Download - Boston IGDA Meeting
Video Game Education in Boston
Prof. Susan GoldIGDA Education Special
Interest Group
The IGDA is a non-profit professional society that is committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.
To create a community resource that will strengthen the academic membership of the IGDA while enhancing the education of future and current game developers.
Mission is to Provide resources for educators
CommunityCurriculum
Last completed 2003 - revamp and analysis currently underway
Wiki & Knowledge BaseAccess to Internship/COOP DatabaseWorking on:
Professional Development for EducatorsSabbatical Programs
My goal - to help facilitate Game
education growth in Boston
No one School in The Boston area has a complete Game
programBut there are Components all
over the Boston Area Map
A complete program would comprise of:
Critical Game StudiesCriticism, Analysis & History
Games & SocietyUnderstanding how games reflect and construct individuals and groups
Game DesignPrinciples and methodologies behind the rules and the play of games
Game ProgrammingAspects of Traditional CS modified to address the technical aspects of gaming
Visual DesignDesigning, Creating and analyzing the Visual Components of games
Audio DesignDesigning and Creating sound and sound environments
Interactive StorytellingTraditional Storytelling and Interactive Narrative
Game ProductionPractical challenges of managing the development of games
Business of GamingEconomic, legal and policy aspects of games
Idea
Opening a dialog of Area schoolsPotentially Develop a Consortium of schools within the Boston area to work collaboratively on game related projects.
Collaboration is key in the development of games and therefore should be a model in the education of the genre
Benefits
A rich cultural & educational opportunityGreater potential funding from both public and private sectorsReduce cost for industry as wellLarger resource of students for collaboration and ideation Collaboration has the greatest power for innovation
Generate New Knowledge
Rapid diffusion of best practices techniques and standardsStimulation of new technological hybridsProvide faster feedback cyclesBecome the “state of the art” in growth and innovation
What are some actions we can take
Create an environment for low-risk experimentation
Keep the science open and the applications proprietary
Consortium - Industry partnershipsCreate Win/Win scenarios
Perhaps this can be found at local game companies - ways to tackle their short R&D timeline issues
Deepen and broaden this collaborative community by opening the consortium to include all universities in the Boston area
Recognize the Power of Openness
Open standardsOpen content initiativesOpen scientific materialsOpen R&D
Create an agreement of non-exclusive IP rights to all partners
Define the boundaries of intellectual contributionsCommercial licensing agreements can be made if the consortium were to build something that is successful
or can take the CMU ETC or MIT Media Lab approach and charge to have the consortium work on a project
Successful Consortium Examples
Five Colleges, Inc.Each Five College department and program are overseen by a faculty committee representing the relevant programs and/or departments of each campus.Not all faculty committees, however, are engaged in running a department, program, or a center: Some work together to carry out a single project such as a course, field study, a concert, or a series of lectures; others share responsibility for a joint appointment or residency. (- from their website)
Five Colleges Ohio
Microelectronics and Computer Technology CorporationWWWThe Open GroupSEMATECHThe Concord Consortium
HIMG
Can Provide the initial framework to the Consortium
Journal/ReviewDevelopment GroupGaming InitiativeColloquium
Purpose: To discover new applications for the potential of video-game and interactive media Technologies