Level Clear. You Win!

Greetings, Radar readers! November is here, and with it, more midterms (sigh). It’s hard to believe we’re already ten weeks into the semester! The studio is wrapping up some big events, but we’re not done yet. We’re looking forward to all that this month has to offer, and we hope you do, too! With that said, we invite you to learn about the opening day of one of our keystone events, StartUp StandUp!

SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!

Russ Devereaux, NIU’s E-Sports Director, led an interactive improv workshop at the opening sequence of StartUp StandUp. Surrounded by retro arcade decorations, activities, characters, and mini-workshops, participants engaged in icebreaker games and activities like Zip-Zap-Zop - a theatre warm-up where players stand in a circle and pass “energy” by sending a “Zip,” then a “Zap,” then a “Zop” to different people while keeping the rhythm.

After that, they split into teams and chose a fictional character from a classic video game - like Luigi or Pac-Man - who became their "client" for the event. Teams had to step (quite literally) into the character's shoes by first understanding their problems, goals, and challenges, and then bringing their characters to life through the magic of improv.

Then, we went outside to bask in the sun. We had some bagels and sweets for lunch, and we played classic arcade games like Pac-Man and Galaga on old-school style gaming consoles.

Afterwards, we went back inside to learn about value propositions and how to turn customer pain points and gains into potential solutions and features. We used Painter, a character from the classic arcade game Amidar, to show how you can understand a character's challenges and then transform it into something that has value.

We wrapped up Day 1 with teams reflecting what they've learned so far and preparing for Day 2, where they'll use their newly acquired knowledge to develop and pitch their own creative solutions!

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