Iona University Students Create Their Own Virtual Reality Worlds

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Students in Iona University’s computer science advanced game development course created their own virtual reality worlds, which they demonstrated as midterm projects for the semester. Using a special helmet device, students were transported to alternate realities created by their own hard work and design.

Virtual reality game development is one of the most cutting-edge fields of computer science, with applications ranging from entertainment and advertising to serious training simulations in defense, medicine, psychology and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Student projects included stylized puzzle rooms, where the student solved puzzles in order to advance; dungeons and monster-inhabited islands, where students had to defend themselves; the pitcher’s mound of a baseball field, with a bat in hand; and one even flipped the virtual world upside down.

“Everyone had a great time and showed off their talent and creativity,” said Lubomir Ivanov, Ph.D., Iona University computer science professor. “Iona students majoring in computer science with a concentration in game development are at the forefront of a new wave of technological innovation that promises to transform our lives and careers. They’ve accomplished so much and it’s only the middle of the semester – the best is yet to come.”