Get Your Game On With Video Game Degrees
by Chuck Bednar
Think video games are kids' stuff? Think again! According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA, Washington, D.C.) 50 percent of Americans ages six and older play computer and video games. The average age of game players: 33. And it's not just guys getting into the act, either. The ESA claims that nearly 38 percent of video game fans are women.
Video games aren't just growing as a hobby, though -- they're becoming a serious business as well. According to ESA figures, more than 239 million computer and video games were sold in 2003. Since 1996, in fact, industry sales have more than doubled to $7 billion in 2003, and computer games now outperform movie ticket sales in revenue. More to the point, however, software publishing companies employed an estimated 250,000+ workers in 2002.
That makes now the perfect time for colleges to offer video game degrees in the field of video game design or concentrations within computer animation. Many schools are doing just that, and students are exploring these new and unique educational opportunities.
Game Rule #1: Video Game Degrees Open Doors Derek Warner, a video game art and design specialist who works for Perception PTY Ltd., a development team based in Sydney, Australia, earned his bachelor's degree in video game art and design from the Art Institute of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) in June 2003. Before joining the Perception team as a level designer on "Stargate SG-1" games for Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2, and PC, Derek served as the lead multiplayer designer for Sierra Entertainment prior to Vivendi Universal shutting down the Sierra name.
Derek, who says he decided to explore video game degrees because it was an opportunity to combine his interest in playing games with his love for creating artwork, feels he benefited greatly from his studies.
"The information I learned about level design and game design, along with [studying] the pipeline [in which] games come together and all the different elements of creating a video game, helped me immensely," says the proponent of video game degrees.
His education led directly to the creation of "Copperhead: Retaliation," his final school project. The game is a modification of the popular Microsoft/Gas Powered Games' CD-ROM title "Dungeon Siege." Derek's project was so relevant that it "turned some heads in the industry," and secured him his first job with Sierra. It also garnered coverage in an issue of PC Gamer.
Game Rule #2: Keep Your Options Open Like Derek, University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) junior Jeremy Stieglitz already has a game publishing credit to his name -- a first-person role-playing game called "Journey's End." The 20-year-old is also the project lead for Artificial Studios (Los Angeles, CA), a game technology development company that he and his associates hope to market in the near future.
Unlike Derek, Jeremy has mixed feelings about his university's digital arts and sciences (DAS) bachelor's degree program. "The first two years have been a mixed bag for me," he admits. "I'm more inclined toward the technical aspects of game development than the artistic ones, game design notwithstanding. The DAS, however, weighs heavily on the visual arts, and sometimes [I've] felt that the classes I'm taking [such as History of Art, Drawing, Ceramics, and Sculpture] have no benefit toward my anticipated career."
Why, then, did Jeremy choose the University of Florida program over technology-oriented vocational schools such as FullSail (Winter Park, FL) or DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA), both of which have become immensely popular among those seeking video game degrees?
"The game development industry is such a tricky beast -- I felt a four-year standard bachelor's degree [the DAS is actually classified as an engineering degree] would be the safest bet," says Jeremy. "That way, in case a career programming games doesn't pan out, I'll still have a degree that can be applied to general computer engineering. I'm passionate about video games and the intricate arts and sciences that go into their development, but in this fickle world, I believe it's always best to have a couple of options open."
Game Rule #3: Beware of a "Game-Over" Career Gerardo Garza, a visual development, preproduction, and concept artist currently working on a James Bond-related video game project with Electronic Arts (Redwood City, CA), agrees. He recently earned a bachelor's degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, CA). But, he strongly advises graduating high school seniors and incoming college freshmen to be wary of video game design degrees.
"A lot of people believe there is a 'method' to making video games,"cautions Gerardo. "A lot of schools will teach you things that are standard to the current technologies and techniques available now. You do not want to be a one-trick pony!"
"Programs mean nothing if you only know how to use them," he adds. "Programs get updates. They expire. Imagine if, at some point, video games become obsolete. Then what would you do? All you'd know is video games!"
Gerardo's gaming advice: Keep your study options open beyond video game degrees. "If you want to succeed in your career, don't just study games. Whether it's art or programming or something else, you need to focus on getting an understanding of the basics and foundations of your major."
While the validity and utility of game design degrees may be up for debate at this point, the video game industry has never been as popular or as lucrative as it is now. Will it last?
