For the seventh year, Shawnee State University (SSU) was the site Friday of the Shawnee 7.0 technology Conference at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. Each year, the conference number changes; last year was 6.0 and next year will be 8.0, to symbolize a new program release.

More than 20 high school and college students made presentations demonstrating everything in the gaming industry from computer game design to motion capture techniques and business support for young entrepreneurs at the conference. Seminars were also presented on topics such as motion capture, Second Life, iPhone apps, 3D gaming, programming, and other cutting-edge technologies.

Zane Conley and Thomas Jones, students from the Scioto County Career Technical Center, presented a demonstration of C++ programming and 3D gaming on a netbook computer. The two students programmed a paddle and ball computer program — like Pong for the 21st century — that allows the player full control to move the paddle within a 3D platform.

Conley said they learned the skills for developing such programming through SCCTC classes, such as math and informational technology. He explained that informational technology is “anything that has to do with networking, Web design, C++ programming, (and) A+ repair and maintenance.”

Jones pointed to three pages of complex computer coding, pasted onto their display board, that the boys wrote to develop the arena, ball and paddle.

Both boys plan to attend SSU for college, and they hope to develop a new third-person shooter program.

During the conference, the new state-of-the-art motion capture studio in the Advanced Technology Center at SSU was open for demonstrations. A spokesperson for SSU said the studio's official opening dedication and unveiling will be held at a later date.

Jason Witherell, professor of digital gaming and simulation at SSU, said the conference was a great way to get to know what the gaming field has to offer.

“On my side of things, we're preparing students to go into any kind of computer science, R&D-type fields, military, medical, as well as gaming. The art side has their own kind of fields also,” Witherell said. “Definitely the motion capture is a big plus for us. It's really going to improve our fine arts and our gaming programs. I'm real excited about that.”

He said he was also very impressed with all of the student presentations.

“The whole conference is very exciting,” Witherell said.

This year's conference keynote speaker was Sibley Verbeck, CEO of The Electric Sheep Company — an award-winning creator of virtual worlds and social games for major brands and media companies. Last year the company worked with CSI New York in tracking a criminal through Second Life and offered viewers the ability to look for clues and analyze them in a virtual lab. Recently, the company has launched RIDEMAKERZ, an online driving experience. Verbeck is a co-founder of the Virtual Worlds Roadmap.

As a former chief scientist of StreamSage Inc. and Comcast Online, Verbeck has been a leading researcher in advanced computational linguistic and statistical techniques for analyzing audio, video and text. In January 2001, he received an award from the Washington Techway Magazine as one of the top young technology executives in the D.C. area. In 2003 he was selected as one of MIT Technology Review’s top 100 technology innovators worldwide under the age of 35.

Verbeck was invited to speak on topics ranging across virtual worlds, search, computational linguistics, Internet infrastructure, digital television, scientific publication and undergraduate science education.

As many as 500 participants were expected to attend the conference.

The SSU Office of Career Services also hosted a Technology Job and Internship Fair for students to speak with potential employers in the technology sector, and view sample resumes.

“There is definitely a rise in the technology field,” Steve Gregory, director of Career Services at SSU, said. “I feel like (Shawnee is doing a good job preparing students) but we can always look for new and innovative ways of doing things. It's a never-ending process. Technology changes every day, so we will keep looking for those new avenues for students to pursue.”

Among the employers presenting at the job and internship fair was Jason Conaway, from Electronic Arts. Conaway was also the keynote speaker at the Shawnee 6.0 Conference in 2008.

RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 235, or e-mail pdtwriter@ryanscottottney.com.