University Of Alberta Offer New Course on Video Game Development

video game development

The University of Alberta is helping students get their game on by launching a new certificate program in computer game development.

The university says the program gives students from multiple disciplines the technical training and skills they need to collaborate and succeed in the $75 billion video game industry.

Sean Gouglas, director of humanities computing and co-director of the certificate program, says making video games is an inherently interdisciplinary project.

“Look at BioWare,” he said, pointing to the Edmonton-born video game development juggernaut.

“It’s a huge company, but only 20% of its people are programmers. The rest are the soft and squishies–creative writers, fine artists, music composers and so on.”

To test their skills, teams of students are challenged to build a game using BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights engine before taking a capstone course, which lets them choose which development engine best suits the experience and resources at their disposal.

“The courses all focus on one aspect of the game-making project — music, creative writing, artificial intelligence, 3-D modelling and designing fun board games,” said Gouglas.

Only 24 of about 120 applicants are accepted each year. The program will produce 48 graduates annually, and Gouglas hopes they’ll be prepared for video game development at both triple-A and independent studios.

“We love making people BioWare finds attractive, but we also like producing students who are equipped to go start their own game company,” he said.

The Certificate in Computer Game Development is a joint certificate between the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.