We are Game Design and Art Collaboration (GDA)! Founded in January 2015 by a small group of UC Santa Cruz students, our mission is to promote the collaborative work of artists, musicians, programmers, and game designers, with an emphasis on networking and skill-sharing. That involves a few programs:
Mock Studio: Students pitch and then develop game(s) that we work on as a community. The Mock Studio is great for learning about the process and production of game-making from start to finish. As a nice bonus, students who work on these games have something to add to their resume at the end of the school year!
Workshops: We run a variety of workshops and game jams, separate from Mock Studio, to build game development skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does GDA do?
A lot! We make one game every year, pitched by student volunteers in the Fall. We also run weekly workshops for aspiring game developers (covering topics like audio, narrative, game design, etc), and host game jams. Overall, we do things that give students opportunities to get game-making experience, learn game development disciplines, and find friends who also enjoy games.
How do I join/become a member?
You just have to be a UCSC student and join our Discord community. There you will find out about any upcoming events, and meet fellow game devs!
Discord invite: https://discord.com/invite/gNkQJm5X6P
When does GDA meet?
Our weekly meetings are always on Fridays from 6-8 pm, either in-person at DARC 308 or online through Zoom. We will always announce the topic and location of our general meetings on our Discord beforehand.
We also have weekly department meeting times that can be found in this Google Calendar! https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/2?cid=MWZ1b2IwcG43dDRjMzYxNTVmZzI3cGs3MG9AZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ
I have more questions!
Please post any other questions in the #general-chat in the GDA Discord server, or private message anyone with the ‘Admin’ or ‘Officer’ roles on there and they will be happy to help!
2024-25 GDA Officers
GDA’s officers work through the year (yes, even when school isn’t in session) to keep the lights on for new and returning members. Our team this year:
Jonah Ryan (he/him)
President
Ivy Dudzik (she/her)
Vice President, Mock Studio Coordinator
Dylan Mahler (any/all)
Logistics Officer
Garrett Blake (he/him)
Chief Operating Officer
Alex Medina (she/her)
Vice President, Design Officer
John Sai (he/him)
Treasurer
Joelle Kaufman (she/her)
Community Manager
Emily Tran (they/them)
Events Coordinator
Kim Wu (she/her)
Webmaster
Savannah Burch
Art Officer
Ethan Yoshino (he/him)
Design Officer
Production Officer
Evan Lake (he/they)
Programming Officer
Gabe Ahrens (he/him)
Sound Officer
Joe Gibson (he/they)
Writing Officer
Juliana Luu (she/her)
Community Manager
Saira Hamid (she/any)
Outreach Officer
Sammy Chang (she/they)
Shadow Officer
Mandy Xie (she/they)
Art Officer
Ronan Tsoi (he/him)
Production Officer
Jared Nussbaum (he/him)
Programming Officer
Sam Spivey (he/they)
Sound Officer
Parker Ehlers (he/him)
Writing Officer
Previous Officers
Alyssa: 2014-17 President
Andrew Dunne: 2020-22 Vice President, 2020-23 Art Officer, 2022-23 Writing Officer
Annalivia Martin Straw: 2022-23 Vice President/Outreach Officer
Annie Zhang: 2021-23 Art Officer, 2022-23 Vice President
Athena Patronas: 2023-24 Art Officer
Aubrey Issacman: 2017-18 Outreach
Autumn Moulios: 2021-23 Sound Officer
Calex Raffield: 2022-23 Programming Officer
Cameron Beattie: 2021-22 Design Officer
Celine Lafosse: 2023-24 Writing Officer
Charles Miller: 2019-20 Production Lead/Archivist/Outreach Coordinator
Christopher Paz: 2017-18 Outreach
Dallas Truong: 2020-21 Production Officer/Outreach Coordinator/Event Coordinator
Daniel C: Webmaster
Edmond Le: 2017-18 Treasurer
Enrico Widodo: 2020-21 Sound Officer
Eric Long: 2020-21 Production Officer/Outreach Coordinator/Event Coordinator, 2021-22 President
Eric Mitchell: 2018-19 Archivist/Webmaster
Fernando Zamora: 2017-18 Sound Lead
Gian Paredes: 2017-18 Outreach, 2018-19 Art Lead/Treasurer
Gigi Bachtel: 2019-20 Design Lead
Gloria Chim: 2023-24 Vice President/Art Officer
Herman Wu: 2020-21 Art Officer
Holly Cheng: 2019-21 Art Lead/Officer
Ian Rapoport: 2017-18 Event Coordinator
Jane Grantham: 2023-24 Vice President/Production Officer, 2022-23 Mock Studio Coordinator
Jessica Yoon: 2023-24 Design Officer
Jeven Zarate-McCoy: 2019-20 Vice President/Writing Lead, 2020-21 President/Writing Officer
Jon Alancantara: 2017-18 Archivist
Joshua Augenstein: 2021-22 Programming Officer
Justin Hammer: 2019-21 Treasurer, 2020-21 Archivist
Kyle Oppenheim: 2017-18 Vice President
Liam Dugard: 2017-18 Event Coordinator, 2018-19 President
Linda Nguyen: 2017-18 Art Lead
Madeleine Glenn: 2018-21 Sound Lead/Officer
Molly Thompson: 2020-22 Writing Officer
Muhammad Al-Suwaidi: 2018-19 Art Lead
Naman Bushan: 2021-22 Logistics Officer/Treasurer
Neo Zhang: 2022-23 Design Officer
Nicholas Ho: 2017-18 Event Coordinator
Nicholas Schetman: 2023-24 Treasurer
Nicole Maines: 2017-18 President
Nik Thomas: 2021-23 Design Officer
Niko Sanchez: 2020-21 Design Officer/Community Manager
Parmpreet Gill: 2021-23 Sound Officer, 2022-23 Vice President
Ricky Chavez: 2020-21 Design Officer
Robert Newlin: 2021-22 Mock Studio Coordinator, 2022-23 President
Rohan Venkatapuram: 2023-24 Webmaster
Ryan McCarty: 2022-23 Writing Officer
Ryoma Marta-Sugawara: 2020-21 Webmaster, 2021-22 Vice President/Production Officer
Seiji Emery: 2019-20 Programming Lead
Seren Becker: 2023-24 Writing Officer
Sophie Martin: 2022-23 Community Manager
Stevie Rodriguez: 2020-22 Writing Officer
Tatiana Lucero: 2023-24 Mock Studio Coordinator
Thomas Applewhite: 2019-20 Webmaster, 2020-21 Programming Officer
Tiana Chamsi: 2023-24 President
Tori Moore: 2023-24 Design Officer
Tyler Knowlton: 2023-24 Chief Operating Officer
Valentino Abate: 2018-19 Vice President, 2019-20 President/Programming Lead
Vinh Ta: 2023-24 Sound Officer
Zane Gregorian: 2017 Sound Lead
Zoey Laytart: 2021-23 Production Officer