Serious Help needed: Naming a Video Game Design Course

(hummer) #1

Well, you knew it would happen.

AS you know, I’m a High School Technology teacher. Just this week, I was sent a form for proposing new courses at my high school. So, I was thinking, “Hey, a two semester course on Video Game design would rock!” So, I went ahead with the proposal…

Anyway, I just got it back. Seems to be okay, but my advisor told me the title needs to be changed. Essentially, he said for it to pass “leadership committee (the principal and administrators who review new courses)” the word “game” needed to be stripped of it or they will flip out, and probably not even read my proposal.

So, as it stands, it’s a course to teach students about the game design industry, learn about level design, and make their own levels. As it stands, it’s called “Video Game Design 1 & 2,” although I now realize Level Design 1 & 2 would have been more appropriate.

In any event, I’m asking you to help me come up with some other academic sound titles for this class… try to steer clear of anything “game” sounding, or it probably won’t happen…

This thing has a chance of actually happening… I’d use Radiant and ET for the course, since they’re both free, and an easy sell (no cost to the district). Also, this is good for you if it works out, because I’ll be forced to develop a curriculum for it, which of course, I’ll post online :smiley:

(rgoer) #2

Interactive Media Design

Done and done.

Oh, and by the way, this sounds fucking awesome. I wish I went to whatever cool ass high school this was, or, er, that my high school had been this cool.

(BXpress) #3

hm. yea Interactive Media Design.

or “What can we do with a PC and the GTK radiant?”-course :wink:

hmm… “Level-Design course” would fit :wink:

anyway, what are you teaching else?
and where do you live? give us some infos about you! :smiley:

(blushing_bride) #4

im an old git… is that too old to go to your school

(MuffinMan) #5

Practical use of 3D-Graphics-Engines

3D-Environment Design

Design of Interactive Interfaces -> my favorite :banana:

(Loffy) #6

Hummer, I work as a univ. teacher and sit in work groups that plan and write course descriptions. I know what you are talking about. It all comes down to: passing the gatekeepers! You need to write an application that the committe likes.
I havent written applications for courses in game design. But I have worked on other, non-computer related courses.
It is hard work, to write a good application.

What I do, personally, is surf the web, initially, when I plan a new course. You’d be amazed how many course plans there are out there, on the web. Hopefully there is something similar “out there” to what you are planning.

If I would plan a course in the area that you describe, I’d search for “game design” and “course plan” (or whatever the proper english terms are), and I’m sure I would find something. AND perhaps the key terms “learning”, “pedagogy” or “didactics” (words that educators and project leaders use, especially in professional, formal writings, when they describe what they do).

Here is just one link, to a project called The Virtual Wedding: http://www.eng.umu.se/vw/Default.htm
The Virtual Wedding-course was for third semester univ. students (Department of Modern Languages/English at Umea University, Sweden).
It’s all in english, and even though I havent read it closely, Im sure it contains tons of phrases like “it is important to offer students a chance to work with 3D environments because…” or “in this course, the students will build their own virtual worlds using so called 3D editors, and the overall pedagogical idea behind this approach is…”
// Loffy

(BXpress) #7

its really really strange what people are here O_o
Now i have to say Mr.Loffy and Mr. Hummer :eek2:

(Loffy) #8

The thing I appreciate here, is that the SD developers hang out here. And write stuff. I mean, that in itself is great. Then lots of mappers, that made some of the most known custom rtcw maps, also hang out here. Like Hummer, who made that awesome funmap, I cannot remember the exact name, Kung Fu grip?
// L.

(sock) #9

Wow, did not think you and Loffy were teachers, in fact I’m surprised at the age of a lot of people here. I thought I was in a minority mapping group (30 something’s), especially when it comes to people I know in the industry.

Once you get the go ahead for the course, post back and let me know. I’m not promising anything at the moment but things may change once your course is more official. :wink:

Sock
:moo:

(damocles) #10

I recently finished a degree course entitled Interactive Entertainment Technology. It’s an ok name, but it was misleading. Be sure to spell out the course details in whatever info is published to the students that are deciding what courses to take. My course did next to nothing with regards to the actual entertainment side of things. All they did was teach us how to use common industry software, we never once touched an anything even close to design or entertainment related :frowning: Bastards. Oh well, at least I get to write letters after my name now :smiley: That alone was worth the £16,000 of debt :disgust:

I personally would have given my left nut to attend a course geared towards level/game design, but sadly there aren’t any here. There are only the usual broad based, multi-discipline, non-adapting, out of date crap courses (especially in the UK). I should have done a graphic design course like I was going to instead of trying to follow my dreams…

bastards.

(Grimmy_EFG) #11

Actually there are at least 2… One used to be sponsored by DMA design (now Rockstar) in Scotland and another by Codemasters… Unfortunatley I only realised this into my second year of a Software Engineering degree… After I finished my degree a few years ago now I discovered that even Teesside University (I grew up in Teesside) does Game based design and Multimedia courses now :angry: :banghead: Bastards Indeed!

(Machine for to kill) #12

Hummer I would recommend that you put some high prerequisites for this course. C++ or java programming at least because otherwise people will come in it just to get the credits. Plus they’ll hear video games and that will be another reason for any idiot who doesn’t want to do any work to join. Trust me I graduated high school a few years ago and the memories are still fresh. Even classes that you thought would be professional were filled with clowns (AP computer science for example). If the school lets you I suggest interviewing each kid that applies and make sure that they really want to be there.

I also think it is pointless to try to teach game design without first having some knowledge of OpenGL programming and video hardware. They’ll get to things like texture buffer, and depth buffer and won’t know what the hell is going on. My advice is to teach the first simester the basics of OpenGL and graphics rendering in general, and then the second semester get into level designing.

