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Community Spotlight - School's In Remember when you were a kid and your parents would make you stop playing videogames and do your homework? The parents of some of our student Xbox LIVE Indie Game developers might be surprised and happy to know that programs specializing in video game design and development are gaining popularity around the world! We got in touch with a few Premium Creators who've developed Xbox LIVE Indie Games, and are currently, or have previously attended such programs, to learn a bit more about them and their experience. Machiavelli’s Ascent (University of Washington – Seattle, WA) The Creators of Machiavelli's Ascent, Matthew Kaplan and Soufi Souaiaia, both currently attend the University of Washington's Digital Arts and Experimental Media program. They met at school in a class where they were tasked with creating a game for children with autism. "We both learned a lot from the Games for Autism class," said Kaplan. "That class was unique in that the nature of the game was very different than anything we had previously aspired to. Never before had we considered our audience so much and experimented with different interface possibilities”. They didn't get to finish that game, but the seed was planted and the partnership began. "The idea was to make a game with the behaviors of an autistic child in mind so that researchers could observe the children at play,” explained Souaiaia. "Because we only had a quarter-term to work on the game, it was never fully realized, but we learned a lot in the process. The game engine we used was actually built on top of XNA [Game Studio]." The classes they attended inspired and empowered the team to work on their own award-winning platformer, Machiavelli's Ascent. "The quarter before we made Machiavelli’s Ascent, I took a 2D interactive computer graphics course in which I was allowed to use XNA Game Studio for my homework and projects. The game would have taken a lot longer to make if I hadn’t had the practice and familiarity with XNA Game Studio that the class gave me," said Soufi. Kaplan also benefitted from his game design education and believes anyone who wants to make games should learn as much as possible. "There are many different paths to being part of a team that creates games. I've found that studying computer animation has been immensely helpful to learning how to develop games, as has any study of art, be it traditional or digital. I think that if anyone invests themselves in concept art, sculpting, modeling, animation, and truly becomes not only an expert at a set of skills but also develops a strong set of artistic ideas and a willingness to collaborate, then there will be a place for them in the game industry. I think that's one of the cool things about games is how multifaceted their development is. There is a place in game development for artists, composers, programmers, designers, businessmen, and many other roles. What [is] important is that you study something that can contribute to the development of a game and that you are passionate about it and very good at it." Gum Drop Celestial Frontier (Full Sail University - Winter Park, FL) Elbert Perez used his Bachelors Degree of Game Design and Development from Full Sail University in creating Gum Drop Celestial Frontier. Perez says the courses he took covered C++, Data Structures, Windows Programming, Structure of Game Programming, Maya, and 3D programming, and "are the foundation upon which I built my indie passions". However, he says the best take-away from his education wasn't technical. "Attention to detail will make your game shine above the rest," Perez said. "In order to reach that level, you must be willing to dedicate resources to reach that goal." Rocket Riot (Technical University of Eindhoven – Eindhoven, Netherlands) Harald Maassen attended the Technical University of Eindhoven for his Computer Science degree, which helped him understand "the emphasis on elegant design, neat OO programming, division into logical components, clean separation of interface and implementation; all that stuff," Maassen said. "Even as I was breaking the rules left and right, it was a great help knowing about them". Maassen used XNA Game Studio to develop Indie Game Revenge of the Evil Aliens, and that title helped him get his current job as a game developer with CodeGlue, where he worked on Xbox LIVE Arcade title Rocket Riot! "A degree and a portfolio are two great assets to have," Maassen advises. "[Your] portfolio doesn't have to be very big. When we [Codeglue] get people looking for a job, they seldom have much more to show than maybe a demo where you fly a camera around some terrain with a skybox. If you come in with a real game with menus, levels, gameplay, polish, that's a great hook. If you can then show the code to that game and it’s an elegant, well documented, no-hacks piece of software, you're golden!" From the Teachers We also spoke with Guildhall at SMU Professors Sandy Peterson and Chad Walker. They both teach graduate-level classes in Game Design and Development, a program oriented toward producing skilled entry-level personnel for the game industry. This program gives its students an incredible education, but demands dedication. "Enter the [video game] industry if you are obsessed with games," says Peterson. "Don’t enter the industry if you are only considering it as one of several career choices." Before attending such a course, it is also important to be prepared. "Complete school," directs Walker: "[Study] art, math, play less video games, push for more interaction among peers, and enjoy the world around you first. The best games come from what you experience in the real world, not the latest game you just played. Be sure to explore and be adventurous throughout the real world." PAX Education Panel This year at the Penny Arcade Expo, we invited several experts to discuss this topic for a panel called "Breaking into the Game Industry the Educated Way". The panelists included Denise Novosel (moderator), Staffing Manager IEB and E&D at Microsoft; Kim Swift, Game Designer at Valve Software; Kelvin Sung, Associate Professor Computing and Software Systems at the University of Washington, Bothell; Ron Jenkins, Deputy Director at The Guildhall at SMU; and Joshua Hernandez, Producer at Metamoorephosis and Creator of PercussONE. If you're a student who has made or is making an Xbox LIVE Indie Game or are working with XNA Game Studio, we want to hear from you. Send us a note and tell us about your experience. Email xnakat@microsoft.com with the subject RE: Student Games. |
