Slashdot Mirror
Majoring in Video Game Design
valdean writes "The New York Times has an article on how video game design is slowly but surely finding its way into mainstream academia. Whereas fewer than a dozen North American universities offered majors in game design five years ago, now that number is more than 100. From the article: 'Traditionalists in both education and the video game industry pooh-pooh the trend, calling it a bald bid by colleges to cash in on a fad. But others believe that video games - which already rival movie tickets in sales - are poised to become one of the dominant media of the new century.' Are video game design majors just slackers, or are they pursuing a lucrative and legitimate career?"
Like any industry, particularly entertainment, there's excellence and there's shit.
Some video games contain the most innovative and brilliant code - think AI and shader routines. Not to mention some of the fantastic artwork, both 2D textures and 3D sculptures.
If people can study film-making at uni, why not game-creation? I'd argue some of the techniques needed for the latter are far more academic.
Argh.
Over the past two years, the local Tech schools (I won't name names) have been coming to us looking for instructors for their new "game design" programs. I like to help out, but as I did I found that their approach to this wasn't realistic... and soon I found out why:
Essentially, for the tech schools, this is sort of a scam. I heard straight from one of the directors... Mom and Dad bring billy to a tech school because they don't want his slacking-ass sucking them dry anymore. He looks at the programs offered... oooow communications... that sounds easy... and dull. Then he sees "game design" and BINGO he's excited, enthusiastic... he envisions making Grand Theft Auto XXII or whatever... mom and dad see their son enthusiastic about school for the first time... and the school tells them about how the game business is a multibillion dollar industry... it's a done deal.
But who's teaching these courses? So far, in this area, they have little to no teachers who can do this stuff. No one who's A) an industry vet and B) who would put up with the academic BS, and C) who has a masters degree (most of the best have no degree at all) and D) willing to do it basically for nothing pay wise. There are people who have A, B and D... and would be invaluable in teaching kids exactly what it takes... but with no masters, no dice.
From what I hear, most of the big tech schools simply had this decision to have a game program handed down from on high (at the corporate level)... "You shall offer this program... ENGAGE!" In some areas, this isn't too hard... in others it's darn near impossible due to a lack of game deveopment company representation. They don't seem too concerned (except for the individuals responsible for starting up the program).
A lot of kids are going to waste time in sub-standard programs until this works itself out.
David Whatley