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Ubisoft and Quebec to Create GameDev Courses

Posted by Zonk on Mon Feb 14, 2005 09:33 AM
from the gamedev-among-the-maple-leafs dept.
Programming Entertainment Games IT Technology
Ubisoft and the Canadian government are coordinating to create a game development university on the scenic Ubisoft campus, reports Gamespot. Marking continued cooperation between Ubisoft and the Quebecois government, the new 'university' would be in direct competition with EA's similar program set in California. From the article: "Ubisoft Campus students will receive degrees accredited by Québec's Ministry of Education. For undergraduates, each study program will be 45 weeks long, divided into three 15-week terms. The school will also offer master's programs in computer science and software engineering, with added courses in digital imaging and electronics."
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Ubisoft and Quebec to Create GameDev Courses 38 Comments More /

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  • Who is this aimed at? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nos. (179609) <andrew AT thekerrs DOT ca> on Monday February 14 2005, @09:39AM (#11667237) Homepage
    If this is aimed at kids in high school that have little or know technical knowledge, how far is this really going to get them? I mean 45 weeks is not exactly a lot of time to learn coding for performance and reliability. I don't think grads with this "degree" are going to be snatched up the day they graduate by big game producers.

    • Re:Who is this aimed at? (Score:5, Informative)

      by JFMulder (59706) on Monday February 14 2005, @09:51AM (#11667373)
      Actually, they are creating the program with the University of Sherbroke, south of Montreal. It's probably some sort of program where someone takes the normal courses the first year and a half and then the second year and a half you specialize yourself in game programming instead of taking other optional classes like you normally do during you last year.
    • They are offering Masters in Comp Sci. SO I imagine it is for students with Undergrad degrees that want a master specializing in Game programming. If this is in English I would consider taking it. Anyone have a link to the official University website offering the courses?
      • My gut reaction was that it would be in English. It's used worldwide for development (I have worked with German software companies since the 80s, so this isn't just pulled out of thin air). Then I realized: this is Quebec we're talking about. The odds of it being in English suddenly went down :-)
      • The masters will be offered in the Sherbrooke University in Quebec: http://www.usherbrooke.ca/ [usherbrooke.ca]

        I am currently studying in Quebec city in the province of Quebec in Canada and most people have a hard time speaking or understanding english although many of our books are written in english. It is the same situation in Sherbrooke where the Ubisoft campus will be located so it is pretty sure that the courses will be in french.

        reference [radio-canada.ca] in french.
        • where the Ubisoft campus will be located
          sorry, can't edit previous post... the Ubisoft campus will not be located in Sherbrooke, but in Montreal, but the graduate classes will be given in Sherbrooke.
    • Ick. Not to mention all the required math.
      Perhaps they're educating level/graphics designers and modellers.
      45 weeks sounds not so bad then.

      --
      glSokoban [homelinux.org]
    • For Canadians, I know the University of Calgary [ucalgary.ca] has a bog-standard computer science degree with a "game design concentration" that entails taking graphics courses and a few game dev courses.

  • Lets hope... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by boeserjavamann (655642) on Monday February 14 2005, @09:51AM (#11667383) Homepage
    ...for those Students that the boom in video games will continue. right now, big titles make more money then most big hollywood flicks (compare a well-sold ego-shooter to a movie like "pirates of the carribean"), but there once was a time where there was a huge downturn in that industry in the early 80's,
    • The most surprising part about the video game industry is that the publisher pockets more than 50% of the total profit.

      Unlike the film industry where the producer funds almost everything, the publisher kind of just burn CDs and throw in a commercial here and there.

    • Re:I am so applying (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      i dont know, but i know one thing: you can learn french, it wont kill you. We frenchies all learned english out of necessity, you live in a bilingual country, why not oblige?

