Game for an education
Where do video games come from? Or, more precisely, where will the next generation of video game developers come from? Until recently, people broke into the business by knowing someone, by themselves creating a variant of a current game or by becoming an intern at a games company. Such informal methods worked well while the market was in its infancy. Now, however, as the $7bn games software industry prepares for the release of new consoles and handheld devices, video game companies are beginning to form partnerships with universities to produce the next generation of game designers. Some prospective designers are even looking to such courses as preparation for launching their own game businesses.
In March 2004 Electronic Arts, a games publisher and developer, donated $8m to the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television to fund a master's degree programme focused on video games.
“If we don't start today, there will be a lot of kids with great ideas who won't be able to make that next big video game,” says Russell Rueff, executive vice-president of human resources for Electronic Arts.
In December 2004, The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University graduated its first class of students with certificates in digital game development. Starting this autumn, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, part of the University of Central Florida, will begin operations.
In January 2004, Full Sail, an Orlando-based school???, began offering a bachelor's degree in the entertainment business, with a specialism in games. “The students who come here want to open their own company, or be a director or on the board. We offer a business curriculum, but it is integrated, so it's not just marketing or accounting. Everything is tied into the creation of a business plan,” says Jennifer Hill, programme director of the entertainment business bachelor of science degree.
For games companies it is important to ensure a supply of trained people for both managerial and technical work. “To conceive a video game is one thing. We also need people able to put it together,” says Perrin Kaplan, vice-president of marketing and corporate affairs at Nintendo, a games publisher and developer.
The Entertainment Technology Center at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University began offering a Masters degree in Entertainment Technology in 1999, while the Georgia Institute of Technology, which already had a bachelor and master of science degree in gaming, began offering a PhD in information design and technology in 2004.
Such programmes, which offer various levels of academic and vocational content, share the common element of preparing people for the reality of the business of games: long hours, close teamwork and a relentless pressure to produce.
“Most game companies tell me that the first year of an employee's time is not effective because the staff must teach them everything they need to know. The idea of sending people to a place to be battle-hardened is very attractive,” says J. Michael Moshell, director of the digital media programme at the University of Central Florida.
Teachers are keen to emphasise the difficulties of an entrepreneurial route to prospective and incoming students. “We would recommend students take a job with a company as soon as they finish school. If they go into a venture, it's a bit risky,” says Jason Chu, chief operating officer of DigiPen Institute of Technology, a Redmond, Washington-based school affiliated with Nintendo.
Those bold enough to start up a games company require not only technical skills, but business knowhow.
“We go through the various business models, how to deal with profit margins, intellectual property, incorporation, market analysis, how to budget and negotiations. If someone's going to start their own company, these are the sorts of things they'd need to understand,” says Bob McGoldrick, technical certification co-ordinator for the High Technology Institute of Austin Community College in Texas.
Linda Powers, director of human resources for games software company NCsoft, which works closely with Austin Community College, adds: “A lot of companies want people who are only passionate about games. That's good to have, but it needs to be balanced with an understanding of the business and what it means to bring something to market.”
Yet companies may have different expectations of the required skills of games degree graduates. “We don't train people to be worker bees, we are training them to the best of their potential. We train them in getting their ideas made,” says Tracy Fullerton, visiting assistant professor at USC's School of Cinema-Television.
And in a business where sequels, sports and war titles are ubiquitous, new ideas are not always the ones that get made. As Ian Bogost, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, puts it: “Often you go into a game store and it is like going to a movie house and finding that the only movie available was starring Steven Seagal.”
The eventual hope is that, with the help of universities, games can reach the potential so many see in them. “To me, the interactive media [gaming] is going to be the preferred mode of human expression in the 21st century, akin to the book and radio,” says SMU's Dr Peter Raad.
