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Education Entertainment Games

EA Starts Gamedev Program 272

Posted by samzenpus from the you-can-major-in-gameboy dept.
mrseigen writes "CNN is reporting that EA has opened a game program at USC. It is the first official game development education. Yeah, right."
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EA Starts Gamedev Program More

EA Starts Gamedev Program

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  • What? Is my Digipen degree chopped liver? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Dancin_Santa ( 265275 ) <DancinSanta@gmail.com> on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:29PM (#11626530) Journal
    Or Braunshweiger, as Oscar Mayer calls it?

    Here's the real question (ready?):

    Should universities be designed for vocational training?

    Discuss.
    • A university (or any *school*) should be a center of learning. If there's demand for a course of study, faculty willing and able to teach it, and resources to support it, I see no problem.

      A university designed for vocational training would a vocational school. USC still offers Classics and Mathematics degrees all the way up to the doctoral level, right?
      • study of interactive entertainment.
        Psychologists have been studying "interactive entertainment" in universities for decades - it just required porn instead of a computer ...

      • Re:What? Is my Digipen degree chopped liver? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by DarkMantle ( 784415 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:52PM (#11626716) Homepage
        I kinda like the way we got it setup here in Canada. If you want an education based in theory, understanding of key concepts and the like then go to University. If you want to learn how to do things, get a basic understanding of the "whys" then go to college. Generally the University people understand more, but can do less.

        (NOTE: This is an honest true story)
        Me and a friend of mine in college made money doing the "practical" assignments for friends from university. They understood the principles of software engineering, but however, could not write a line of code.

        Oddly enough, they're the ones that would run the a software project, but wouldn't know how the developers actually made it work.
        • One of the TAs in my low-level assembly course could not write a line of C or ASM despite having a master's degree in computer science, and TAing the bloody course. Makes you wonder.
          • Indeed!

            I think computer science departments should be run like music departments:
            Every semester, we have juries. You appear in front of a panel of 3-5 professors for 10-15 minutes and demonstrate what you've done this semester. For most, it means playing a piece (composition majors bring what they've written). If you fail, you are placed on probation and have to pay for your own lessons the next semester. If you fail again the next semester, you are dropped from the department.
            Oh, and senior project
            • By that reasoning, the composition majors should have to be able to perform their compositions flawlessly on whatever instruments are necessary.

              Mastery of programming languages shouldn't be a prequisite for studying computer science. Granted, those skills are pretty useful, but rather than testing them directly the curriculum should just encourage their development to give you a leg up when studying computer theory, just as a music comp. major would become pretty handy with a piano while putting together

              • Mastery of programming languages shouldn't be a prequisite for studying computer science.

                Absolutely correct. Otherwise, where would we get our PHBs?
              • By that reasoning, the composition majors should have to be able to perform their compositions flawlessly on whatever instruments are necessary.

                No, I think that composition majors should have to be able to play at least ONE instrument, with moderate skills. Without such skill, they wouldn't have a clue as to limitations of any instruments.

                And this, I believe, is what those "but programming is monkey job" architect-wannabes are missing. As much as I agree that the most important things is understanding

          • Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. - Edsger Dijkstra

        • I kinda like the way we got it setup here in Canada. If you want an education based in theory, understanding of key concepts and the like then go to University. If you want to learn how to do things, get a basic understanding of the "whys" then go to college. Generally the University people understand more, but can do less.

          (NOTE: This is an honest true story)
          Me and a friend of mine in college made money doing the "practical" assignments for friends from university. They understood the principles of softwa
    • Should universities be designed for vocational training?

      Why not? That's why most people go to college. I think it should at least be an option for people not looking for expertise, just a 9-5.
    • Should universities be designed for vocational training?

      No.

      But.....

      No.

      (Disclaimer: While I've done some game development, and am looking into the GBA homebrew scene at the moment, I actually have an English degree. So take my comments with a grain of whatever flavor salt you think appropriate.)

      (Mmmm... cherry salt....)
    • When I got my degree from them it was in "Real-time interactive simulation."
      But, I agree, it is just words.

      Oh, and as far as universities being designed for vocational training. I think universities should focus on the betterment of human knowledge in the arts & sciences. I went to university to gain knowledge, I went to Digipen to get a job.

