You've heard the stories of humble startups who create a hit game that brings them fame and fortune. Although many of your students will sign on with larger companies when they graduate, some of them will go off and create amazing work on their own or with small teams. Learn how you can incorporate the entrepreneurial spirit and skills in your curriculum and help your students be prepared for whatever path they choose.

In a well-set-up workflow, it gets harder to find those incremental improvements that we can use to shave seconds off of each task. What if we could shave seconds off of lots of tasks with one tool? Computer gamers and mechanical-keyboard enthusiasts have a few tools that the CAD community has not yet widely embraced. Gaming peripherals are designed to send multiple keystrokes or commands to a computer in one key press. This class will look at how input devices such as game pads, gaming mice, and customized keyboards can improve a design professional’s workflow. We’ll look at several types of individually customizable input tools, and discuss how we can implement tools that were not designed for a corporate environment in that environment. We’ll examine where these tools have shortcomings, and how to dial in their utility versus the potential for them to be a distraction. The speaker has been using the tools we’ll discuss for more than a decade in Revit software and AutoCAD software—find out why.

In this class, we will cover the workflows to create a game from your InfraWorks 360 software designs. The workflow will cover exporting your InfraWorks 360 model, harnessing 3ds Max software, and then using Stingray game engine to create the game. This session features Autodesk Stingray, 3ds Max, and InfraWorks 360.

In this course you will study and implement techniques for modeling and rendering high-resolution tiling textures in 3ds Max software for design visualization, simulation, and games. Starting with a highly detailed model, you will set up a camera and lighting rig using mental ray software for rendering. Additionally, we will set up the rig to produce a tiling texture without perspective using the mental ray software Production Shaders. Then using render passes and render layers, you will produce albedo, diffuse, normal, specular, mask, and ambient occlusion images suitable for a physically based rendering workflow used in modern rendering and game engines.

Game engines are known for their innovative graphics and physics. That would make it seem like game engines are only beneficial to architects. This is just not the case. Game engines provide a wide range of benefits to engineering firms, and this class will explain how to get started using them in a way that is easy, fun, and affordable. Game engines could be used to help QA/QC a project, or to help visualize engineering analysis 3D models, or for real-time interactivity using virtual reality (VR), or even as an interactive game that shows construction sequencing animations, and much, much more. The possibilities are endless. Game engines are fun to use, so it’s time to use them in your engineering firm!

In this class, students will learn how to use Revit software, the Live add-in, and Stingray game engine to create high-quality, interactive visualizations from 3D models. First, you will learn how to use the Live add-in to convert 3D Revit models to the game engine, Stingray. Once in Stingray engine, you will learn how to create immersive environments for your clients. In these environments, owners can explore, interact, and even edit their own projects. They can choose from various design options and view the costs associated with them. Students will learn a workflow that is simple, repeatable, and teachable, even for those unfamiliar with video games or programming. The benefits of using gaming in construction include increasing owner involvement, reducing the time and effort it takes to produce an attractive proposal, and facilitating bidding on smaller projects with a quality offering only affordable by larger projects today. Visualizations through Stingray game engine ultimately lead to winning more work. This session features Autodesk Stingray and Revit. AIA Approved

This class will focus on basic workflows in Stingray game engine to get your project into Stingray game engine for visualization. We will focus on what you need to do to prep your data and convert your design data to a Stingray project. You will discover the pitfalls to avoid, and you’ll get to an interactive model quickly. And we will cover basic interaction. The class will assume you have familiarity with 3ds Max software and either InfraWorks 360 software or AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Both are preferred. This session features Autodesk Stingray, 3ds Max, and InfraWorks 360. AIA Approved

Transitioning from a traditional workflow to a Building Information Modeling (BIM) process is a challenge-a challenge that requires problem solving, constant training, lateral thinking, skill developing, and lots of practice. There are many ways to spread this kind of knowledge, and a traditional approach may not be the more successful. Through the principles of L-D-A (lecture-demo-action) and game design techniques, this class will explore a different approach to teaching BIM through the gamification of a pathway that leads from the old ways of working to the new practice. This is suitable not only for architects, but also for owners and operators who want to approach the subject of BIM through an engaging, effective way.

In this hands-on lab, you'll use AutoCAD software to create a basic 3D game environment and a side-scrolling 3D game environment. Learn how to create and import street furniture, buildings, vehicles, and other 3D objects using AutoCAD software's Solid, Surface, and Mesh tools. Export the 3D environment to an FBX file format for the Stingray gaming engine. Import the AutoCAD 3D model into Stingray to see the model in real time. This class is designed to expand your AutoCAD 3D modeling knowledge.

