If you want to get into game design these days, its a bit more complex than developing games in your basement. Many schools have instituted formal programs on the subject, and the Princeton Review has come up with the top eight game design schools, based on a survey of 50 college programs.

The 50 schools all have some sort of program in place, but the Review, which has been ranking schools based on major, financial aid and features since 1981, narrowed the list to the eight best. Those are:

AMD is focusing on school children in Malaysia as part of their education initiative "Changing the Game". It will be the first time the initiative has ventured outside of the U.S.

The technology company has co-sponsored a digital game development and design workshop which was held at the Malaysian Cybergames Festival in Perak, Malaysia. AMD also hosted a "Dare to Create" workshop and seminar that will engage and teach students how to design and develop digital games by encouraging innovation and creativity.

From the AMD website:

"AMD Changing the Game is designed to take gaming beyond entertainment and inspire youth to learn critical education and life skills by equipping them to create digital games with social content. The program's purpose is to promote the use of youth game development as a tool to inspire learning and improve science, technology, education and math (STEM) skills."

 

Via The Inquirer and AMD

Image MaximumPC

An Arizona State University professor known for pushing games as learning tools is encouraging parents to change their negative mindset about games and embrace them as learning tools.

James Paul Gee made a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science symosium, where he discussed the topic of "First Person Solvers? Learning Mathematics in a Video Game:"

This half-day symposium will look at the current situation from four perspectives: the cognitive science issues of learning mathematics in a video game, the curriculum issues for K-12 education, the curriculum issues for university education, and the challenges involved in designing and building a video game for mathematics learning.

During the presentation, Gee pointed out a juxtaposition of how games teach and classrooms teach, according to an article at oneindia:

He said: "We tend to teach science, for example, by telling you a lot of stuff and then letting you do science. Games teach the other way. They have you do stuff, and then as you need to know information, they tell it to you."

Games also provide an environment that Gee calls "pleasantly frustrating." They are challenging but doable.

He wrapped up the talk on this note:

Two weeks ago, we stumbled upon a site for parents and families that tried to wade through some of the misinformation about games available in the press. The site wasn't heavy handed, and tried to offer resources and experts for families to get answers to their gaming questions. It turned out that the GetGameSmart site was run by Microsoft and we caught up with the company's Safer Gaming Advocate Melissa Wilson to find out more about the site:

GameCulture: Explain how the concept for GetGameSmart got started?

Melissa Wilson: Microsoft has an ongoing commitment to gaming safety starting with built-in Family Settings in Xbox and Xbox 360. But our commitment goes beyond putting parental controls in our products – we’re also committed to educating parents about these tools and offering resources to help them make decisions about video gaming for their families. Last year, we further expanded our outreach efforts with the launch of www.GetGameSmart.com, bringing this information together in one place and inspiring families to take simple steps toward using video games and media in ways that are safer, healthier and more balanced.

GC: What was involved in deciding the sections and the content that would be provided, particularly the Family Challenge?

MW: GetGameSmart.com offers families a wide variety of resources, with a mix of interactive activities, parental controls set-up guides and insight from leading industry experts. The Family Challenge is a key example of the interactive nature of the site, as it encourages families to engage in simple activities that help them make smarter decisions about what their children play, browse and watch, while encouraging a dialogue between parents and kids through tasks like PACT and the “Do You Know Your Gamer?” Quiz.

More and more colleges and universities are seeing the growing medium of videogames as a viable option for degree courses. Colorado in particular has several schools offering various diplomas that would make graduates good candidates for the industry.

An article in the Denver Post takes a look at the various schools in Colorado offering videogame programs, listing at least six colleges with different angles on the videogame theme. Among them:

• Regis University faculty are proposing a transformation of their single video-game development class into a multicourse minor within computer science. Students will also be encouraged to add "Intro to Electronic Imaging" to their repertoire.
• CU-Colorado Springs has watched its game development major jump from 12 freshmen in 2007 to 25 this year. The fast-growing school created a "bachelor of innovation" degree to cover subjects such as video-game development, intellectual property law and electrical engineering.
• Denver's Kolbe Film School, named after a martyred patron saint of mass communication, will offer an 18-month degree in game creation and animation "that inspire a culture of life."