  • Yeah Right (Score:2, Funny)

    by NetNinja ( 469346 )
    A real job to steal game ideas!

  • How much homework? (Score:5, Funny)

    by psoriac ( 81188 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:29PM (#11626536)
    Do they assign 80 hours of homework a week to students? I mean, they want to make it realistic right?
    • After all. Students are paying to work for them. Not much difference between that and the EA employee benefits.
      • After all. Students are paying to work for them. Not much difference between that and the EA employee benefits.

        Actually, who is to say EA will need any employees when they have fleets of grad students? After all, how is anyone else going to produce a competitive football game with the licence...

        EA is literally taking the ball away and running all the way home with it.

    • Re:How much homework? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Goalie_Ca ( 584234 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:43PM (#11626652)
      Only engineering students get that much. Literally, no joke! Do not mod as funny.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • I agree. I studied engineering at university and when we'd be coming home from the pub around midnight, the architecture building was abuzz with students working on assignments.

      • Actually, a while back I heard that the three worst majors for homework were as follows:

        1. Architecture (also known archi-torture)
        2. Computer Science (debugging is a pain)
        3. Physics

        This may have changed, but from my experience in school (I had roommates in Architecture and Physics and I was in CS), it certainly seemed likely. Of course, we didn't have Java or C# at that point, and Visual Basic was brand new. Programming has been getting increasingly easier with higher level languages and improved debugging t

        • Well, it's not what the 'typical slashdot reader' would think of, but I think most of the 'performance arts' category could wind up in th 80+ hours category(only at schools with good programs in that department, but then again I think that's probably true for CS and physics as well...)

          Why performance arts? Required projects and projects for grade. Rehearsal time adds up. Fast. At my school(which didn't have Architecture), Computer Science was towards the top, but theatre was probably the most time in
    • Do they assign 80 hours of homework a week to students? I mean, they want to make it realistic right?

      The students training to make RPGs get 80 hours, the students training to make action games or platformers get about 20 hours, and the online FPS students seem to never do anything else

    • "Thank you, Mary, you can let in the next one" (Score:5, Funny)

      by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Thursday February 10, 2005 @12:25AM (#11626914) Homepage
      "I've called you here today to talk about your thesis. I know your thesis on identity and translocality in European RPG's 1987 - 1997 is almost finished, but it lacks a certain something. How can I say this? We think it will focus better if we sex it up a bit. Don't give me that look. I'm your thesis advisor and I'm advising you to do what I say or we'll boot your ass out. Throw out what you've done and switch to lascivious female vampires in Terminal Reality developed console games, 2000 - 2004. That's right, throw it out. That's right 2000 to 2004. I don't care what year Bloodrayne shipped, just do it.

      Don't forget, it needs to be done in three more days to be ready for the holiday season, and you can't afford to fail your first submission.

      Stop that. Stop crying. Here, have a tissue. That will be five cents."

  • Talk about taking the fun out of games!

    • Talk about taking the fun out of games!

      Really, next think you know Ben and Jerry will be start a program in Ice Cream development.

      Imagine this conversation in the dorms.
      Pete:"Hey Stan, what's wrong?"
      Stan:"Chunky Monkey, man. Chunky Mother-Fucking Monkey! After this semester, I'm never touching that bullshit again."

      LK
  • We'll teach you that an addiction to No-Doz for our obscenely long crunch times is good. You will receive no medical reimbursement should you fail this assignment, and your grade will fall to an F.

  • doh (Score:2, Insightful)

    by bLindmOnkey ( 744643 )
    If only all those hours of my life that went into Starcraft counted for something

  • First-year subjects include... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:32PM (#11626563)
    Programming From Templates
    Managing Programmers from a Marketing Perspective
    Caffeinated Beverages
    Time Management
    Effective and Ethical Project Management
    Why a Job is More Important than a Life

  • Well.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by modifried ( 605582 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:32PM (#11626564) Homepage
    ... they sure as hell aren't teaching web development. The site looks horrible [uat.edu] in Firefox.
    • Well, the flash animation is kinda on par...

      High School Senior transforms into College Freshman.
    • But you have to admit, that dude morphing into the other dude is pretty cool. I mean, we haven't seen morphing of that callibre since, like, 1992. And to think you'll be able to do stuff like that when you finish your degree.

