It's Game On At Local Colleges
Did you know that you can design your own video game?
You can. All you have to do is go to YoYoGames.com and download the free software called Game Maker. I did, and I was quickly on my way to designing my very own Frogger or Pong.
As someone who grew up on Nintendo and was addicted (I really mean addicted) to Tetris and Super Mario Brothers, the idea that I, with absolutely no programming knowhow, could design a video game is pretty amazing. But I may very well be behind the times with this discovery. In fact, from what I gather, lots of teenagers have been in the game designing business for quite some time.
I learned about Game Maker after a conversation I had with Brandon Langley, who’s a junior at Becker College here in Worcester. Langley, a defensive end for the school’s football team who was sidelined by a wrist injury last year, is a bit of a video game evangelist.
Growth Industry
Langley is one of 80 students enrolled in Becker’s video game design and programming major. While studying video games may seem more like a pastime than a career path, the video game industry is serious business, and it’s growing in Massachusetts. Boston is viewed nationally as a hub for the industry, and there are very real jobs — and tax dollars — attached to it. And its footprint extends into Central Massachusetts: Curt Schilling's video game company, 38 Studios, is based in Maynard.
Langley is hoping to share his passion for gaming, which helped him overcome a learning disability, with local students. You see, Langley has always had trouble reading and has an attention deficit disorder. But it was through video games that he overcame his challenges.
“Video games always drew me in, even when I was little,” he said, explaining that he would devour every word printed in the user manuals for video games. And it was through the story lines of many video games, which are often based on mythology, that he learned about the art of story-telling.
Now, he’s working on setting up video game designing clubs in local schools, with the hope of establishing a contest for teen-aged gamers. And that’s where the aforementioned software Game Maker comes in. With that tool, any student can design his or her own game and perhaps catch the bug that helped Langley get on the way to a college degree.
While still considered a novelty industry, local colleges are taking game design very seriously. Becker isn’t the only video game program in town. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, also offers a video game major. Its program has 174 students enrolled.
Paul Cotnoir, the department chair for the bachelor’s of arts in design program at Becker, says the video game major has steadily grown at the school since it was launched five years ago. And although he’s a little older than the target demographic for most video games, Cotnoir says the principles behind video game creation are much the same as any engineering task.
“The idea of taking a fuzzy kind of problem and applying critical thinking skills, computer skills and design skills to arrive at a final achievement is the same regardless whether you’re making widgets or video games,” he said.
What intrigues me is what this level of design sophistication might mean for the future workforce. Not every video-game-obsessed teen will follow in Langley’s footsteps toward a degree, but they’ll bring a knowledge level and sense of creativity into offices that will surely change how we all do our jobs.
But I’m probably getting too far ahead. For now, Langley’s focused on building his video game club idea and on graduating. He’s not too picky about his future. In fact, he says he’ll work anywhere that will offer him a job. But based on his passion and drive, I suspect Langley will have a few offers to choose from.
A Note About The iPad
You’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard about the launch of Apple’s iPad. Check this column in the next issue for reports from local business people who have made the investment in the device. Hopefully, I’ll have a sense from them on whether it’s a game changer or a simple distraction.
Got news for our Digital Diva column? E-mail Christina H. Davis at cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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