Majoring in video games

The article at http://www.latimes.com/...">http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gamesschools20-2008oct20,1,1900670... has a sub-title of "Colleges retool their curricula to accommodate students aspiring to enter the field." It also says that it is the second of three parts but a quick glance did not reveal to me a link to the first part, and I don't know when the third part will come out or even if it is already been released.

It is a quite long article that focuses on how colleges are changing to meet this demand. With the general recent success of the video game industry, it is not very surprising that fields like video game design and programming are becoming highly desired by students. Also, it is not just the computer-related fields that are involved:

Quote:... Because making games crosses several disciplines, the diversity of programs that offer such courses is staggering: Fine arts colleges, engineering schools, film schools, music schools and even drama programs are sending graduates into the fast-growing industry.

"Some programs throw a drama guy together with a programming guy to see what they come up with," said Bing Gordon, a venture capitalist and former chief creative officer for industry powerhouse Electronic Arts Inc. "Games is the ultimate interdisciplinary art."

Of course, higher education institutes have taken notice of this demand:

Quote:"Just like everything else, universities are about following the money," said Jessie Schell, who teaches game design at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

Colleges really began to take notice about six years ago, when the game industry's sales started to rival movie box-office receipts, Schell said. Since then, he said, there's been a "great boom" in the number of programs cropping up to train future developers.

To give you an idea of the recent growth:

Quote:When Zyda came to the university in 2005 to organize a games curriculum in the engineering school, the computer science department counted 52 students taking three game development courses. This spring, the department taught 379 students in 18 game development classes. Some of the students come from USC's other departments, such as the School of Cinematic Arts, which created its own game program for graduate students in 2002.

However, as with anything else that is created quickly to fill the demand, the quality is not always that high:

Quote:The surge in interest has led schools to add games to their menu -- but not always to the benefit of its students. Recruiters say they often see "mills" that run around-the-clock sessions to quickly churn out as many students as possible. Other programs teach specific skills but not how games are pulled together.

Despite the high student interest, the working conditions in the field are not always that good:

Quote:Then there are the deadline pressure and the long hours.

"The stress is absolutely phenomenal," Hodgson said. "People sleep on couches and floors. Their desks are littered with snacks, old games and the detritus of half-eaten meals. There's a reason why big game studios have showers, laundromats, beverage carts and gyms on site. It's so you will never leave."

This is only the second of three parts and I don't yet know what is in the other 2 parts. However, one thing that is not mentioned, although I am only disappointed but not surprised, is anything about ethics. I wonder if any of these programs have even part of one course devoted to talking about that. These games will have a significant effect, both good and bad, on many people. Nonetheless, I think that there is little, if any, teaching about the effects of their work, especially that of designers, and in how to maximize the positive aspects while minimizing the negative aspects. IMHO, that is also an important part of their training that should not be neglected.