Many of the schools seem to be starting programs to teach students basic concepts and not pushing high-technology applications:

You hear a lot of stories these days about how games are bad for kids, ranging from "They are a training ground for killers" to "They are making our kids fat through inactivity." For parents that are confused about all the information out there, in the end you need to make your own decisions and set your own rules for your children.

To that end, Microsoft has a website designed to help educate parents and families about setting limits on game time, ESRB ratings and keeping in touch with your children's gaming. The site also provides access to resources that families may find helpful in making their gaming decisions.

The site offers the Family Challenge, which is basically a competiton among families to get educated about games and communicating with their children. A few of the challenges:

• Download the Parent's Checklist: A useful checklist to keep track of all the digital stuff you own. 
• The PACT: This is a tool to empower you to make smarter choices about what your children play, browse and watch. By signing this PACT, you and your child are making a commitment to each other to stick to the rules. Whenever your child "forgets" the rules or he or she just needs a refresher, this PACT is your personalized guide. Keep it handy in a drawer. Stick it to the fridge or near the TV. How you use it is up to you!
• Learn About Your Parental Control Options: You can keep your kids within safer territory by using parental controls on devices like PCs and video game consoles.
• Understanding GameRatings: ESRB video game ratings and content summaries are the best first step when deciding what's appropriate for your child.

There are several other challenges, all designed to encourage awareness and communication.

One of the great parts about this job is stumbling upon nuggets of discussion not often talked about on other gaming sites. One such cornucopia of information is the various colleges that teach classes on videogames and the blogs posted by students and professors in reference to those classes.

I've pointed out a few in the past, but my latest find comes from Seton Hill (not to be confused with Seton Hall) and the class of Dennis Jerz, who is teaching an online videogame culture class at the university. The class, which began early this month, tracks student participation, gives assignments and encourages discussion among the students via their own university blogs.

The class page led to several student blogs (the class roster shows eight students and Jerz), which then offer individual insight on the topics mentioned in assignments. A few interesting nuggets, this from Susan Charmichael:

Who says videogames can't teach? An episode of Once Upon a Pixel from Destructoid (seen above) teaches kids the alphabet using characters from the Mega Man universe.

The video was created by Ashley Davis, who explains the art behind the video and her long-time desire to do something along these lines. She also tells the story of the one robot that doesn;t necessarily belong:

Yes, there is even a Robot Master for the letter U (Uranus from the Game Boy game Mega Man V), which I didn't find out until after the fact. But I'm kind of glad that was the way things happened. I like Ukelele Man and I still stand by him because he had multiple purposes, one of which was to make sure that viewers were still paying attention. Another was to poke a little fun at some of the more questionable Robot Masters (though I have a theory that Sheep Man was created for this exact purpose).

Ukulele Man's most important purpose, however, was to be a subtle tribute to all of the Robot Masters created by fans. Back in the days of the original NES games, there were a few official contests held where kids could create their own robot masters. The two winners appeared in Mega Man 6: Wind Man and Knight Man. Other entries got to appear in issues of Nintendo Power, but I would imagine there are thousands of other Men who never even got that far. ... Ukulele Man is my (very late) late entry to the contest.

It's a fascinating creation and enjoyable to watch, particularly if you are familiar with the world of Mega Man.

A new school in Manhattan has decided not to fight the fact that kids like videogames. In fact, the school is embracing it.

Quest to Learn, which opened in September with its first class of sixth graders, is a school designed to teach students using videogame-inspired activities almost exclusively. The goal is to keep the kids engaged, something that teachers sometimes fail to do. The school is the first for the Institute of Play, a non-profit endeavor that brings game designers and education experts together to create games for a learning curriculum. The Institute of Play is funded by the MacArthur Foundation and was created three years ago.

According to an article in PopSci:

This year’s 72-student class is split into four groups that rotate through five courses during the day: Codeworlds (math/English), Being, Space and Place (social studies/English), The Way Things Work (math/science), Sports for the Mind (game design), and Wellness (health/PE). Instead of slogging through problem sets, students learn collaboratively in group projects that require an understanding of subjects in the New York State curriculum. The school’s model draws on 30 years of research showing that people learn best when they’re in a social context that puts new knowledge to use. Kids learn more by, say, pretending to be Spartan spies gathering intel on Athens than by memorizing facts about ancient Greece.

The plan is take the first set of sixth graders all the way through high school, and admit a new set of sixth graders every year. The goal is to get students ready for a workplace that is increasingly dependent upon computers, even if the students choose a field not directly related to videogames.

