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Nick LaLone

Assistant Professor

School of Interactive Games and Media
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Office Location

Nick LaLone

Assistant Professor

School of Interactive Games and Media
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Bio

I began my life in academia not as a grad student but as administrative staff. I was charged with the responsibility of fostering technology use among the Sociologists in my department. I found this work challenging, but fascinating. I sought answers to the unasked, unconscious issues that I saw in the world of well-educated, well-informed social scientists from any place that I could find information. Names and terms like Object Oriented Ontology, Actor-Network Theory, the Social Construction of Technology introduced me to a number of concepts, epistemologies, and philosophies surrounding what would become known to me as, “non-human actors.” I began to read more and more and over time wanted to do more than foster technology use within the faculty of my department, I wanted to approach developers or just use of technology in general.

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Currently Teaching

IGME-220
3 Credits
This course examines the core process of game design, from ideation and structured brainstorming in an entertainment technology context through the examination of industry standard processes and techniques for documenting and managing the design process. This course specifically examines techniques for assessing and quantifying the validity of a given design, for managing innovation and creativity in a game development-specific context, and for world and character design. Specific emphasis is placed on both the examination and deconstruction of historical successes and failures, along with presentation of ethical and cultural issues related to the design and development of interactive software and the role of individuals in a team-oriented design methodology. Students in this class are expected to actively participate and engage in the culture of design and critique as it relates to the field.
IGME-382
3 Credits
This course provides a survey of underlying concepts and technologies used to represent and understand the earth, a form of new media collectively referred to as Geospatial Technologies (GTs). Students will gain hands-on experience with GTs, including Global Positioning Systems (GPSs), Geographic Information Systems (GISs), remote sensing, Virtual Globes, and geographically-oriented new media such as mapping mashups. Students also will develop basic spatial thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and literacy skills.
IGME-689
3 Credits
This course will allow students to work as domain specialists on teams completing one or more faculty-led research projects over the course of the semester. The faculty member teaching the class will provide the research topic(s). Students will learn about research methodology to implement, test, and evaluate results of projects. Students will complete research reports and final assessments of themselves and their teammates in addition to completing their assigned responsibilities on the main projects.