Otis College to Host Lightbox Expo Panel Discussion on Game Design Production and Collaboration

The three-day industry expo and networking event includes Sony Pictures Animation, Lucasfilm, and Walt Disney Animation Studios among its sponsors.

Otis College is participating in the 2026 Lightbox Expo, which runs October 23–25 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Lightbox Expo’s primary mission is to educate and empower, offering hundreds of programs, interviews, hands-on experiences, presentations, demos, and more to help attendees take their art to the next level. Sponsors this year include Procreate, Netflix Animation Studios, and Industrial Light and Magic, among others.

The event attracts professionals from live-action and animated films, games, TV shows, comics and illustrations, providing a space for artists to congregate, network, and share their work with the public. It’s become an annual pilgrimage for the Otis College Game and Entertainment Design program, making the kinds of connections at the Expo that help set the students up to thrive in the entertainment industry. 

In addition to hosting Booth #932 on the Expo floor, the Game and Entertainment Design program will host a panel discussion on Sunday, October 25, 10:15–11:15 am, titled “Game Development and Cross Collaboration,” during which student, alumni, and faculty panelists will discuss game development production at Otis College and how they collaborate with other institutions to create games to bring to market. 

One example is Otis College’s 10-year partnership with USC Games, which has resulted in the courses, The Advanced Games Creative and Advanced Games Projects. As part of this collaboration, students pitch their games and then work on them throughout the summer and spring semesters. Some of the work has premiered at the USC Games Expo. 

“One of the most valuable things our students learn is how to collaborate with people who bring different skills and perspectives to a project,” says Game and Entertainment Design Chair Joffery Black. “Through partnerships like the one we have with USC Games, students gain experience working across disciplines, solving creative challenges, and contributing to projects as part of a team. At LightBox Expo, we’re excited to highlight those experiences and show how collaboration helps prepare students for their creative careers.”

Student, alumni, and faculty panelists include: 

• Jay Bhaumik (Moderator), a senior lecturer in the Animation and Game and Entertainment Design programs at Otis College. He has worked in entertainment, games, attractions, and the tech industry for over 10 years as a designer, developer, researcher, prototyper, fabricator, and manager. 
• Pil Carranza (’26 Game and Entertainment Design), a 2D/3D artist and graphic designer who creates backgrounds and environments for animation and games using a combination of 2D and 3D software.
• Chrystal Hemphill (’24 BFA Game and Entertainment Design), a concept artist with a passion for storytelling through gaming. She bridges the gap between technical game design, story, and digital art to bring concepts to life. 
• Ari Hoffman (’27 Game and Entertainment Design, Creative Writing), an artist, writer, and art director passionate about working with other people to tell immersive stories. They are the Art Director of Baacadia, a collaborative project with USC Games, and they founded the Otis Game Jam. Hoffman is directing their original visual novel, The Journey to Cetus.
• Katie Letourneau (’27 Game and Entertainment Design, Concept Art), a concept designer, producer, and game designer specializing in using concept art, management skills, and games to deliver immersive, emotional stories. She has contributed work and management skills for various USC Game- and Otis College-based game projects and is currently working on developing their own game, Roguish, which will have a demo officially released by summer of 2027. 
• Genesis Otero (’24 BFA Animation), an illustrator that does fashion, characters, toys, and products. Traditionally trained, she mainly does assets and patterns, working with colleagues to get beautiful outcomes. 

More information about Otis College’s Lightbox Expo panel, “Game Development and Cross Collaboration.”

Related News