And while the school's curriculum is different, the students are still required to pass all the traditional standardized tests. According to Gregg Betheil, the New York Department of Education driector that helped Quest's application:

“We need new ways to create a passion for learning. The planning has been extremely thoughtful. It seemed like a chance worth taking.”

(Image courtesy of PopSci and Claudio Midolo)

A new Flash-based game is in development in Canada designed to teach "First Nation" youth about their heritage and how their people have gotten to where they are today.

The game, created by Charleton University and funded by Canadian Heritage, is being created as an educational tool to keep the history, culture and teaching of the indiginous Canadian tribes alive, according to a story in Ontario's Sudbury Star. Called The Path of the Elders, the game is already in beta on the official web site. Also on the site are videos and stories about various tribes.

The story talks to John Medicine Horse Kelly, a Charleton University professor who has been instrumental in helping get the game off the ground:

"The idea is to use the Internet to reconnect the chain between the elders, the culture and the youth. [The game] has the same visual appeal and the same challenging elements (as other popular games), but the lessons are cultural."

Kelly said that the suicide rate among Natives aged 15-24 is alarming and that the game may help alleviate that:

"When a young person looks in the mirror in the morning and he has no connection to his elders, to his identity, he sees no reflection. He sees a ghost. What he needs to see is his ancestors, his elders standing behind him making him what he is."

The game is being developed by Canadian firm BlackCherry Digital Media.

Video games as learning tools got a boost on Wednesday when the Canadian Council of Learning released an article concluding that educators should use all media available, including games, to encourage children to learn.

After playing a video game with historical implications, are you prone to run to a book or the Internet to learn more about what you just played? Academics are hoping these historical games will spur people to become more interested in history.

A fascinating article in the New York Times looks at history in video games as a way to spur players to learn more. The American Library Association is so convinced that they have designated Nov. 14 as National Gaming Day at U.S. libraries:

"We have found that by adding board and video game formats to library collections we are providing users with tools to build strong literacy practices while sharpening technical and critical thinking skills," said American Library Association (ALA) President Dr. Camila Alire.

The story goes on to examine such games as Assassin's Creed II, which potrays a young Leonardo da Vinci helping the game's protagonist, and The Saboteur, which follows an special forces operative in World War II. In both cases, the game developers looked extensively at historical records while developing the games. In the case of The Saboteur:

Players step into the boots of Sean Devlin, who was inspired by William Grover-Williams, a half-English/half-French grand prix champion driver for the French Bugatti racing team in the 1930s. Like Grover-Williams, Devlin joins up with the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and is airdropped into France. Unlike the real war hero, who was executed by the Nazis, Devlin - and the player - survives and helps liberate France.

The NYT article cites analyst Michael Pachter as saying that games incorporating history in them have accounted for about 10 percent of overall sales in the past year.

A school in Alhambra, California, has a program that sounds really good. And when you graduate, it should sound even better.

Pinnacle College will begin offering a 16-month program next month that will teach students about audio production in video games. It will be the first accredited degree program in that field, according to the program's director, Eitan Teomi.

According to the school's website, the Audio for Games and Interactive Media (GAIM) program will teach students all aspects of creating and managing sounds for interactive media. The classes will be offered at Pinnacle's Los Angeles campus.

In an explanation for the GAIM curriculum:

Students completing this program will have a comprehensive knowledge of all the disciplines involved in the creation of sound for modern video games. Composed of core GAIM courses as well as general education (G.E.) courses, students completing the program will receive an Occupational Associate Degree, comparable to an AA or AS degree.

Graduates of this program will be well qualified to work in entry-level positions in audio departments for video game developers and publishers throughout the industry, anywhere in the world. Freelance composers and sound designers are also a substantial portion of game industry professionals and they are continually looking for talented people to join their teams as assistants.

An article in the Pasadena Star-News quotes the tuition price at $38,000, and students that enroll before December will get a $3,000 discount.

While a lot of news keep focusing on the bad influence that video games has on our youth and the negative impact on our scoity as a whole, some schools and game developers are looking beyond that and how games can be used to teach and get students more involved in learning.

A story in the New York Times took a look at how more and more academics, foundations and start-up businesses are using games to connect with students and aid their learning in schools or after-school programs.

