Explore and Experiment
StudioLab invites our community to use play as a tool for creation and reflection. By creating temporary spaces defined by flexible rule sets, we're able to see our designs and ideas from new perspectives. We think play sparks the imagination, welcomes collaboration, and facilitates respectful commentary.
Games embody play. Games have always been an expressive medium for conveying the human experience and a foundational element in the creation of communities. We're fortunate to be living in a time when theories of play and games criticism are exploding in both popular and academic domains.
Read / Watch / Play Collections
StudioLab is a beginner-friendly environment for exploring the arts, humanities, and sciences through hands-on experiences. It is because of these values that the StudioLab also celebrates play, and subsequently celebrates games. Read / Watch / Play is our monthly collection of articles, videos, and games centered on a theme.
Game Channels on Slack
#games-games-games
This is our general channel for discussing anything related to games and play. Tell us what you're playing, ask for recommendations, post your livestream, comment on our Monthly Collections, find people for multiplayer games, attend our live events, and share anything else related to play or games here.
#choose-our-own-adventure
Remember those adventure books where you chose what page to turn to next? Well, imagine that except in a chatroom with more people and more choices. The #choose-our-own-adventure channel features a different game every month and asks our community members to collectively decide which path to take. We make one choice per day so that regardless of your time zone, everyone can play.
PC Game Library
StudioLab has a game collection of over 500 titles across Epic, Origin, Riot, Blizzard, GOG, itch.io, and Steam stores. When possible we purchase DRM-free titles, so that they can be installed on all of our computers. We're currently strategizing a way to grant students remote access to the collection.
Featured Titles
| Control | Surviving Mars | Braid |
| Overcooked | Heaven Will Be Mine | Stardew Valley |
| Into the Breach | Donut County | FTL |
| Doom | Baba is You | Overwatch |
| Final Fantasy XV | Opus Magnum | Frog Detective |
| Dwarf Fortress | Besiege | Rocket League |
| RimWorld | SUPERHOT | Katamari Damacy |
| 80 Days | Getting Over It | Butterfly Soup |
| Factorio | Firewatch | Celeste |
| League of Legends | Return of the Obra Dinn | Kerbal Space Program |
| Frostpunk | Minecraft | Tilt Brush |
| NieR: Automata | Her Story | Stellaris |
| Kentucky Route Zero | Portal | Hollow Knight |
Computers
StudioLab has four high-end PCs that we use for VR, games, motion capture, modeling, scanning, and video editing. Due to the pandemic, we aren't able to use them this semester, but we wanted to post the specs here to give you something to look forward to when we're all back on campus.
Specifications
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core |
| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC Micro ATX LGA1151 |
| Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 |
| Storage | Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" SSD |
| Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE |
| Case | Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower |
| Power Supply | Corsair RMx (2018) 550 W Fully Modular ATX |
| Monitor | Dell S2719DGF 27.0" 2560x1440 155 Hz |
| Keyboard | Logitech G513 Carbon Wired |
| Mouse | Logitech G305 Wireless |
| Headset | Corsair HS60 PRO SURROUND 7.1 Channel |