With the proliferation of advanced gaming systems such as Nintendo Switch, which was released earlier this month, universities are expanding and adding game design offerings in response to the growing industry.
In 2006, there were only 272 game design programs in the country. Fast forward 10 years and now more than 420 schools — an astonishing 54.4 percent increase – offer a program in game design, including Maryville University.
“It’s exciting to see gaming education reach these heights,” says Matt Raithel, instructor for Maryville’s BFA in interactive design program, which features a game design concentration. “I do expect it to continue to grow. I recently returned from the Game Developers Conference Education Summit in San Francisco where many schools are sharing techniques to grow the next batch of great game developers. Having a collaborative atmosphere among educators is an important part of continuing that growth.”
Video game design has become a hot industry. In fact, it ranks No. 33 on the list of best jobs in America by CNN Money. Various reasons account for this high ranking, including A grades in the categories of personal satisfaction and low stress. Game design also had a median pay of $81,000 and a top pay of $147,000 as two other reasons for the top-50 ranking. To top it off, CNN Money expects a 10-year job growth of 13 percent in video game design.
“I believe game design will only continue to grow as technology advances,” says Ethan Michalicek, a sophomore at Maryville. “The more we can do with our tech the more possibilities there are, and thus the more there is to design. It's also becoming a more viable industry for startups and individuals as of late, so I believe more people will look toward the program as a possibility, even if they don't want to join a large company upon graduation.”
The demand for game design courses at Maryville has steadily increased since the inception of the concentration during the fall of 2016. To keep up with the popularity, Maryville will offer more courses for the 2017 - 2018 academic year.
“We’ve seen a lot of excitement from students and faculty about the game design concentration,” says Raithel. “The students have organized and launched a gaming club this semester and are working offline with me to explore our new virtual reality equipment so we can make that a meaningful part of future curriculum.”
The interactive design program at Maryville is all encompassing, offering coursework in motion, user experience, web design, interface design and digital storytelling. Game design courses include principles of game design, video game history and video game production. Students also have an opportunity to practice their skills by designing and building their own games.
“There is a lot of creative freedom in Maryville’s program,” says Kess Arnold, a junior studying game design. “We are encouraged to try new things and even to push boundaries with our designs. They have the technology and software to help students design and create working games. The program really pushes the students and encourages originality.”
The University also partners with game developers in the St. Louis region to provide students with relevant internships so they have real-world experience before graduating.
“Many of these internships, like those offered at local game developer Graphite Lab, put students in contributing roles on real production projects which eventually land on the app store,” adds Raithel.
