Unity Extends Education Givaway

Project Helps Educators Help Students Become the Mobile Innovators of Tomorrow

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - September 1, 2010

Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity development platform for highly interactive 3D content on the web, iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, Android, Wii™, Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3, today announced that it is extending the deadline to its Mobile Generation Education Project to September 30, 2010 due to the overwhelming interest it has received to date. The project, designed to help educators develop game programming and game design course curriculum centered on mobile and tablet PC development, was first unveiled at the Game Education Summit in June.

An impressive list of schools have already adopted Unity including computer science powerhouses Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Leading game programming and design schools University of Southern California (USC), The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University, Full Sail University and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) also use Unity in their courses.

"We're looking for the best of both worlds - to develop in a powerful, accessible and flexible environment and to distribute to as many people as possible,” said Peter Brinson, Instructor, Interactive Media Division, University of Southern California (USC). “Knowing that our students' can use one environment to develop for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android makes using Unity a no-brainer."

“The pace of game/application development is so rapid that it’s almost impossible for educators to keep up on their own,” said Davey Jackson, Educational Outreach Director for Unity Technologies. “We believe it’s crucial to work closely with educators to provide them with technology and expertise to help them structure courses that will teach their students the skills necessary to begin a successful career in the games industry of tomorrow.”

The success of the iPhone and iPad has shown that there is a large consumer market for a new generation of games based on mobile devices. However, most university game programming and game design courses are still focused on teaching skills for the traditional PC and console development. Unity Technologies believes that some of the best opportunities for student employment in the next two to eight years will be in the mobile and tablet PC space. This space will provide new User Interfaces, gameplay and distribution models for game developers. Students with training on these new devices will have a distinct competitive advantage in the fast growing mobile games/applications segment.

The Unity Mobile Generation Education Project has a two round award process:

• From amongst the initial applicants, 20 academic institutions will be selected to advance to the first round. First round winners will be awarded Unity Pro for Android along with a Google Nexus One phone.
• Educators who make the first round will have 60 days to work with Unity Android and test app concepts on the Nexus One Phone. After 60 days, first round winners will submit a proposal for a full semester mobile games curriculum along with potential lectures. Three academic institutions will be selected to advance to the second round and be awarded 20 licenses to Unity Pro, Unity Pro for Android and 20 Google Nexus One phones.

Educators can get the free, feature-packed Unity to create games and interactive visualizations for the web, PC and Mac at: https://unity3d.com/unity/download. Unity also offers premium package options, which include access to Unity Pro, Unity for iPhone and Unity for Android, at educational prices. Instructors at accredited institutions may email education@unity3d.com for more information or evaluation copies of Unity’s advanced packages.