![\"A](\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/Picture1-1024x685.jpg\")
Photo by: Nitin Bakshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Nicholson School of Communication and Media\u2019s nationally and globally ranked Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy<\/a> (FIEA) recently hosted its Cohort 21 Capstone Presentations<\/a>. This event is the culmination of a year-long \u201cCapstone\u201d for graduate students in the program to showcase original video games, bringing their creations to life in front of a live audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FIEA\u2019s Capstone is a unique milestone in the program, providing an opportunity for groups of around <\/a>20 students to work together to design, build, and release their own original game over the course of two to three semesters. Each team is comprised of many leadership roles such as project lead, development director, art lead, and others, as required. These roles are similar to the gaming industry, giving students a taste of game development careers and equipping them with experience to succeed after graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morgan Schafer, a student pursuing an interactive entertainment degree in the project management track, and her team created Punk Rock Exorcist<\/em>, a game about a teenage girl whose partner is kidnapped by a demon. Players aim to fight their way through high school to rescue the character.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Schafer says she is especially proud of the final boss fight, a complex technical challenge that brought the team together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s this giant guy with half his waist cut off, four arms in the air, and he follows you around and tries to slam on you,\u201d Schafer says. \u201cIt was a technical wonder, and I\u2019m really impressed we were able to get it working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Schafer <\/a>says none of this would be possible without the glowing recommendation from her friend to apply to FIEA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My best friend used to tell me amazing stories about her experience here,\u201d Schafer says. \u201cShe says she had the best time collaborating with her team, and it helped me decide that I really wanted to be a part of this myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hannah Papa, a student pursuing an interactive entertainment degree in the project management track, says they came to FIEA with bachelors in character animation from UCF. Even with a background in art, Papa wanted to pursue the project management track after working in a simulated studio environment, which inspired them to refine their leadership skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis program was the perfect way to go more in depth with game development,\u201d Papa says. \u201cFrom my undergraduate experience, I already knew I loved working on a team, but here I was able to really step into that leadership role and learn how to guide a project from start to finish.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Husk Planet <\/em>is the resulting game from Papa\u2019s group, which uses deductive reasoning through language puzzles that challenge players to decode glyphs using clues. Papa says creating a puzzle game from start to finish was a rare and rewarding challenge, and the biggest takeaway is the importance of relationships to foster collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommunity is everything,\u201d Papa says. \u201cThe impressions you make on people and the impressions they make on you will follow you everywhere, so making really good connections and learning how to work on a team is incredibly helpful.\u201d<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Zakhar Sheyko, a student pursuing an interactive entertainment degree in the project management track, says video games have been a part of life from an early age when he was growing up in Russia. FIEA\u2019s reputation and emphasis on collaboration attracted Sheyko to pursue the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFIEA is one of the best places to gain experience working on a team,\u201d Sheyko says. \u201cYou are given a rare chance to learn so many things outside of your own track through this Capstone project, and it\u2019s something you just can\u2019t get working alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n His game, Dillo\u2019s Dilemma<\/em>, is a 3D platformer film game that combines building mechanics with exploration and stars an armadillo named Dillo who has to fight off Tack, the devious rat king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m proud that every element flows naturally, the art and gameplay feel like they belong together, and my team was eager to make the game as good as possible,\u201d Sheyko says. \u201cThat eagerness was the most valuable part for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Avery Hart, a graduate student pursuing an interactive entertainment master\u2019s degree in the project management track, her journey to FIEA was a whim of chance. After earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in visual arts from the University of Florida, she moved to Austin, Texas to start her career. Though she did not have a background in game design, she wanted to pursue a career in game production and applied to FIEA. She shares her joy in receiving this opportunity and moving back to Florida to pursue her education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was the best feeling of my life,\u201d Hart says. \u201cI had always wanted to go into game production, and I knew I would regret it if I never even tried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hart and her team developed Crimson Knight, <\/em>which she says was inspired by hardcore subgenres of video gaming. She said she is particularly proud of the auditory aspects of the game, which included original music composed by students in North Carolina, and voice acting from UCF\u2019s own theatre students.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cIt was such an incredible, collaborative effort with people from other schools, cohorts, and friends\u2014that was the best part,\u201d Hart says. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see how many people wanted to be part of this game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hart says collaboration is most effective when students are willing to listen, adapt, and embrace change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s best to leave your ego at the door and be prepared for change,\u201d Hart says. \u201cIt\u2019s more rewarding to build something together than to try and bulldoze your own vision through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For fellow Knights who are curious about taking the next step in their education, Sheyko shares advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy advice is to be a sponge \u2014 consume as much as you can, learn from everyone, and build friendships,\u201d Sheyko says. \u201cDon\u2019t waste time on small conflicts because the memories you make here will last for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n FIEA is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, marking two decades of innovation in game development education. Learn more and register for the event at <\/em>https:\/\/fiea.ucf.edu\/20years\/<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After months of collaborative designing, testing, and developing Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy students unveil their final games, showcasing creativity and leadership. Written by: Emily Dougherty | Published: August 18, 2025 The Nicholson School of Communication and Media\u2019s nationally and globally ranked Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) recently hosted its Cohort 21 Capstone Presentations. This event […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":34772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[38,6510,40,13,37,28],"tags":[6516,736,6356,6110],"class_list":["post-34762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-florida-interactive-entertainment-academy","category-graduate-student-news","category-news","category-communication","category-top-news","tag-cohort-21","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-fiea","tag-nicholson-school-of-communication-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/Picture2.jpg\")
Photo by: Nitin Bakshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/Picture3.jpg\")
Photo by: Nitin Bakshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/Picture4.jpg\")
Photo by: Nitin Bakshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/08\/Picture5.jpg\")
Photo by: Nitin Bakshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n