        • Re:I am so applying (Score:5, Insightful)

          by pkhuong (686673) on Monday February 14 2005, @01:43PM (#11669986) Homepage
          Because learning languages is good for you, French especially, in light of the high proportion of galicisms in English. There must be a reason why private _French-immersion_ schools are popping up all over the country, especially in regions with next to no native francophones. We, Canadians, are lucky enough that native speakers of both languages usually aren't too far, yet people on both sides of the issue find reasons to complain about having to learn more than one language. Your own post gives a good reason: it'll help you save/make money (Imagine that, 70% [yeah, right] of a budget that ultimately only goes to bilingual French-English workers).

          Americans are often described as closed-minded imperialists. Please don't make it true of yourself; study languages, cultures, history, etc... Not because you need to, but because it'll help you get more out of life and become a better person.

          - Second generation immigrant, grew up in a suburb of Québec City, now at U de Montréal, where he frequently finds himself advocating bilingualism to strict francophones.
        • I understand what you are saying...and I somewhat agree....

          Je comprends ce que tu dis et ca fait beaucoup de sens.

          Comment pourrais-tu comprendre le besoin d'être bilingue si ce n'est pas ta langue qui disparaît.

          Toi tu me dis pourquoi apprendre le francais. Et moi je te réponds, pourquoi pas ? Quel mal y a t'il dans l'apprentissage du francais ?

          C'est précisément à cause de gens comme toi que personne n'essaie d'apprendre l'anglais au québec ou d'apprendre le francais da

  • I remember when they done this in Middlesex Uni (Score:5, Interesting)

    by slot32 (815657) on Monday February 14 2005, @10:07AM (#11667564) Homepage
    I remember, back in the early 90's (1993?), Middlesex University (England) done a BSc in Games programming... About 1/2 way through the course, Nintendo and Sega (IIRC) representatives came in, and offered EVERYONE on the course jobs, which they all accepted... The course died, Middlesex Uni didn't bother starting it up again...

  • Are the professors good? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by CrazyJim1 (809850) on Monday February 14 2005, @10:39AM (#11667888) Journal
    I always doubted my math and physics professors in school. But they could come up with arguments to back up their claims. And when they showed me the facts, I accepted their teaching as superior. How can I accept a game design professor's ideas when I disagree fundamentally on what I think is fun?

    • Re:Are the professors good? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by flibuste (523578) on Monday February 14 2005, @10:58AM (#11668099)

      Because it's not about *fun* but *design*.

      The art part and the storyline is not given to a developer to produce you know...You may not even ever see a sprite on your screen while working.

      How can I accept a game design professor's ideas when I disagree fundamentally on what I think is fun?

      Because you say I always doubted my math and physics professors in school and it sounds nothing wil change it. If you cannot trust someone that is your teacher in some field, forget it and learn by yourself. But you will never find anyone to trust you either.

  • This is a joke, right? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Guspaz (556486) on Monday February 14 2005, @10:52AM (#11668030) Homepage
    I'm referring to this line: "scenic Ubisoft campus".

    I've been to Ubisoft's offices in Montreal to apply for a job. They don't have a campus. They only have one floor in a run-down multi-floor building in Old Montreal (Semi-downtown). There IS no campus...

  • URL (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It should be noted that the URL is http://www.ubisoftcampus.com/ [ubisoftcampus.com]

    (it's not in the article)
    --------------- AC's do with with no Karma
  • Going to try and take over the Ubisoft course?
    • Is the EA course Going to try and take over the Ubisoft course?

      No, but EA's course will have a class on buying stocks in rivals companys and how to slowly crush everyone to death.

  • What a scam! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by YGingras (605709) <ygingras@ygingras.net> on Monday February 14 2005, @05:06PM (#11672331) Homepage
    The current government just chopped 103 M$ in the student
    loan program an now they take that money from public education
    and give it to the private sector. Free access to public
    education is in danger here. I fear that the next generation
    will leave many brilliant people to sell burgers because they
    couldn't afford to go to the state sponsored private
    universities.

    : (

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