With the “Star Wars” theme thundering in the background, space ships battle on a giant wall screen. Destroyers launch dozens of fighter planes, each firing bursts of red or blue lasers at one another and at larger craft. Ships explode, visibly and audibly. You’re watching gamers play "Fleet Commander" on a 20-foot-wide high-resolution tiled display wall at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), created by computer-science graduate student Arthur Nishimoto.
Arthur Nishimoto is interviewed in the article "Profile: For Arthur Nishimoto, work is all fun and games," which appears in the October 19, 2011 issue of UIC NEWS. Nishimoto describes how his fascination with video games motivated him to study computer science at UIC, and how he is pondering life after getting his MS degree. Should he continue with a doctorate, or accept LucasArts' invitation to work in its video game division?
Since it was uploaded to YouTube three months ago, a video of Nishimoto and fellow students playing "Fleet Commander" has gone viral, currently approaching 650,000 views. It has been featured in news sites like MSNBC as well as technology and gaming sites.
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View "Fleet Commander" on YouTube
To date, articles about the game appear in the following publications.
Kotaku
MSNBC In-game
Wired . com
BoingBoing
The Force . Net
UIC News (July 27, 2011)
EVL website
To learn more about the game, visit Nishimoto's website.
While EVL received notoriety in 1977 for helping develop the computer graphics "briefing room" scene for the first Star Wars' movie, today's faculty, staff and students continue to be fans of the Star Wars' universe.
