A hybrid approach to projects in gaming courses

We describe an approach to projects used in game development courses that supports learning individual skills while also developing team skills. Early assignments focus on developing individual skills in coding and content creation, and when those skills are honed, students form teams to work on a larger and more complex game. Classes that use a hybrid approach, that is individual projects that build toward a large group project, allow students to solidly learn game development skills required of gaming graduates and yet stimulate creativity and challenge students to move beyond their comfort zone

From Production to Education: An Analysis of Pipeline Requirements and Practices

Animation, visual effects, and video game studios have to manage complex and highly iterative productions. The processes, tools, and data flow that carry a production from initial idea to finished state is called a ’pipeline.’ Students in academic programs, even ones focused on educating for digital production, often do not have a well- defined pipeline and spend unnecessary time on technical details rather than creative work. Through interviews with industry professionals, analysis of published works on pipeline and digital production, and study of current academic pipelines, this thesis presents general principles for pipelines as well as suggestions for applying these principles in academic environments. Implementing these suggestions could provide a foundation for a robust academic pipeline that lets students spend more time creating and collaborating and prepares them for employment in the digital production industry