According to ESA statistics, more than half of today's game players expect to be playing as much or more 10 years from now as they currently do, and the Bureau of Labor forecasts a nearly 69-percent growth in the software publishing industry between two years ago and 2012. That would make it the single fastest growing industry in the country in that time span.
Video games aren't just growing as a hobby, though -- they're becoming a serious business as well. According to ESA figures, more than 239 million computer and video games were sold in 2003. Since 1996, in fact, industry sales have more than doubled to $7 billion in 2003, and computer games now outperform movie ticket sales in revenue. More to the point, however, software publishing companies employed an estimated 250,000+ workers in 2002.
That makes now the perfect time for colleges to offer video game degrees in the field of video game design or concentrations within computer animation. Many schools are doing just that, and students are exploring these new and unique educational opportunities.
Game Rule #1: Video Game Degrees Open Doors Derek Warner, a video game art and design specialist who works for Perception PTY Ltd., a development team based in Sydney, Australia, earned his bachelor's degree in video game art and design from the Art Institute of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) in June 2003. Before joining the Perception team as a level designer on "Stargate SG-1" games for Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2, and PC, Derek served as the lead multiplayer designer for Sierra Entertainment prior to Vivendi Universal shutting down the Sierra name.
Derek, who says he decided to explore video game degrees because it was an opportunity to combine his interest in playing games with his love for creating artwork, feels he benefited greatly from his studies.
"The information I learned about level design and game design, along with [studying] the pipeline [in which] games come together and all the different elements of creating a video game, helped me immensely," says the proponent of video game degrees.
His education led directly to the creation of "Copperhead: Retaliation," his final school project. The game is a modification of the popular Microsoft/Gas Powered Games' CD-ROM title "Dungeon Siege." Derek's project was so relevant that it "turned some heads in the industry," and secured him his first job with Sierra. It also garnered coverage in an issue of PC Gamer.
Game Rule #2: Keep Your Options Open Like Derek, University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) junior Jeremy Stieglitz already has a game publishing credit to his name -- a first-person role-playing game called "Journey's End." The 20-year-old is also the project lead for Artificial Studios (Los Angeles, CA), a game technology development company that he and his associates hope to market in the near future.
Unlike Derek, Jeremy has mixed feelings about his university's digital arts and sciences (DAS) bachelor's degree program. "The first two years have been a mixed bag for me," he admits. "I'm more inclined toward the technical aspects of game development than the artistic ones, game design notwithstanding. The DAS, however, weighs heavily on the visual arts, and sometimes [I've] felt that the classes I'm taking [such as History of Art, Drawing, Ceramics, and Sculpture] have no benefit toward my anticipated career."
Why, then, did Jeremy choose the University of Florida program over technology-oriented vocational schools such as FullSail (Winter Park, FL) or DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA), both of which have become immensely popular among those seeking video game degrees?
"The game development industry is such a tricky beast -- I felt a four-year standard bachelor's degree [the DAS is actually classified as an engineering degree] would be the safest bet," says Jeremy. "That way, in case a career programming games doesn't pan out, I'll still have a degree that can be applied to general computer engineering. I'm passionate about video games and the intricate arts and sciences that go into their development, but in this fickle world, I believe it's always best to have a couple of options open."
Game Rule #3: Beware of a "Game-Over" Career Gerardo Garza, a visual development, preproduction, and concept artist currently working on a James Bond-related video game project with Electronic Arts (Redwood City, CA), agrees. He recently earned a bachelor's degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, CA). But, he strongly advises graduating high school seniors and incoming college freshmen to be wary of video game design degrees.
"A lot of people believe there is a 'method' to making video games,"cautions Gerardo. "A lot of schools will teach you things that are standard to the current technologies and techniques available now. You do not want to be a one-trick pony!"
"Programs mean nothing if you only know how to use them," he adds. "Programs get updates. They expire. Imagine if, at some point, video games become obsolete. Then what would you do? All you'd know is video games!"
Gerardo's gaming advice: Keep your study options open beyond video game degrees. "If you want to succeed in your career, don't just study games. Whether it's art or programming or something else, you need to focus on getting an understanding of the basics and foundations of your major."
While the validity and utility of game design degrees may be up for debate at this point, the video game industry has never been as popular or as lucrative as it is now. Will it last?
According to ESA statistics, more than half of today's game players expect to be playing as much or more 10 years from now as they currently do, and the Bureau of Labor forecasts a nearly 69-percent growth in the software publishing industry between two years ago and 2012. That would make it the single fastest growing industry in the country in that time span.
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