(damocles) #13

Actually there are at least 2… One used to be sponsored by DMA design (now Rockstar) in Scotland and another by Codemasters… Unfortunatley I only realised this into my second year of a Software Engineering degree… After I finished my degree a few years ago now I discovered that even Teesside University (I grew up in Teesside) does Game based design and Multimedia courses now Bastards Indeed!

That’s precisely why I said to hummer to outline his course in detail. There are actually five universities that have “game design” courses available (or there were 5 when I was looking 3 years ago) - I went to one of them. It’s all bollocks to cash in on people that want to get into the games industry. The only one that actually does the job (or so I’m told) is Salford university (and I was offered a place there, but being a pillock I chose Stafford because I knew someone there). The Salford uni does a course not so much on computer game design, but on general game design. They cover all games, board games, computer games, internet games, etc. They also teach general software use like 3dsmax, photoshop etc. I really should have gone there :frowning: Stafford claims to teach games directed courses, but actually doesn’t. Their blurb even went so far as to say “You will come out well trained in all aspects of new media and the video game entertainment industries”. Did I bollocks. I came out knowing how to use a few more software packages than when I went in.

My advice to anyone looking at these courses is to find out what it really entails before applying. Ask poeple that have been there, or ask a lecturer on an open day. Rest assured, the blurb is a sales pitch that lies through it’s teeth.

<rant>
And my next bit of advice - degree’s aren’t worth shit these days. It used to be a degree would open doors so you could get your foot on the ladder. Not anymore. It may be different in computer science fields, but in art fields such as level design and 3D modelling, a degree means nowt, your portfolio is everything. And even that is not much use if you don’t have experience. The only reliable way into the games industry these days is through being on a successful mod team. And 9 out of 10 mods fold before even half completed, so your odds there are slim too.

The games industry is not only one of the hardest places to get work in, but also one of the worst paid and most overworked. It’s a miracle there are any companies left. I made the decision to move into graphics design a few weeks ago - I have all but given up on getting a games job, and will do game design/development only as a hobby from now on. The games industry is not worth the hassle it gives it’s employees. I think unless something changes, the games industry is a dying breed. In the future, the games will come only from big corporations churning out the same rip-off crap they always do. That’s when game development will go full circle and the bedroom programmers will be the ones making the good games, and we’ll have had 15 years of advancement for nothing.
</rant>

I have such a happy outlook on things don’t I :slight_smile:

(hummer) #14

Well, as it stands, the pre-reqs are parental approval, 3.0 gpa (or instructor approval), and junior and senior standing.

I’m really shooting for a level design class, not a programming class. Essentially, students will learn to use Radiant, and eventually, scripting, shaders, and more advanced topics to build levels for ET.

I got my first proposal back from my advisor, he told be basically to strip any references to “games” “video games” or “levels.” On this draft, I called the class “Interactive Design and Programming 1 & 2” which sounds fairly academic I think. Also, I reference the Quake 3 engine a lot, but call it an “interactive 3-D engine” at times. I’ll post the proposals somewhere once I do a final draft. I just sent in my latest draft to my advisor, so we’ll see what he says.

Essentially, game = interactive environments, level = environment, etc. etc. I hate semantics.

On IRC, iffy and I were shooting ideas back and fourth. I think, regardless of what happens, I’ll probably build a curriculum anyway so new mappers will have something to go from. Iffy’s idea was to make a tutorial set where people build a room, then clone it, build a corridor, connect the rooms make objects to fill the room, etc, etc. Instead of a bunch of “here’s how to do task X” spread all over the web, a nice series of lessons where people get a finshed product at the end and they’re actually building towards something.

(redfella) #15

Hummer: All I can say is that I wish I would have had a class like the one you propose when I went to high school. lol. -Btw, any curriculum title with the word “interactive” or “design” in it will win the gatekeepers over.

Damocles: Yea, I agree. University degrees for this business mean almost nothing. Portfolio and experience is everything.

(blushing_bride) #16

is that true? i know SD are happy to employ cookie munching badgers but what about other companies

(damocles) #17

As someone who spent the last 4 months trying to find work in the games biz, I feel perfectly copnfident in saying that the majority of companies didn’t give a rat’s ass about my degree. All they cared about was my portfolio and any previous experience.

(redfella) #18

I’d also say that online recognition\reputation is pretty important too.

…Alright, I’m done hijacking this thread. :stuck_out_tongue:

(ConchMan) #19

How about “Architectural Design and Simulation with Radiant”.

Maybe substitute Architectural with Structural or Environmental.

That’s actually what is done with Radiant. You design and then simulate an environment.

(hummer) #20

Yeah, degrees really don’t mean a whole lot…

I got my degree in computer science, but honestly, I don’t feel like I’m competent enough to code anything worth using. I learned C, did a few OpenGL projects, but it never got me excited. I had some profs that really killed my love of CS.

During my senior year of college is when Wolf came out, and thats when I got into mapping. I put off my senior project in order to Map edit. I worked my schedule around mapping… I still do :confused: I liked teaching, and it runs in my family, so I went and got my masters in teaching.

Anyway, I looked for work in the game industry as a level designer this summer, in addition to looking for teaching jobs and getting my masters. I applied to all kinds of places and I landed an interview with Graymatter for an entry level position as a level designer. I was one of five people chosen to interview. A quake 3 mapper got the job instead, and I ended up getting a last minute teaching job 40 minutes from where I live.

Keep in mind, I’m not done looking for an LD job yet… thats what summers are for! But, I feel a lot happier now doing something I enjoy, and getting paid (teaching). Some people aren’t that lucky…