Two people skateboard on a halfpipe wearing motion sensors at the Game Developers Conference.

Experience is everything at Champlain College, and it’s baked into the way our Game Studio Experience operates. We get it, some of us would live and breathe games if we could—which is why we’ve got professional, academic, and personal opportunities to engage in whatever part of the industry you love. So have at it!

a team of game studio students presenting their game project to a full audience in an auditorium

The Senior Show & Recruitment

At the end of the school year, Champlain hosts the Senior Show. This two-day event kicks off with presentations from all graduating Game Studio seniors, showing off their final projects to invited friends, family, faculty, community members, and special guests. After eight teams of students have demoed their fully functional games to the audience, guests can try them out at a celebratory reception and exhibit. Each year, game company recruiters are invited to join us for presentations, exhibit, and reception, where they meet and mingle with graduating seniors. The second day is dedicated to networking and interviews between recruiters and students.

Check Out the Senior Show

Events & Organizations

  • game production management students mingling at a professional gaming convention
    Conferences

    Each year Champlain College faculty and students attend a variety of conferences. The Montreal International Game Summit is our main outing. We also attend PAX East, SIGGRAPH, The Educational Game Summit, the Games for Change Conference, and the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (pictured above). Champlain and the Champlain College Game Developer’s Association (CCGDA) provide organization and some scholarships to these events.

  • illustration of the global game jam logo
    Global Game Jam Weekend

    Past Champlain College Game Studio students have taken part in and succeeded at the annual Global Game Jam event. Students usually meet on Champlain campus or at one of the Montreal sites to join in the event either virtually or in-person. The structure of a jam is that everyone gathers on Friday late afternoon, watches a short video keynote address with advice from leading game developers, and then a secret theme is announced. All sites worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that same theme, with games to be completed by Sunday afternoon.

game enthusiasts try new games at the senior game show

Champlain Game Developers Association

The CCGDA is an official chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA.org), a professional organization of game developers and educators. The CCGDA sponsors speakers and other professional events, runs the Global Game Jam, and organizes field trips to conferences. The CCGDA also has a town hall meeting at the beginning of each semester and hosts workshops to foster professional development.

What skills and knowledge are employers asking for from students?

Employers are looking for more than technical skills. Successful candidates in the hiring process also have

  • Resilience and calm even under high stress situations and deadlines.
  • Flexible, can-do attitudes, and empathy for team-mates.
  • A mentality of life-long learning of new software, skills, approaches, and applications.
  • Data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative.
  • Global perspectives and cross cultural work habits that empower you to work with anyone from anywhere in the world regardless of background, identity, or origin.

Sign Up To Get a Poster + Helpful Info

We’ll send you info about our game majors plus a poster designed by our students when you fill out this form!

Collage of game art environments and characters created by Champlain students

More Inside Game Studio Experience