In the 1970s and 1980s, the Pentagon, other government agencies, and the relatively fledgling semiconductor industry recognized that America needed trained talent if it hoped to achieve success and even dominance in the semiconductor marketplace. It was critically important, in the mindset of American defense leadership, that America train its own “patriots” to help build the semiconductor industry into the giant it is today. The country’s secrets could not be entrusted to aliens from other nations.
To that end, the semiconductor industry, with a big helping hand from the US Government and the Pentagon, launched a research and education arm that was designed to foster the development of University grant programs that would lead semiconductor research and train graduate students in the field. This was a very successful initiative that has led our country to a leadership position in cutting-edge technology development in chip design and manufacturing.
In the serious computer games arena, we are at a similar crossroads. We have a fair amount of garage- and basement-based designers who are working to build a brand new game or design the next, most awesome raceway scenario. How do we interest this burgeoning talent in serious games? Is it important that we help to convert this talent pool to the serious side of the equation? How is formal education and training built into their experience so that we have properly trained and effective designers ready for the employment ranks of serious games companies?
The good news is that several universities are already building curricula and laboratories that train our next generational talent pool. At the University of Central Florida, the University of Maryland, the Universities of Birmingham City and Coventry in the U.K., and Full Sail for example, programs are in place already, and both undergraduate and graduate students are in the learning phase while they are doing hands-on development of important projects using 3D immersive learning simulations at their core.
Quite a few other universities are designing programs and have a bit more work to do before they start turning out fresh, talented, and capable designers for the serious games arena. There is money to be made by this talent pool, and they are the future of our industry. Equally important, more talent means more opportunity to accelerate the serious games industry, fueling an important economic engine that needs all the resources we can pour into it! We run the risk that demand for serious games cannot be met without a larger pool of talent, and we need to be thinking about strategies that will foster the development of these educational programs at universities large and small!
I’d like to hear from folks at colleges and universities who are engaged in all levels of this important curriculum and learning development.
I’m Serious!
Michael
