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Rensselaer’s Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S.

Rensselaer’s Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S. Katherine Isbister, Ph.D. Associate Professor, LL&C Director, Games Research Lab. A tale of a grass roots degree….

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Rensselaer’s Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S.

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  1. Rensselaer’s Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S. Katherine Isbister, Ph.D. Associate Professor, LL&C Director, Games Research Lab

  2. A tale of a grass roots degree… • The Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S. was an effort that bubbled up from student interest and hard work by faculty. • This is brief overview of how we got where we did, and what we’ve learned so far.

  3. But first, a bit about Rensselaer • Founded in 1824 in what was the 19th century’s Silicon Valley (where the Mohawk River and the Hudson met--site of the Erie Canal). • A small, primarily engineering-focused school (~5000 undergrad, ~2000 grad students) with increasing emphasis placed on humanities, social science, and interdisciplinary skills now essential to engineering success. • A place known for its intelligent, practical, positive-minded graduates.

  4. A tale of a grass roots degree… • Rensselaer already had a history of producing great game developers (Vicarious Visions, Cryptic Studios, and other smaller local game companies such as 1st Playable, plus many alumni in the industry). • Lots of students doing co-ops, internships, and volunteering (at least one C.A. here this year) • Faculty passionate about game design who had begun to create courses (e.g. Game Design, Experimental Game Design, Game Mechanics) to meet student interest in the topic.

  5. A tale of a grass roots degree… • Many students would double-major in EMAC (Electronic Media, Art, and Communication) and Computer Science toward a career in game design and development. • A core group of faculty created a Game Studies minor in 2004 which consisted of game specific courses plus relevant electives. Interestingly, this course set emerged in the School of Humanities and Social Science out of Arts and Cognitive Science.

  6. From minor to major • Student and faculty interest in a game design program steadily increased. • Rensselaer hired two new games-related faculty members who taught games-focused courses. • Others already at Rensselaer began working on games-related issues and research. • The newly enlarged faculty group decided to begin planning a full major in 2004.

  7. From minor to major • A year-long process began, which included… • many committee meetings • student focus groups • feedback from outside reviewers • Iteration and more iteration!

  8. From minor to major • Important feedback we got from students and from industry about what graduates need: • Solid grounding in ‘first job’ skills--programming or art-making or the like. • Interdisciplinary team experience. • A work ethic and flexibility that comes from practice. • A strong portfolio of work and ideally some industry experience under their belt. • A sense of vision for the future that can help drive ongoing achievement and innovation. • Some broad liberal-arts knowledge and thinking that help to make great designers what they are…

  9. The Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S. • Based on all this, the program was designed as a 128-credit major based in H&SS that: • Provides an intensive series of game design and development courses so students build a portfolio and hands-on experience in teams. • Includes a research component to help students develop a longer-term vision of their contribution. • Includes concentrations to provide core skill-set for first jobs. • Allows for easy double-majoring for even more solid core skills grounding. • Encourages internships and co-ops so students graduate with some real-world experience. • Provides a liberal arts education for a broad perspective.

  10. Core courses History and Culture of Games (first year studies) Intro. to Game Design Game Mechanics Designing Interactive Characters Interactive Narrative Experimental Game Design Research Project Year-long Game Development Project Concentrations/dual majors Art Computer Science HCI Management/Entrepreneurship Cognitive Science The Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences B.S.

  11. What We Learned • Build from existing strengths. (For us, engineering emphasis, small nimble interdisciplinary faculty, terrific internal student interest, growing local alumni-based game industry presence). • Listen to students and to industry folks as you shape your program. • Let faculty who know the area help set a vision that prepares students for the future, not just for the present.

  12. A special thanks • To the GSAS working committee:Barb Cutler (CSCE), Marc Destefano (CogSci), Judith Frangos (Media Librarian), Kathy High (Arts), Shawn Lawson (Arts), Mike Lynch (LL&C), Don Moore (H&SS), Ralph Noble (CogSci), Kathleen Ruiz (Arts), James Watt (LL&C) • To our external reviewers:John Buchanan, Ken Perlin, and Jesse Schell • To all the Rensselaer students who contributed their perspective and hard work!

  13. For more information… • http://www.gsas.rpi.edu/ • isbisk@rpi.edu

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