When the phrases “college kid” and “video games” are used in the same sentence, people usually aren’t referring to a motivated student.
But one local technical college could help change that perception, with a new degree program aimed at turning gamers into workers.
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The New England Institute of Technology this fall will roll out a new field of study called “Game Development and Simulation Programming Technology.” The associate’s degree program looks to prepare students for programming and designing video games and other simulation applications.
Erik van Renselaar, chair of the Warwick-based school’s information technology department, said the program pools design and programming components, teaching students C++, JavaScript and HTML – all, vital components of a successful career in the growing field.
“We combine those, and that’s where our talents are,” van Renselaar said. “We have an existing multimedia department and an existing IT department, so it was a natural fit for us.”
Seth Kurn, executive vice president of New England Tech, said a program such as this one plays to the school’s strengths, while guiding its students into a growing field.
“I don’t want to call it a hybrid, because it’s not an alternative in anyway,” he said. But “the faculty has put together a really interesting and dynamic program.”
Kurn said the institute had been working toward this point for five years. There are about 30 students already enrolled, waiting for classes to start in October, he said, but it’s still too early to tell how many actually will take part in the program.
The three core courses for the degree will have both lab and lecture components. Classes will cover the technical aspects of the industry, as well as conceptual areas, van Renselaar said.
Kurn said the graduates will be finishing with the program in two years, and it would be difficult to predict what the market will look like then, but the field is currently growing. Outside of video game systems, such as Nintendo and Xbox, there is also a demand for designers and programmers for cell phone video games, hand-held devices and Web sites.
Additionally, van Renselaar said, the knowledge gained in the program will be useful outside of the video game industry, with the aviation industry and the military potentially having great use for the training.
“There’s not a pilot these days that flies an airplane without going through a simulator first,” van Renselaar said. “Principles that students learn with this technology can be applied to all types of simulators.”
Kurn added that the school was looking to give program graduates opportunities in areas “other than just the game development field.”
The launching of the program also means more Rhode Island residents will have an opportunity to learn the field without traveling far. In the Ocean State, Web site GameCareerGuide.com lists only the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence as an option for game-development programs. A few others are sprinkled throughout New England, but for the most part, such programs are concentrated in the western part of the country, which is considered the gaming industry’s hub.
Kurn said the number of schools outside the West Coast getting into this field could be a sign of a growing industry. Particularly, he said, there has been interest in cities such as Boston and New York.
“I think that’s it’s reasonable to expect that the game-development industry probably has its center of focus on the West Coast,” Kurn said. “But I think we’re beginning to see … significant changes in that. There seems to be more of an interest in growing that industry on the East Coast as well.”
