Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
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Class size shrunk from 30
-
40 students to 25.
Guild size shrank from
7 members to 4. Presentation quests required more material to be
covered by each player.
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Class time grew from an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and
fifty minutes, and it was now worth four credits instead of three.
I was afraid I wouldn
6
-
t have enough material to fill the additional
35 minutes! For the first couple of classes, this proved correct. But while
at IU, I often had to push material from one class to the next when
quest presentations went long. I discovered that the extra 35 minutes
eliminated that need, and the class stayed much closer to my original
calendar.
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There is another result of longer classes for four credits.
It means
there are fewer classes available to students. Rensselaer requires a certain
number of classes for a student
'
s major. If they choose to pursue a dual
major, corresponding courses are required. And there is yet another
group of institute-required courses in both math and science and the
humanities and social sciences. This restricts the number of classes that
students can take in their chosen major, and I believe restricts our ability
to give them all the knowledge we could to prepare them for their
careers in any segment of the video game industry.
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This is a balancing act many schools face, and it goes back to my earlier
comments on Level 7 concerning the tug of war in academia between
those who research and those who make. A curriculum becomes an
uneasy compromise between the two that pleases no one completely.
Students at IU entered with a wide range of interests and goals.
Some
were interested in careers in the game industry; others were casually
interested in games; still others knew little about games, but wanted to
learn more. Coursework had to reflect that wide range of interests. A
good question to ask to gauge the level of interest in games was
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“
Who
was Leeroy Jenkins?
�
About half of my
“
Theory and Practice of Game
�
Design
class knew.
Students in GSAS arrive focused on careers in video games, whether
commercial or applied.
In the entire
n
“
Introduction to Game Design
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