Presentation by Tony Cuevas, Ph.D. Director - The Gameplay Learning Initiative and Deputy Director, Research- SMU Guildhall.

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Tony Cuevas, Ph.D.
Director – The Gameplay Learning Initiative
Deputy Director, Research – SMU Guildhall
April 2011

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 About Me: Tony Cuevas
• Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University
• 15 years developing Academic Programs and Instructional Systems
 Videogame Education
 Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience
 Opportunities in Videogame Research
 Gearbox Collaboration Ideas
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 By the end of the next decade, a billion people will have
grown up with video games
 More than 30,000 people make their living building games
in the U.S., including:
• Programmers • Producers
• Artists • Testers/QA
• Designers • Audio
 Games are interdisciplinary – at the intersection of
established disciplines in computer science, art, design,
psychology, education, etc.
 There are more than 500 academic programs (courses,
certificates, minors, majors, degrees) related to game design
and development in North America ©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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Degrees
 Undergraduate  Graduate
1. University of Southern 1. USC
California (USC) 2. University of Central Florida
2. University of Utah 3. SMU Guildhall
3. DigiPen Institute of Technology 4. RIT
4. The Art Institute of Vancouver 5. Drexel University
5. Michigan State University 6. University of Utah
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute 7. UC, Santa Cruz
7. Drexel University 8. Savannah College of Art and
8. Champlain College Design
9. Rochester Institute of 9. Parsons, The New School for
Technology (RIT) Design
10. Becker College 10. University of Texas at Dallas
Source: Princeton Review March 2011 ©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Videogame Education
 Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience
 Opportunities in Videogame Research
 Gearbox Collaboration Ideas
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 In August 2002, SMU was approached by game industry
leaders in Dallas to address a need for formal education
to prepare game developers and future leaders
 Started with a blank slate based on this game industry
partnership
 Developed an intense, cohort-based program modeled
after the industry (project driven)
 Initially offered a graduate certificate with
specializations in Art, Design and Programming
 In 2005, we developed a new “Master of Interactive
Technology” degree in Digital Game Development,
offered along with Certificate
 In 2011, we added a Production specialization
 Graduated over 350 students to date with alumni
working in game studios across North America
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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Academic Qualifications (Undergraduate
Preparation), Aptitude, and Commitment
Art Level Software + Production
Creation Design Development
Coursework 58%
Just-in-Time
Game Major Minor Special Theory and
Study Topics Application
Work across
Team Game Production 21% Disciplines at
(Three Projects of Increasing Pace and in
Complexity and Team Size) Style of
Industry
Directed Focus Study Projects 21% Demonstrate
(Contributing to thesis or project acquired
“in-lieu-of-a-thesis”, and graduate exhibition) strengths
Professional Master of Interactive
Certificate in Digital Technology in Digital
Game Development Game Development
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Partner with game development studios and publishers to
define the curriculum and align the program for success
• Focus on core skills important in the industry
• Build on your strengths and areas of interest
• Address research and development with meaning to the industry
 Incorporate project based assignments (including
individual and team projects)
• Interdisciplinary teams
• Focus on creativity and collaboration
• Engage participants in meaningful projects using practical
technologies with realistic timelines
 Portfolio development
• Develop and review individual and group portfolio pieces
throughout the program
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Videogame Education
 Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience
 Opportunities in Videogame Research
 Gearbox Collaboration Ideas
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Research on the design, development and application of
videogames is in the early stages relative to traditional
fields of study, but the attention to research on games is
growing
 Research centers are being established as faculty develop
research agendas in this area, including:
• North Carolina State Digital Games Research Center
• UC Irvine Center for Computer Games & Virtual Worlds
 Students are completing Thesis research as part of their
academic programs to contribute to the growing field of
study
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Videogame research addresses a variety of areas,
including:
• Core technology (processors, memory, graphics, etc.)
• User audiences and experience
• Development and Production approaches
• Platforms (consoles, mobile, PC, etc.)
• Interfaces/controllers
• Multi-player games
• Beyond Entertainment (Serious Games)
 Gamification (use of gameplay mechanics for non-game
applications – for example, Twitter/foursquare)
 Games for teaching and learning
 Games in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
 Promoting careers in Computer Science
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

12.  America’s Army Map Pack
• Created AA Special Forces
(Overmatch) map pack
 Microsoft Games XNA Project
• We worked with the Microsoft Innovation Laboratory to find
ways that Microsoft XNA tools and technology can help to drive
improvements in game development academic programs
 Master’s Student Thesis Projects
• Emotion in animation
• Designing meaningful choices
• Effects of realistic animal behavior on player immersion
• How environments affect mood and perception
• Planning AI
12 ©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

13.  SMU Psychology Department –
Virtual Reality Education
 3D immersive and interactive
scenarios (Half-Life2 mods)
 Preparing young women to handle
potential dating violence situations
 SMU School of Education –
Virtual Coaching and Simulations
 Virtual Coaching environments for
teacher professional development
(K-3 Reading Teachers and Coaches)
 Simulations to help Teachers
identify and address student
reading issues more efficiently
13 ©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Federal grants
• DoD (Office of Naval Research, Army Research Labs, etc.)
• NSF, NIH, Department of Justice
• Department of Education: National Center for Research in
Advanced Information and Digital Technologies
 Military R&D projects
 Industry research groups and collaborations
• Microsoft Research
• The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is working with
the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Sony
Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Microsoft Corporation,
and the MacArthur Foundation to harness the excitement
surrounding computer and video games through a series of
STEM-related video game design competitions
 Private foundations ©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 There are a growing number of academic journals
dedicated to videogame research, including:
• Games and Culture, A Journal of Interactive Media (print,
quarterly)
• International Journal of Computer Games Technology (print)
• International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated
Simulations (IJGCMS, print)
• Simulation & Gaming, An International Journal of Theory, Practice
and Research (print)
• Game Studies (online)
• International Journal of Intelligent Games & Simulation (online)
• Computer Game Education Review, teaching game design and
development (online)
• Journal of Game Design and Development Education (RIT, online)
• ELUDAMOS, Journal for Computer Game Culture (online)
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 There are also a number of international conferences for
presenting videogame research, including:
• Game Developer Conference (GDC)
• International Games Innovation Conference
• DiGRA Conference – Think, Design, Play
• SIGGRAPH
• IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG)
• Interactive Technology and Games Conference
• IADIS International Conference on Game and Entertainment
Technologies (GET)
• GameON – Simulations and AI in Games Conference (EUROSIS)
• Games, Learning, Society
• Games for Health
• Game based learning
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 Videogame Education
 Lessons Learned from The SMU Guildhall Experience
 Opportunities in Videogame Research
 Gearbox Collaboration Ideas
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative

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 What If: a game education program targeted to Gearbox?
 Pipeline and Workflow
 Technology and Tools
 Commercially relevant development pathways
 Teams researching and solving design challenges
 Gearbox works with many partners; consider cross-
department/University/organization collaborations
 Think about building capabilities and expertise in emerging
and risky development areas that present big opportunities
 Design competition (ESA STEM or a targeted competition
with Microsoft and/or Sony)
 What are faculty and students in Puerto Rico interested in?
-- We should let that help drive the discussion!
©2011, The Gameplay Learning Initiative