Designing Games Education. Exploring The Breadth and Diversity of Game Design Curricula

Transcription

1 Designing Games Education Exploring The Breadth and Diversity of Game Design Curricula

2 Designing Games Education - Introduction - IGDA Curriculum Framework - Understanding Existing Schools - Getting Started - Picking A Goal - The Super Group - Discussion

3 Introduction

4 My Background Assistant Professor of Cinema Practice in the Interactive Media Division of USC s School of Cinematic Arts I teach 4 classes every semester CTIN Game Design Workshop CTIN Digital Game Prototyping CTIN Immersive Game Design CTIN 594a - Graduate Thesis Production CTIN Special Topics - Level Design I have taught as a professor since Spring 2000 Envisioning the Future and Undergraduate Curriculum Committees Independent Game Designer and Consultant Professional Programmer for 7 Years Associate Producer at Electronic Arts / Pogo.com Master of Entertainment Technology degree from Carnegie Mellon s ETC Lead programmer / prototyper at various companies: Human Code, frog design, Digital Mercenaries

5 My Interest in This Topic - Graduated from the ETC at Carnegie Mellon - Taught at the Masters of Digital Media program in Vancouver, BC - Teach at USC s Interactive Media Division - Each program felt very different - Each program graduated students with different skills

6 Goals for ETC & IMD Entertainment Technology Center Leadership, innovation, and interdisciplinary teamwork Interactive Media Division Designers, scholars and researchers, committed to the advancement of the digital arts How could I quantify this difference?

7 My Premise - Most of the great programs are very different - Each has its own unique flavor - We should be able to quantify and understand that flavor - New programs can learn from this - (so, where do we start?)

8 IGDA Curriculum Framework

9 IGDA Curriculum Framework - Created in 2003, Expanded in 2008 (v3.2beta) - Not a Curriculum - Framework that Classifies and Explores Games Education - Designed to: - Be Modular & Flexible - Fit the Goals of Any Program - Help Universities Know What They re Getting Into

10 IGDA Curriculum Framework - Three Overlapping Areas of Study - Game Design Interaction and Interface Design - Game Development Using Tools & Technology to Make Games - Game Studies Studying Games as Cultural Artifacts

11 IGDA-CF Core Topics - Critical Game Studies - Games and Society - Game Design - Game Programming - Visual Design - Audio Design - Interactive Storytelling - Game Production - Business of Gaming - ( Collaboration )

12 Core Educational Topics - Critical Game Studies - Games and Society - Game Design - Game Programming - Visual Design - Audio Design - Interactive Storytelling - Game Production - Business of Gaming - Collaboration - Crit - Sociology - Design - Programming - Visuals - Audio - Writing - Production - Business - Teamwork

13 Understanding Top Programs

14 What Does Top Mean - The Princeton Review & Game Pro Rankings (since 2010) - What is Their Methodology? - Academics Courses, Development Skills, Interdisciplinary Collaboration - Faculty Industry Experience, Quantity, Tenure-Track - Technology Software / Engines, Labs, Libraries - Career Placement, Internships, Industry Visits

15 Princeton Review Rankings Graduate Programs University of Southern California Rochester Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Central Florida Southern Methodist University Carnegie Mellon University Savannah College of Art and Design DigiPen Institute of Technology University of California, Santa Cruz Drexel University Undergraduate Programs University of Southern California Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Utah DigiPen Institute of Technology The Art Institute of Vancouver Rochester Institute of Technology Shawnee State University Savannah College of Art and Design University of New Mexico Becker College

16 Princeton Review Rankings Graduate Programs University of Southern California Rochester Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Central Florida Southern Methodist University Carnegie Mellon University Savannah College of Art and Design DigiPen Institute of Technology University of California, Santa Cruz Drexel University Undergraduate Programs University of Southern California Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Utah DigiPen Institute of Technology The Art Institute of Vancouver Rochester Institute of Technology Shawnee State University Savannah College of Art and Design University of New Mexico Becker College

17 My Methodology - Examine program curricula - Define courses in terms of Educational Topics - Crit, Sociology, Design, Programming, Visuals, Audio, Writing, Production, Business, Teamwork - Create a Topic Profile for each school

18 My Methodology - Define courses in terms of Educational Topics

19 My Methodology - Create a Topic Profile for each school

20 My Methodology - For electives, I just averaged the possible courses

21 My Methodology - This gave me data that I could chart Crt$ Soc$ Des$ Prg$ Vis$ Snd$ Wrt$ Prd$ Bis$ Team$

22 My Methodology - This gave me data that I could chart 0%# 5%# 10%# 15%# 20%# 25%# 30%# Crt# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# Prd# Bis# Team# USC#Interac>ve#Media#MFA#

