The 8-bit blips of black-and-white sprites in Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue could not compare to the epic battles the players conjured in their minds. More than 20 years later, those same players can finally watch Pikachu fight Mewtwo on the big screen. Following Red’s and Blue’s popularity, the Pokémon franchise blossomed into a media […]
Author Archives: Evan Charfauros
Comics event to introduce students to new interests, opportunities
A Pakistani Ms. Marvel and the real-life founder of Planned Parenthood are protagonists of graphic novels that will be showcased at University of Comics, Los Angeles. UCLA Residential Life is putting on the event as part of Geek Week, the school’s annual celebration of fandom and entertainment. University of Comics will take place Tuesday from […]
Radical multimedia performance merges improvisation of jazz, skateboarding
This post was updated Sept. 19 at 3:39 p.m. Piano, saxophone and bass will blend with the percussive scrapes, slaps and rumbles of skateboards at Jason Moran’s jazz performance. The award-winning jazz pianist will perform a public jam session with his band, the Bandwagon, at the Ford Theatres on Saturday. Several professional skaters will drop in […]
UCLA staff’s book explores intersection of sustainability, marketing
Nike’s “Considered,” a line of shoes made of cannabis, was released in 2005. Though the company expected the eco-friendly hemp design to attract environmentally conscious consumers, critics panned the earthy look of the shoes and called them “air hobbits.” “Considered” is one of many unsuccessful corporate attempts to market environmental sustainability that Magali Delmas mentions […]
Club provides platform where students can create video games together
Behind every “press any button to start” is a team that started with nothing and ended with a video game. Students work together to design, write and program their own video games in the Collaborative Game Development Club at UCLA. Every year, the club divides current members into groups based on common interests, after which […]
Makerspace’s board game workshop encourages creativity, new skills
Students used lasers to cut acrylic, shape wood and carve “Rick and Morty” faces into checkers pieces. The UCLA Makerspace in Rieber Hall held a three-part workshop over the course of the last four weeks dedicated to teaching students how to manufacture board games. Though the space previously held small workshops for specific machinery like […]
Alum’s esports company boasts top-ranked teams, aims for global reach
Esports is changing the game. Instead of running across open fields, esports competitors tap computer keys and video game controllers to traverse virtual battlefields and conquer enemy bases. To capitalize on the growing trend of esports, alumnus Kent Wakeford and his business partner Kevin Chou founded Korea + Silicon Valley in 2017, a company that […]