Departments

Computational Media

Interactive Systems Lab

The Computational Media Department is dedicated to the creation, enhancement, and study of media forms that can only be made using computers. The department emphasizes the construction of technologies that make possible novel media experiences, while simultaneously embracing and engaging in theoretical and practical approaches from the arts, humanities, and social sciences. UC Santa Cruz hosts the Center for Games and Playable Media, the largest games research group in the world, comprised of the Expressive Intelligence Studio, Social and Emotional Technology Lab, Interactive Systems for Individuals with Special Needs Lab, Augmented Design Lab, and the Software Introspection Lab.

Contact Us
For questions/comments regarding the undergraduate program: cm-ugrad@soe.ucsc.edu
For questions/comments regarding the graduate program: cm-grad@soe.ucsc.edu
For general questions about the Computational Media department: cm-questions@soe.ucsc.edu

News

A SceneSampler player tried to capture a quiet scene in New York City during the Come Out & Play festival in July. (Photo courtesy of Edward Melcer)

Games and Playable Media faculty to discuss future trends at IndieCade Festival

Many videogames are designed to draw the player ever deeper into the world of the game. At Katherine Isbister's Social Emotional Technology Lab at UC Santa Cruz, however, researchers are interested in games that draw players' attention to the world around them and create different ways of engaging... Read More

2016 Sammy Showcase

UC Santa Cruz students to show VR projects and videogames in public showcase

UC Santa Cruz invites the public to experience the future of games and virtual reality at one of the country’s largest student game festivals: the annual Sammy Showcase. The event includes opportunities for the public to play videogames created by graduate and undergraduate students from both... Read More

This image from GameSpace shows a constellation of all the NFL football videogames players can explore.

GameSpace offers a playable visualization of 16,000 videogames

Finding information about videogames can now be a game in itself, thanks to researchers at the UC Santa Cruz Center for Games and Playable Media. They created GameSpace, a playable visualization of 16,000 videogames grouped according to common features and displayed in 3-dimensional space like a... Read More

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