The members of Spartasoft hope to bring together computer technicians, musicians, writers, artists and designers. Melding the diverse disciplines, the group plans to create video games.

“There is a lot of math, physics and computer programming that goes into video games, but there is also a lot of art, story-writing and music,” said Mike Brinkman, a mathematics senior.

“It’s not all (computer science) people,” computer science junior Eric Arnold said. “If it’s just a bunch of programmers, there will be a need for all these other things.”

However, the group hasn’t attracted as many people with those skills as it needs.

“Artists and musicians are an integral part of almost any game these days,” Brinkman said. “We’ve put up some flyers around Kresge (Art Center) and the Music Building but haven’t really seen much of a response.”

Spartasoft is Brinkman’s brainchild.

“What I’d like to do is program video games, and I found that there isn’t a lot of resources on how to do it,” he said.

“I started Spartasoft with the idea that it would give me some practical experience in the world of creating computer games. It’s a very competitive job market and hard to get in without any experience.”

In a year or so, video game sales will surpass movie sales, Brinkman said. With that in mind, he wanted to gain some experience - something he said he couldn’t get in class.

“The computer science department at MSU doesn’t really give that type of experience,” he said.

That is where Brinkman got the idea for Spartasoft. His goals are to gain experience while utilizing other resources from students around the university.

“Game programming is really challenging, but it is a lot of fun too,” Brinkman said. “In a way you get to be creative, you get to make your own world. It’s a real rush.”

Spartasoft came together in the spring.

“Right now we’re focused on getting some publicity and just letting people know we exist,” Arnold said.

Meetings can consist of computerized demonstrations on how to create effects such as a car hitting a wall or a person getting shot. Plus, many members mentor those who want more information in a specific area.

One demonstration includes a game in the works, an MSU version of the classic game “Frogger.” This time, Sparty is avoiding bicyclists, cars and a blue M.

Another project the group has been working on is an idea of Arnold’s called “The Dark.” The game is a medieval adventure replete with elves and ogres.

“It’s a cross between role-playing and an action game,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been kicking around for a while. I’d like to see it developed into a full game by people in the group.”

Once it has acquired enough members, Spartasoft’s plan is to break up into small groups that will each work on a different game style.

“Nobody has the same taste in games,” Arnold said. “So that way when someone comes in they’ll have a project they can work on.”

Arnold said many independent games of this type knock around on the Internet but with the group, he thinks Spartasoft can do something better.

“(The games are) usually very basic; a lot of them will suffer in certain areas,” he said. “That’s why we wanted to get the group together so we could build on each other’s strengths.”

Spartasoft meets at 7 p.m. Sundays in B-100 Lab E Wells Hall. For more information, e-mail spartaso@msu.edu or visit www.msu.edu/~spartaso.