23 My Methodology - And now I could compare my experiences at USC and CMU 0%# 5%# 10%# 15%# 20%# 25%# 30%# 35%# Crt# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# Prd# Bis# Team# USC#Interac>ve#Media#MFA# CMU#ETC#

24 All Graduate Programs Crt# 0%# 10%# 20%# 30%# 40%# 50%# 60%# 70%# 80%# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# Prd# USC#InteracBve#Media#MFA# CMU#ETC# USC#MS#in#CS#Games# RIT#Game#Design#&#Development#MS# UCSC#CS#Game#Design#MS# MIT#GAMBIT#Lab# DigiPen#MFA# DigiPen#MS#in#Comp#Sci# Bis# Team#

25 All Undergraduate Programs 0%# 10%# 20%# 30%# 40%# 50%# 60%# 70%# Crt# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# USC#InteracAve#Entertainment#BA# USC#BS#in#CS#Games# MIT#GAMBIT#Lab# DigiPen#BA#Game#Design# DigiPen#BS#Game#Design# Prd# Bis# Team#

26 And Here s the Average - Across both graduate and undergraduate programs 0%# 5%# 10%# 15%# 20%# 25%# 30%# 35%# 40%# Crt# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# Prd# Bis# Team# Average#

27 And Here s the Average - Viewed separately 0%# 5%# 10%# 15%# 20%# 25%# 30%# 35%# 40%# Crt# Soc# Des# Prg# Vis# Snd# Wrt# Prd# Bis# Team# Undergrad#Programs# Graduate#Programs#

28 Program vs. Average - IMD MFA vs. Average of All Programs USC&Interac>ve&Media&MFA&!100.0%&!50.0%& 0.0%& 50.0%& 100.0%& 150.0%& Crt& Soc& Des& Prg& Vis& Snd& Wrt& Prd& Bis& Team& USC&Interac>ve&Media&MFA&

29 Program vs. Average - CMU MET vs. Average of All Programs CMU'ETC'!150.0%'!100.0%'!50.0%' 0.0%' 50.0%' 100.0%' 150.0%' 200.0%' 250.0%' 300.0%' 350.0%' 400.0%' Crt' Soc' Des' Prg' Vis' Snd' Wrt' Prd' Bis' Team' CMU'ETC'

30 Many Caveats - I m not a researcher - Not all curricula are represented equally online - This is only a small sample of schools - I looked at the credit hours of each course but not at how often it was taught or how many students enrolled - But...I still think it s interesting!

31 Getting Started

32 Getting Started - Decide on your scale - Mimic a program with a similar profile - But make your own mark - Collaborate with other departments - Visiting faculty can be a huge help

33 Starting Small - Interdisciplinary Capstone Class - Think in terms of an indie game studio - Designer - Developer - Artist - Often one person can cover two of these positions (e.g. Designer/Developer) - Have a clear long-term goal in mind

34 Picking a Goal

35 Picking a Goal - Decide which of these Educational Topics are important to your school - How do you want to be known? - Who do you want on faculty? - What do you want for your students? - Where are you? - What else exists at your school?

36 The Super Group

37 Picking a Super Group

38 Picking a Super Group - You want a team that works well together - And whose skills complement each other - Crit - Sociology - Design - Programming - Visuals - Audio - Writing - Production - Business - Teamwork

39 Picking a Super Group 0.0%$ 2.0%$ 4.0%$ 6.0%$ 8.0%$ 10.0%$ 12.0%$ 14.0%$ 16.0%$ 18.0%$ 20.0%$ Crt$ Soc$ Des$ Prg$ Vis$ Snd$ Wrt$ Prd$ Bis$ Team$ Adam$ Beth$ Charlie$

40 Picking a Super Group 0.0%$ 10.0%$ 20.0%$ 30.0%$ 40.0%$ 50.0%$ 60.0%$ Crt$ Soc$ Des$ Prg$ Vis$ Snd$ Wrt$ Prd$ Bis$ Team$ Adam$ Beth$ Charlie$

41 Picking a Super Group - But you need to think about credit hours / semester - Adam 12 credits - Beth 6 credits - Charlie 3 credits - This changes our chart!

42 Picking a Super Group

43 Discussion Jeremy Gibson Slides at