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April 23, 2008
National summit to address shortage of game developers
Industry and educators to create programs for critical skills
DALLAS (SMU) — Solving the critical shortage of game developers will be the focus of the first national game education summit, scheduled for June 10-11 at Southern Methodist University.
Keynote speaker Colleen McCreary of Electronic Art will be joined by speakers from major university game programs, video game studios, publishers and technology leaders.
“All you have to do is go to any major game developer’s conference and see what an important issue finding creative talent is for the industry. It’s hard to tell whether it is a technology conference or career event,” says Dr. Peter Raad, executive director of The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate level video game development program.
The purpose of the summit is for educators to hear from industry leaders what skill sets will be required to meet the needs of a $18 billion entertainment sector and a growing serious game industry.
“If you have a game development program, are considering starting one at your school, or you are responsible for recruiting talent for a video game company, this is a conference you need to attend,” Raad says. “Any success we have seen at SMU is dependent upon advice and counsel from industry leaders. After hearing from the industry experts, leading education game development programs will discuss what works, what doesn’t, and their plans for the future.”
“When we ask game studios and serious game companies what is the most important thing we could do at SMU to help them most, their answer is always to graduate more students, “Raad adds. “It’s time that video game development for entertainment and serious games move from courses and programs at colleges and universities to a new academic discipline … a discipline that meets the needs of the industry that created it.”
Sessions will cover topics such as teaching methodologies, starting a game development program, core curriculum topics, research collaboration and increasing diversity. Speakers from Activision, Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon, Electronic Arts, Dell, Duke, Emergent Game Technologies, Full Sail, Gearbox Software, High Voltage Software, Indiana University, Microsoft, SONY, THQ, University of Central Florida, University of Wisconsin, and USC will ensure a lively and informative event.
One unique session will be the Perfect Candidate panel. Studio heads and hiring managers will discuss what they need the newly-minted artist, level designer, production professional and software developer to know in order to succeed.
The Game Education Summit is a GamePath Event. Registration for the event is priced at $245 until May 15th – a $100 discount. Visit www.gameeducationsummit.com for more information. GamePath LLC is an Austin, Texas-based independent conference and trade show production company which also organizes the Independent Game Conference series.
For additional information, contact Conference Director Mark Chuberka at mark@gamepathevents.com and 512-241-0269. For media inquiries, contact Doug Mealy, Online Marketing and Public Relations, at dmealy@om-pr.com.
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