培养下一代游戏高手
视频游戏是从哪里来的？或者更确切地说，下一代视频游戏设计师从哪里来？直到不久以前，人们还是通过熟人进入这一行业，或是自己根据某个现成游戏设计一个新版本，抑或是到一家游戏公司实习。在这一市场尚处于婴儿期时，这些非正式的方法行之有效。
但如今，在价值70亿美元的游戏软件业推出新的控制台和手提装置之际，视频游戏公司正开始与大学联手培养下一代游戏设计师。一些希望成为设计师的人甚至寄望这些课程为创立自己的游戏事业做准备。
游戏专业
2004年3月，游戏发行商及开发商“电子艺术公司”(Electronic Arts)向美国南加州大学(University of Southern California)电影电视学院捐赠了800万美元，用以资助有关视频游戏的硕士课程。
“如果我们今天还不开始，就会有许多富于创意的孩子不能参与开发新一代视频游戏，”“电子艺术公司”负责人力资源的副总裁罗素?鲁弗(Russell Rueff)说。
2004年12月，首批获得数字游戏开发证书的学员在美国南方卫理公会大学(Southern Methodist University)的Guildhall大厅迎来了他们的毕业典礼。美国“中佛罗里达心大学”(University of Central Florida)属下的佛罗里达互动娱乐学院(Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy)将从今年秋季开始开学。
整合的商业课程
2004年1月，位于佛罗里达的技术和娱乐学校Full Sail开设了娱乐业本科课程，其中就有游戏专业。“来这里的学生想要自己开公司，或是成为某家公司的董事，或进入董事会。我们向他们提供商业课程，但这是一个整合的课程，因此不仅仅是营销或财务。每一样东西都和创建商业计划有关，”娱乐业本科学位的教务主任詹尼弗?希尔(Jennifer Hill)说。
对游戏公司来说，确保一批受过培训的人员从事管理和技术工作至关重要。“理解视频游戏是一方面。我们还需要有人能把它整合起来，” Nintendo公司市场兼企业事务副总裁佩兰?卡普兰(Perrin Kaplan) 说。Nintendo是一家游戏发行商及开发商。
美国匹兹堡卡内基?梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University) 的“娱乐技术中心”(The Entertainment Technology Center)于1999年开设了娱乐技术专业的硕士课程，而已经开设了游戏本科专业和硕士课程的乔治亚科技学院(Georgia Institute of Technology)，在2004年又推出信息设计和技术专业的博士课程。
做好踏入游戏业的准备
这些学术层次不同、职业内容各异的课程有一些共同点，即它们都是为人们真正踏入游戏业做准备：长时间的工作、紧密的团队合作和不断的创作压力。
“大多数游戏公司告诉我，雇员第一年的工作成效不高，因为其他员工必须教会他们需要知道的事。因此，把员工送到一个地方、让他们锻炼一番的想法非常具有吸引力，”中佛罗里达大学数字媒体项目教务主任J?迈克尔?摩歇尔(J Michael Moshell)说。
教师则热衷于向在校及希望就读的学生强调创业的艰辛。“我们会建议学生在完成学业后去某个公司工作。自己创业的风险比较大，” DigiPen Institute of Technology的首席运营官Jason Chu说道。这家位于华盛顿州雷德蒙的学院附属于Nintendo公司。
经商之道
那些勇于创办游戏企业的人不仅要有技术能力，还要懂得经商之道。
“我们教授不同的商业模型，怎样处理利润率、知识产权、公司成立、市场分析等问题，以及怎样做预算、怎样谈判。如果有人准备自己开公司，这些都是他们需要明白的东西，”德克萨斯州奥斯丁社区大学高等技术学院(High Technology Institute of Austin Community College)的技术证书协调人鲍勃?麦克格罗区克(Bob McGlodrick)说。
游戏软件公司Ncsoft的人力资源主管琳达?鲍威斯(Linda Powers)补充道：“许多企业想要那些只对游戏有激情的人。这些人固然很好，但企业要有所平衡，它还需要那些懂得经商之道、懂得什么是把产品推向市场的人。”Ncsoft与奥斯丁社区大学有着紧密的合作。
施展创意
然而，企业可能对游戏专业的毕业生需要掌握哪些技能有着不同的看法。“我们不会把人训练成工蜂，我们对他们的培养是要发挥他们最大的潜力。我们训练他们如何实现自己的创意，”美国南加州大学电影电视学院的访问副教授特蕾西?富勒顿(Tracy Fullerton)表示。
在这个续集、运动、战争主题无处不在的行业，新创意并非总能实现。正如乔治亚科技学院的副教授伊恩?博高斯(Ian Bogost) 所说的：“你经常会发现，去游戏商店就像进了一家电影公司，只是所有电影都是史蒂文?西格尔(Steven Seagal)主演的。”
人们最终的希望是，在高校的帮助下，游戏可以发挥许多人看到的潜质。“在我看来，互动媒体游戏将成为21世纪人类偏爱的表达方式，就像书本和广播一样，” 美国南方卫理公会大学的彼得?瑞德(Peter Raad) 博士说。
