Presented by the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, GameFest is an annual celebration of student creativity and innovation in game design.

In previous years, the Level Upstate Summer Program has functioned as a six-week intensive incubator for game developers looking to commercialize their creative ideas. 

Beginning in Summer 2023, Level Upstate will be moving away from this existing model and restructured as a year-long game development mentorship program. Accepted participants will spend twelve months working in person and remotely with a rotating team of mentors comprised of faculty in the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Program at RPI and professional game developers and partners local to the Capital Region. In the process, participants will pitch, prototype, and playtest their primary projects while simultaneously working to refine their understanding of the market and specific business goals and strategies. 

Updated webpage to come! In the meantime, here is the information for the 2025 Rensselaer Game Showcase event:

RPI’s Game Development Club is excited to announce that this year’s Rensselaer Game Showcase has officially been scheduled for November 8th! Join them once again, or for the first time, in the McNeil Room and West Lobby of RPI’s Student Union building from 10am-6pm as RPI students (and even local studios!) show off their games. 

Not only is RGS a great way to support students and their projects, it’s also an amazing opportunity to give back to the community! Throughout the event, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase baked goods and merchandise, the proceeds of which will be donated to a charity voted on by club members. 

For more information about the event, or to ask how you can get involved, please contact the Game Development Club at gamedev-officers@union.lists.rpi.edu. We look forward to seeing you in November!

Organized by RPI's Game Dev Club, RGS is an annual opportunity for all Rensselaer students to showcase their games to the local community. This year's event is the second following a pandemic-era hiatus between Fall 2019 and 2022, so we're looking forward to seeing you there -- especially if it's your first time around!

Project Ripcord was formerly a publishing portal for games and interactive stories created by Rensselaer students. Today, Ripcord is in the process of reemerging as a joint blog-and-podcast series for popular games-related discourse.

Over the coming months, we'll begin to post articles about some of the many students enrolled in the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and Critical Game Design (CGD) Programs at RPI, as well as written works by the students themselves.