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Tony Cuevas, Ph.D. Director The Gameplay Learning Initiative Deputy Director, Research SMU Guildhall April 2011 1

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Page 1: Gameplay learningpr

Tony Cuevas, Ph.D.

Director – The Gameplay Learning Initiative

Deputy Director, Research – SMU Guildhall

April 2011

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About Me: Tony Cuevas

• Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University• 15 years developing Academic Programs and Instructional Systems

Videogame Education

Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience

Opportunities in Videogame Research

Gearbox Collaboration Ideas

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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By the end of the next decade, a billion people will have grown up with video games

More than 30,000 people make their living building games in the U.S., including:

• Programmers

• Artists

• Designers

Games are interdisciplinary – at the intersection of established disciplines in computer science, art, design, psychology, education, etc.

There are more than 500 academic programs (courses, certificates, minors, majors, degrees) related to game design and development in North America

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

• Producers

• Testers/QA

• Audio

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

Degrees

Undergraduate

1. University of Southern California (USC)

2. University of Utah

3. DigiPen Institute of Technology

4. The Art Institute of Vancouver

5. Michigan State University

6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

7. Drexel University

8. Champlain College

9. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

10. Becker College

Graduate

1. USC

2. University of Central Florida

3. SMU Guildhall

4. RIT

5. Drexel University

6. University of Utah

7. UC, Santa Cruz

8. Savannah College of Art and Design

9. Parsons, The New School for Design

10. University of Texas at DallasSource: Princeton Review March 2011

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Videogame Education

Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience

Opportunities in Videogame Research

Gearbox Collaboration Ideas

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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In August 2002, SMU was approached by game industry leaders in Dallas to address a need for formal education to prepare game developers and future leaders

Started with a blank slate based on this game industry partnership

Developed an intense, cohort-based program modeled after the industry (project driven)

Initially offered a graduate certificate with specializations in Art, Design and Programming

In 2005, we developed a new “Master of Interactive Technology” degree in Digital Game Development, offered along with Certificate

In 2011, we added a Production specialization Graduated over 350 students to date with alumni

working in game studios across North America

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Academic Qualifications (Undergraduate Preparation), Aptitude, and Commitment

Coursework

Game Study

Major Minor Special Topics

Just-in-Time Theory and Application

Team Game Production (Three Projects of Increasing Complexity and Team Size)

Work across Disciplines at Pace and in

Style of Industry

Directed Focus Study Projects (Contributing to thesis or project

“in-lieu-of-a-thesis”, and graduate exhibition)

Demonstrate acquired strengths

Art

Creation

Software

Development

Professional Certificate in Digital Game Development

Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development

Level

Design

58%

21%

21%

+ Production

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Partner with game development studios and publishers to define the curriculum and align the program for success

• Focus on core skills important in the industry• Build on your strengths and areas of interest• Address research and development with meaning to the industry

Incorporate project based assignments (including individual and team projects)

• Interdisciplinary teams• Focus on creativity and collaboration• Engage participants in meaningful projects using practical

technologies with realistic timelines

Portfolio development

• Develop and review individual and group portfolio pieces throughout the program

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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Videogame Education

Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience

Opportunities in Videogame Research

Gearbox Collaboration Ideas

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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Research on the design, development and application of videogames is in the early stages relative to traditional fields of study, but the attention to research on games is growing

Research centers are being established as faculty develop research agendas in this area, including:

• North Carolina State Digital Games Research Center

• UC Irvine Center for Computer Games & Virtual Worlds

Students are completing Thesis research as part of their academic programs to contribute to the growing field of study

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Videogame research addresses a variety of areas, including:

• Core technology (processors, memory, graphics, etc.)

• User audiences and experience

• Development and Production approaches

• Platforms (consoles, mobile, PC, etc.)

• Interfaces/controllers

• Multi-player games

• Beyond Entertainment (Serious Games) Gamification (use of gameplay mechanics for non-game

applications – for example, Twitter/foursquare) Games for teaching and learning Games in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Promoting careers in Computer Science

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America’s Army Map Pack• Created AA Special Forces

(Overmatch) map pack

Microsoft Games XNA Project• We worked with the Microsoft Innovation Laboratory to find

ways that Microsoft XNA tools and technology can help to drive improvements in game development academic programs

Master’s Student Thesis Projects• Emotion in animation • Designing meaningful choices• Effects of realistic animal behavior on player immersion• How environments affect mood and perception• Planning AI

©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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SMU Psychology Department –Virtual Reality Education 3D immersive and interactive

scenarios (Half-Life2 mods)

Preparing young women to handle potential dating violence situations

SMU School of Education –Virtual Coaching and Simulations Virtual Coaching environments for

teacher professional development (K-3 Reading Teachers and Coaches)

Simulations to help Teachers identify and address student reading issues more efficiently

©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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Federal grants• DoD (Office of Naval Research, Army Research Labs, etc.)• NSF, NIH, Department of Justice• Department of Education: National Center for Research in

Advanced Information and Digital Technologies

Military R&D projects

Industry research groups and collaborations• Microsoft Research• The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is working with

the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Microsoft Corporation, and the MacArthur Foundation to harness the excitement surrounding computer and video games through a series of STEM-related video game design competitions

Private foundations

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There are a growing number of academic journals dedicated to videogame research, including:

• Games and Culture, A Journal of Interactive Media (print, quarterly)

• International Journal of Computer Games Technology (print)

• International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS, print)

• Simulation & Gaming, An International Journal of Theory, Practice and Research (print)

• Game Studies (online)

• International Journal of Intelligent Games & Simulation (online)

• Computer Game Education Review, teaching game design and development (online)

• Journal of Game Design and Development Education (RIT, online)

• ELUDAMOS, Journal for Computer Game Culture (online)

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There are also a number of international conferences for presenting videogame research, including:

• Game Developer Conference (GDC)

• International Games Innovation Conference

• DiGRA Conference – Think, Design, Play

• SIGGRAPH

• IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG)

• Interactive Technology and Games Conference

• IADIS International Conference on Game and Entertainment Technologies (GET)

• GameON – Simulations and AI in Games Conference (EUROSIS)

• Games, Learning, Society

• Games for Health

• Game based learning

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Videogame Education

Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience

Opportunities in Videogame Research

Gearbox Collaboration Ideas

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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What If: a game education program targeted to Gearbox? Pipeline and Workflow Technology and Tools Commercially relevant development pathways Teams researching and solving design challenges

Gearbox works with many partners; consider cross-department/University/organization collaborations

Think about building capabilities and expertise in emerging and risky development areas that present big opportunities

Design competition (ESA STEM or a targeted competition with Microsoft and/or Sony)

What are faculty and students in Puerto Rico interested in? -- We should let that help drive the discussion!

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©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative