At GMU, you can major in computer games

By: Karin Kapsidelis | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: May 18, 2009

All those hours the kids spend playing video games might pay off after all. Virginia college students now can make it their major.

George Mason University will offer the state's first bachelor of fine arts degree in computer-game design this fall.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the GMU degree program in March. Though it's the first in Virginia, other universities offer similar programs, including the University of Florida and Carnegie Mellon University.

The program taps the needs of a growing industry that requires employees with an aptitude for the sciences and the creativity of an artist, said Scott Martin, GMU assistant dean and associate professor for arts management in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

But with a curriculum that draws from computer science as well as visual and digital arts, the major is not just about fun and games.

A senior course is planned, for example, in which students will develop games for nonentertainment purposes such as business management and medical training.

Martin said a huge growth area in the industry is the development of educational programs for teacher training and K-12 curriculums.

The military also uses games that run the gamut from preparing soldiers to go into war to helping them readjust to civilian life.

That's one reason for the high demand for game designers in the Washington area, Martin said.

The area is home to such gaming companies as EA Mythic Inc., developer of the online role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot, and ProGames Network, which distributes Hollywood action-adventure games including "Godzilla -- Monster Mayhem."

Martin has established an advisory board that includes executives from gaming companies to ensure the program curriculum meets the needs of the industry.

Currently, many in the industry have fine-arts backgrounds, "but the technical requirements are very difficult" and they often need retraining, he said. The GMU program will focus on the creative design side while computer science courses will help students "understand what can and cannot be realized with current game engines and physics engines."

Martin, the program's director, expects GMU to have 35 to 40 students enrolled this fall, with about 130 by the third year.

Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or kkapsidelis@timesdispatch.com.