  • Tough gig (Score:5, Funny)

    by realmolo ( 574068 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:32PM (#11626565)
    Hmmm....a degree program run by Electronic Arts-

    It's a 4-year degree, but you're required to finish the classwork in 6 months. BUT, you can pass with an "F" as long as you filled in every blank on the tests.

  • First? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Bedevere ( 631336 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:33PM (#11626572)
    Cornell has had The Game Design Initiative [cornell.edu] available for a while, although there is no actual major in game design.
    • Although I was not personally involved in it, I had many friends who were. When I left, it was still considered an independent study course, with people taking it multiple times to get farther in their game development. For example, the first semester students would learn how generally game design works and program a simple game, while the second semester students would concentrate on improving their first game or building a better one from scratch. One year, they tried to get artists from the Arts and S

  • Guildhall at SMU (Score:5, Informative)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:34PM (#11626583)


    Apparently they only offer a 'certificate' rather than a university degree, but the Guildhall [smu.edu] at SMU has been running for two and a half years now.

    There may be earlier programs; this is just one that I happen to know of.

  • chair endowed by himself (Score:5, Interesting)

    by KillerCow ( 213458 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:35PM (#11626589)
    Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Electronic Arts (Research), was named the first holder of the Electronic Arts endowed faculty chair at the USC School of Cinema-Television, according to a statement from the company, the biggest video game publisher.

    I love it. The guy endows himself as a faculty chair. Forever putting to rest the notion that University curriculum can't be bought.

    Academic integrity @ USC => zero.

  • Game degree (Score:2, Interesting)

    by iMaple ( 769378 )
    Doesn't this sound too much of a publicity stunt (both for USC and EA sports). I mean I am under the impression that anyone with a reputable CS degree (and interested in games) should be a good hire for any game company.

    And from the student's point of view isnt a 'game degree' a bit to specialized and restrictive. I mean I was really really sue that I wanted to be game developer when I was in hight school but 4 years later I realized that there are many other interesting jobs I could do. Any way thats My

    • Re:Game degree (Score:2, Insightful)

      by radio.cgt ( 582917 )
      From what I know, modern CS degrees aren't as useful, often concentrating on high level program design and construction, whereas games require a lot more low level stuff.
      That's not to say that there are no good CS courses about though.

      That view is based a lot on my my uni and what I know of other uni's courses. I'm studying Games Tech at Abertay where that course is generally noted as one of the most demanding in the whole uni, a magnitude above the CS course. Although that might just suggest that our

      • Re:Game degree (Score:3, Insightful)

        by EEBaum ( 520514 )
        On the other hand, often a person who hasn't one-sidedly specialized in the said field is the best hire. Sure, a game company does need a frightening number of graphics drones lately, but someone with experience in, say, Shakespeare, advanced music theory, German literature, dance, fencing, or biochemistry might be a more worthwhile hire.

        You can train a new hire to do the game stuff, but other interests often make for more well-rounded people who are easier to get along with and communicate better. No
        • Unless, of course, said degree is offered at a four year university that requires a diverse array of general education requirements...I agree with you 100%, but USC is not a trade school. They do try to produce well rounded grads. (but then again, I went there...)
        • I read your post and started checking off the things in that list that I actually have.

          Background in literature and drama/theater (they kept trying to recruit me again for productions when I got to college, but I had no time), I grock music theory though I never got into the advanced stuff (even used to play. I miss that and want to get into it again at some point), studied German (I'm a polyglot though I've lost a lot of it because of disuse. However, aparently I am truly amusing after a few drinks. Ta
        • Sure, a game company does need a frightening number of graphics drones lately, but someone with experience in, say, Shakespeare, advanced music theory, German literature, dance, fencing, or biochemistry might be a more worthwhile hire.

          This English-grad-student geek blesses you, my son!

          That said, I also have to say I think I'm something of a special case. It's a fact that software development requires some specialized knowledge, and while I don't think it's as difficult to pick up as many think, learning

  • Even the submitters don't read the articles anymor (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Brian_Ellenberger ( 308720 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:38PM (#11626609)
    Dang, even the submitters don't read the articles anymore. It claimed to be "first-ever endowed chair at a university for the study of electronic gaming and interactive entertainment" not "the first official game development education". I'm an alumni and there have been game development classes going back years.

