"It was definitely easier for me than for others," Fay said. "It just took me a few minutes to get oriented."

Though she’d never used Unity before, there are plenty of tutorials available, and she found that the keyboard shortcuts were the same as what she was used to in animation programs such as Maya 3D and Cinema 4D.

Still, since Unity was new to her, she made use of some templates designed by Chris Gaul, assistant director of CENT, and Sterre Kuijper, graduate assistant in CENT.

Gaul said, “We knew not every student could code a game, so we built a template and a program with tools in Meta Quest that removed a lot of the coding and software knowledge barriers out of the equation, so students could be creative with their game without limitations.”

"I enjoy seeing how students take their first steps in Unity and begin to understand how VR works," Kuijper said. "Even though many of them are beginners and their projects stay quite simple, it is nice to watch them try ideas, learn from mistakes and improve each week. It is rewarding to see their confidence grow and to help them when they are stuck.

Kuijper, an MBA student, holds a degree in Creative Technologies from the Netherlands and has worked with CENT since spring 2025.

"Working with CENT has given me a better understanding of how storytelling and technology can come together," Kuijper said. "I enjoy the mix of creativity and problem-solving in the projects. CENT 101 has been a good experience because it shows how students can take basic tools and use them for their unique project."

In addition to using the template in the classroom, Kuijper and Gaul demonstrated the Unity template at the November Global Impact Forum, which focused on the use of technology in education. Gaul said attendees expressed interest in the work, especially from those in higher ed, since the template was built for students.

On Friday, the CENT class will unveil the semester’s worth of work they’ve put into creating a game that can be played on a tabletop or in the virtual realm. The CENT office is located on the second floor of 101 Wood Street, and the showcase is open to all.

 

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