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At DePaul University's College of Computing and Digital Media in downtown Chicago, students can relax in the lounge and play some of the biggest, newest video games on huge, high-definition televisions. However, the real fun in this school is happening in the upstairs labs. Here, students are laughing and working furiously on computers not playing games, but making them. Such a sight shows just how far video games have come since the days of Pac-Man and Pong in 1980s bars and arcades. What were once kilobyte-sized files with blocky graphics have become massive productions on par with the latest blockbuster movies in terms of budgets. In the past all one needed to make most games was a basement and a friend who could program. Today though, it's a little less simple to get into one of the most expanding and profitable sectors of the entertainment industry. Like with any other serious career, one needs a serious education. A Growing Trend According to the Entertainment Software Association, one of the governing bodies of the video game industry, the number of schools offering video game design programs has been steadily increasing. This past academic year, that number reached 300 in the United States, a 20 percent increase from the year before. Currently, there are only eight states in the union without one of these schools. "Our game design programs officially launched in 2008 and since their inception, interest has grown very rapidly," said Angela Kugler, admissions director at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. DigiPen was recently named the third best undergraduate school for video game design by the Princeton Review. "Our enrollment grew last year about 10 percent over the previous year. I think our enrollment growth is also a product of a lot of new initiatives and not just because we started offering the game design programs." There are more careers in the game industry besides designing that these schools can prepare one for however. Ross Derham, a 19-year-old from Swedesboro, N.J. studying game design at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., hopes to get a job writing scripts for games. Champlain is number eight on the Princeton Review list, and one of its more appealing aspects is the flexibility it offers students like Derham. "They have specifics in the game majors (game design, game art, game programming) whereas in the other schools it is all lumped under one big major. I wanted to specify what I would want to do in the major because I would rather be amazing at one aspect than mediocre at all three." Is It Really Necessary? While the video game industry itself is a relatively recent development, having only been around for about 30 years, schools for game design are even newer. The oldest courses started about a decade ago. Therefore, those who have been in the industry for some time now are unsure of how effective they are. "If you want to break into the industry, get a university education, but it doesn't matter if you go to a '˜Game Design Course.' In fact, I'd probably recommend you don't," said Simon Phipps a veteran, self-taught game programmer and designer. After getting his computer studies degree from Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, England, Phipps has gone on to work for major companies like EA and Eurocom. Instead, Phipps suggests that aspiring designers get degrees in fields related to game design but not exclusively tied to it. "I'd recommend that anyone go and learn coding, web or art and animations skills so they've got transferable skills to another field if you can't get into games," he said. "At the end of the day, the vast majority of people working in the industry are coders and artists. Get a good grounding on that, get a job with a games company and then work your way into becoming a designer." Breaking In When hiring though, studios look for more than just education. Again, like in most other careers, the experience of prospective designers is very important. "Have a strong website that showcases what you are capable of," said Sarah Beck, a representative from WB Games. "Make sure you research trends in the industry and are applying at studios that are making games that are similar to your portfolio. Internships and software knowledge are also very useful." However, proper education is still crucial. "You should have a bachelor's degree of some kind related to the field," said Beck. "Types of degrees can be in many areas since it takes many different skills to design and develop a video game." These days though, with the game industry becoming increasingly niched and fragmented, student designers do not always need to be hired by big studios to get noticed. More and more student-developed games are getting attention, mostly due to the advent of free, online game sharing and the independent games scene. After getting a lot of positive press from game publications and festivals, "Octodad," developed by students at DePaul University, has become a viral hit online. Ronimo Games was formed by Norwegian game design students who had sold the rights to their student game "De Blob" to major publisher THQ. The game's subsequent remake was a hit and Ronimo used the funds to develop another critically-acclaimed game "Swords and Soldiers." The First Generation The newness of game design programs also means they have an exciting, potential future in term of their applications. "Look to the work being done in serious games/edutainment to see the approaches being taken," said James Portnow, CEO of Rainmaker Games and a freelance game design columnist. Portnow thinks it's important to foster the development of better designers in order to make better games because they have so much potential as a medium. "Games can help educate, help us overcome national and international barriers, see past stereotypes," said Portnow. "They can let us explore ideas and challenge our suppositions." We are in a time where the children who grew up playing video games are going to be the ones making them. Going to school for coding or programming is one thing, but the concept of going to school specifically for game design is one whose benefits are still unknown. However, these aspiring designers are eager to uncover this mysterious, unchartered territory. Sources: Angela Kugler- 425-895-4438, akugler@digipen.edu ESA Press Release: http://www.theesa.com/newsroom/release_detail.asp?releaseID=112 James Portnow- jportnow@gmail.com John Murphy- info@octodadgame.com , 708-268-1984 Joost Van Dongen- skype name: joostronimo Ross Derham- darkeningsoul2@yahoo.com Sarah Beck- SBeck@wbgames.com Simon Phipps- s2imonphipps@hotmail.com |
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