According to the article:

The difference in many of today’s educational games is that they are online and social, allowing children to interact and collaborate to achieve common goals. Unlike the stand-alone boxed games of the 1980s and 1990s, the newest educational games are set up like services where children can enter a virtual world, try on a character and solve problems that may relate to the real world.

Newer games work concepts of math, science or language into the actual game mechanics, rather than stopping for something that feels to the player like schoolwork, experts say.

The article looks at such programs as Gamestar Mechanic, an educational game developed by E-Line Media and used to help students create games on their own, but with educational implications such as math and science. E-Line Media, headed by a former executive at Activision, will be offering Gamestar Mechanic free when it launches it formally next year, but will require monthly subscriptions to extended versions of the game.

The article offers some insight in how businesses are trying to develop educational games that are interesting to students while helping teachers achieve their goals of getting students ready to pass standardized tests.

(Image courtesy of the New York Times)

A middle-school teacher in North Carolina has embraced the technology of video games and is using them to help students with their language arts and writing skills.

Craig Lawson, a teacher at Cape Fear Middle School in Rocky Point, NC, is a professed "geek" that feels that merging technology and literature will help studentw become better writers, according to a story in the Star News Online. For a current project, Lawson had his students create characters in The Sims 3 on an iPod Touch that were different from themselves and then write create a fictional comic strip from start to climax. The idea was to give students the chance to write from a different perspective.

According to Lawson:

“A lot of times you see negative publicity for video games, that they promote violence and that kind of thing, but that misses their connection to literature. This is a way for students to gain insight into the experience of another person without having to live it themselves, just like we do when we read a book.”

The school picked up on the interactive nature of the games as a way to keep the attention of students, who said that they found the game a great way to learn responsibility and surviving on their own. The program has been so successful that the school is looking to expand the iPod Touch to other classes.

Lawson plans to use Civilization: Revolution in his social studies class next semester:

“My job is to teach literacy, and technical literacy is an important part of that today,” Lawson said. “It’s not just about reading and writing anymore.”

(Photo courtesy of the Star News Online)

The video game Borderlands hit shelves this week to pretty good reviews ... just in time for an exec for developer Gearbox Software to use the game as a case study for several classes at Baylor University.

According to an article in The Lariat Online, Baylor's school paper, Gearbox Vice President Aaron Thibault addressed an assembly of several classes involved in Digital Media at the unversity, including Digital Media Technology and Sight, Sound and Motion. Thibault was there as a favor to friend Cory Carbonara, a professor in digital media and film at the school.

Thibault showed off aspect of game play and walked the students through the concept of the game as well as the goals for the game's look and feel:

"It all started with a high pitch. The pitch was "Diablo" meets "Halo" -- that was it," Thibault said. "We wanted to make [a role playing game] and the shooting work together."

Thibault's presentation went over well, particularly with Leah Smith, the animation and video games liaison for the Texas Film Commission based out of the Texas governor's office. Smith said that the presentation helped accentuate the strong video game ties in Texas, with such studios as id Software, BioWare Austin, NCSoft and Gearbox among the most prominent.

Thibault agreed:

"We are Texans. We aren't afraid of challenges; we go over them," Thibault said. "It's that no holds barred, take no prisoners approach to creating things."

Mention the thought of elementary school children playing video games and many parents would probably raise their eyebrows, decry the sedentary nature of the pursuit and perhaps even question the parenting skills of someone who would let their child play video games at such an early age.

However, a recently launched endeavor called Game Classroom offers online games for children from kindergarten through 6th grade. The official site, which launched on Sept. 10, also provides information for parents and homework help for kids.

The site is the brainchild of several educators and parents who were looking for ways to encourage their children to learn in a fun environment. In response to a query from GameCulture, the site said:

We developed Game Classroom to address needs we witnessed firsthand as parents and teachers. We feel games are a great way to learn key educational concepts and have worked with a team of educators to create online resources to over 500 skills in math and language arts (compliant with state educational standards).

The site also explains that "We scoured the web for the best and most trustworthy games, and conveniently sorted them according to skill, topic and grade level."

You won't find any Halo, Grand Theft Auto or DOOM style games amongst the offerings, so rest easy that the site is trying to put a positive spin on video games as learning tools, while encouraging parents to be involved in the process as well. Sites like these will go a long way toward helping video games gain more acceptance in general than the negativity that seems to pervade mainstream coverage and many educational studies.