    Also, before people start sneering, this degree is in the USC School of Cinema-Television, not the Engineering dept. It has about as much to do with the programming side of gaming as a degree in cinema has to do with the details of the electronics in a movie camera. USC does have some cool Computer Graphics classes in the Engineering dept, however.

    Brian
  • What about the sorta official Nintendo school DigiPen [gamingschools.com]? Nintendo has a pretty close tie to that school and hires from there all the time.
  • Digipen [digipen.edu]

    they've been around for years. no idea if theyre accredited or not, but i know game companies take digipen graduates seriously.

  • Not the first at USC (Score:3, Informative)

    by atrader42 ( 687933 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:43PM (#11626655)
    This isn't actually even the first game design program at USC. I am currently in the track for a video game programming minor from the information technology program, which also offers a minor in video game production and design. The cinema school also runs an interactive technology minor. The head of the Information Technology Program, who is also one of my professors has talked about possibilities in creating a Masters in video game design. The news in this article seems to be just the chair that was endowed. For better information, see USC Information Technology Program [usc.edu].

  • USC job posting: Tech writer wanted... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mobiux ( 118006 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:45PM (#11626667)
    Verbatim from USC gaming computer website.

    Gateway computers
    Pentium IV - Intel 3.0 GHz RAM
    1 GB Video
    Gforce4 5900
    256MB of onboard RAM
    USB 2.0, firewire support, sound blaster compatible
    DVD drive

    Is any self-respecting geek going to go to a place that can't talk about hardware correctly?
    But then again, if you had self respect, the EA attachment would probably stop you cold.
  • Maybe Microsoft will designate some University in Washington as the providers of the only "official" operating system programming education, or something stupid like that?

    Maybe SCO will designate some law school as the only "official" corporate lawsuit education providers?

    I love how, because they are a huge heartless titan in the game world, they have the gall to claim that they're the only ones who can name "official" game dev educational programs.

    I just hope this doesn't start a trend. Furthermor

  • WPI too (Score:4, Informative)

    by ahecht ( 567934 ) on Wednesday February 09, 2005 @11:53PM (#11626722) Homepage
    Worcester Polytechnic Instute offers a B.S. degree in "Interactive Media and Game Development" [wpi.edu]. The program is jointly administered by the Computer Science Department and Humanities and Arts Department, and focuses on both the technical and artistic sides.

  • Quite an old news (Score:3, Informative)

    by Sleeper ( 7713 ) on Thursday February 10, 2005 @12:15AM (#11626868)

    SJ Mercury News reported about this few months back. But you should have seen this paper. The business section had two major stories side by side. One was about new game development education program and corresponding degree at USC. And another story about increasing outourcing of game development jobs abroad.

    Oh the irony.

    • And yet our "game development" programs and electives still seem obsessed with "making pretty graphics." Sure, it's an important segment of programming, and the one you need the most people to do lately. It's also the most easily outsorceable.

      Why it is that a "game development" course most often focuses on DirectX is beyond me. You can learn DirectX from a book if the need arises.

  • Digipen (Score:2, Funny)

    by uzor ( 787499 )
    You know...I think we need to get a few more people in here to mention Digipen.
  • How to make meth so you can stay up all night and work more.
  • Class, your only assignment this semester is a game we shall codename "NBL Gameplay 2006".

    AP story same day
    EA announces layoffs of the entire Madden division. No word yet as to what team will continue devevlopment of the popular series.
  • I am a computer science major at USC, yet I am hearing about this through slashdot?

    Damn you USC. Damn you!
  • What's with the "yeah right" comment? I think /. would be better served by having article submissions stripped of such irrelevent sarcasm. Let the readers decide.
  • My alma mater offered several classes in game development with the goal of offering a variation of the CS major for game development. I imagine there are courses like those at many universities. Is it not "official" education until you can get a degree in the field?

    http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Majors/IMGD/
  • Rochester Institute of Technology has been offering a masters in Game Development since a year before I graduated in May 2003.

    proxy
  • Note, that it's Electronig Arts that's sponsoring a major in game design. Oy.

    I'm thinking, these days, that the modern game development system is antithetical to new game designs, and not just because of management meddling with developers (note that in the CNNmoney article EA's management guy is actually TOUTED as having a hand in almost every game they release).

    I think, however, that the thing most designers need to do these days is experiment.

    That's right, experiment. Miyamoto is well-known for havi

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