Intended for intermediate to advanced AutoCAD Civil 3D software users, this class is designed to show land development professionals techniques and nuances for creating renderings and movies of their proposed projects. Utilizing many of the programs provided in Infrastructure Design Suite software (AutoCAD Civil 3D software, InfraWorks software, Revit software, and 3ds Max software), this class will consist of a live demonstration showing how to create compelling and grade accurate visualizations of your site designs. By treating InfraWorks 360 software as a “level builder” we will explore how to composite existing and proposed ground surfaces, build and apply coverages for pavement and pavement markings, and prepare tree surveys for 3D placement. Finally, we will explore the use of InfraWorks software models in real-time game rendering engines. By capitalizing on real-time engines, we can shortcut long rendering times to create accurate visualizations quickly.

Designing a virtual reality (VR) environment for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry depends greatly on content building groups. It leads to designing time consumption for the areas that are not the focus of AEC. Correlating with some level generator aspect of the gaming industry, the expense of environment generation could be reduced with highly varied environment design options. Using the algorithms of procedural generation and VR rendering options, a combination of human-generated assets using Maya software or 3ds Max software and algorithms can render an autogenerated and assorted range of VR environments in Revit software or related AEC tools. We will discuss a study of how procedural generated levels in a Spelunky game can be related to the VR environment generation for AEC, as well as how construction and building design can benefit from existing methodologies in the gaming industry.

Autodesk offers a wide range of software applications to truly drive interdisciplinary collaboration in the fourth industrial revolution. Throughout the past decade, we’ve witnessed a true initiative to cross industrial barriers and promote information exchange and data-driven design in gaming, engineering, and architectural design. One of the epicenters of this technological revolution is the use of virtual reality (VR) platforms, which fully immerse the user in an environment, enabling previously unseen convergences of different professions. Affordable VR headsets are becoming more prominent in gaming, and the ability to create stunning interactive environments is now truly universal knowledge. If you want to build a world without limits in virtual reality and fully unleash your creative potential regardless of the industry you belong to, this is your class!

As architects and designers we are always looking for more advanced ways to share and explore our designs with the client. With the introduction of gaming engines into the architecture industry it has allowed architects more flexibility in how they design and create a more unified collaborative approach with the client. The success of adopting gaming engines into the industry relies heavily on adoption of the software in an already challenging design workflow, from allowing for maximum adaptability as the design changes to creating an optimized experience within the software for client integration and understanding. In this class we will look at CallisonRTKL as a case study, in how we have approached the software and identified the key challenges that are faced in the industry across multiple disciplines, from hospitality, urban planning and Retail, how to overcome them, and how to create seamless integration from BIM models to Unreal for maximum flexibility for the design team.

Do you want to add game engines like Unreal Engine or Stingray to your toolkit, but you're not sure what you're getting yourself into? Then this class is for you. In this session, you'll hear from a 20-plus-year 3D expert about his transition from the rendered world to the real-time world. You'll hear about how to make sure your data is relevant to the context of a real-time environment, how to create proper geometry, and what transfers and what doesn't. This class will reveal the realities of the on-ramp to using real-time engines. And you'll gain direction as to where you should and shouldn't be spending your time to make your projects successful and visually appealing.

Efficient pathways for 3D Design Visualization and CAD data into a real-time game engine are always a challenge. This session will highlight two case studies that demonstrate the modern data pipeline and its challenges and realities of real-time applications. We'll analyze and dissect the flow of data of architectural visualization and manufacturing CAD assets into the Unreal Engine. We will demonstrate and explore Epic Games' new "Datasmith" plugins and work flows so you can see for yourself the advantages of the fast and efficient on-ramps into Unreal engine that will shave hours or even days of your workload.

Virtual reality (VR) is a game changer for collaborative design review. VR technology is now at a quality level that gives designers confidence to make design decisions virtually. Designers and engineers can explore virtual models and design variations at full scale before physical models get built. Multiple users can collaborate across multiple remote locations. This talk will cover innovative immersive VR technology with VRED software and Forge Platform. Hear firsthand from Faraday Future about how they are capitalizing on VR to solve design review challenges and bring cars to market faster at lower cost. The future of automotive design visualization is here. This session features VRED and Forge.

The process of designing for retail can be both expensive and time-consuming. This class shows how building stores in a virtual environment reduces the risks associated with physical store mockups, helping to drive both efficient problem-solving and the rapid design iteration required that together can help your customer meet the requirements of the rapidly-changing retail landscape. By taking full advantage of a workflow for moving large-scale architectural projects from Revit® software into a game engine environment using a streamlined approach, this class aims to demonstrate how Unity 3D can act as an efficient design tool for store and space layout planning.

This session will cover collaboration between architects and design visualization specialists within the Live Design network. Once a Revit software user generates an Autodesk LIVE project, any design visualization specialist can jump in and take that project to another level. Using knowledge from 3ds Max software and Stingray game engine, let’s see how we can easily add dynamic content to create an immersive presentation. Game engine technologies can really enhance the design visualization process—it’s all about real-time storytelling! This hands-on lab will give an overview of the power of each software system when they’re combined. During the lab, we will go from Revit software, to Autodesk LIVE software, to Stingray game engine, then finally close the loop and send the project back into Autodesk LIVE. This session features Autodesk Stingray, Autodesk LIVE, and 3ds Max. AIA Approved