DEGREES IN VIDEO GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT ON THE RISE
 New research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) indicates that the number of college, university and trade school programs in video game-related fields steadily increased over the past few years. This year, 301 undergraduate and 42 graduate programs
are available to students at institutions of higher learning across the country. These programs, which include a wide range of academic and geographic options, prepare young people for exciting careers in the video game industry.
Programs of various degree levels, such as professional certificates, bachelor's degrees and Ph.D.s, are available to students in 45 states and the District of Columbia. They focus on a variety of topics including digital design, game art, video animation, computer graphics and game development and production. From the University of Hawaii at Manoa, which offers a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Media, to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which offers a Bachelor of Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, students can find cutting-edge educational programs in video game design and development nationwide.
With 54 schools offering game-related programs, California leads all states in the video game design and development educational field. Golden State students can chose between programs such as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Entertainment Art/Animation from California State University - Fullerton; a Bachelor of Science in Game Art and Design from the Art Institute of California – San Francisco; or a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts with a concentration in 3-D Animation from Platt College in San Diego.
Rounding out the top ten states with game-related higher education programs are Texas (24), Illinois (20), Florida (18), New York (15), Minnesota (14), Massachusetts (13), and Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania (10 programs each).
The rising number of video game-related programs offered at these colleges and universities underscores the impact of a burgeoning entertainment software industry on our country's education system and all areas of daily life. It also demonstrates increasing student interest in pursuing degrees that equip them with the skills and tools necessary to compete in the video game industry. With $25.1 billion in 2010 sales, interactive entertainment software companies have a growing demand for highly trained employees, and offer promising career opportunities to graduates of these programs.
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TABLET THERAPY: TOUCHSCREEN GAMES IMPROVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL REHABILITATION
 University researchers and occupational therapists across the nation are utilizing mobile game technology, made popular by widespread play on smartphones and tablets, as a critical therapeutic tool. These professionals are seeing real benefits in the use of touchscreen games for those with both physical and mental disabilities, including children with autism and cerebral palsy.
These disorders greatly impede motor functions and severely restrict social skills. To improve these deficiencies, therapists traditionally rely on repetitive physical exercises and behavioral learning. However, these practices often fall short of successfully equipping affected individuals with basic skills necessary for independent living. Today, academic researchers and software developers are working to create digital games for multi-touch devices that engage patients, and advance communication and physical learning, in a way that traditional methods cannot.
University of Iowa researchers developed several games that enable autistic children to interact with each other and recognize facial expressions. These games include a program requiring children to create stories verbally with their peers, while simultaneously collaborating to draw the stories on a touchscreen, and a program that teaches children how to understand emotions by manipulating an image of a face or cartoon character by dragging their fingers across a touchscreen. Similar multi-touch applications, such as TapSpeak's TapSpeak Choice 2.0 and Xcellent Creations' iConverse, help autistic children communicate to the world. TapSpeak
allows users to record messages, download pictures, or use a text to speech function that supports 20 languages. iConverse functions as a picture exchange communication system, featuring six built-in communication tiles that represent an individual's most basic needs. Using a touchscreen, the icons provide both a visual and auditory representation of each specific need.
Touchscreen games also help patients with cerebral palsy improve motor functions. One such game, developed by researchers at Harvard University and called Catch the Butterflies, requires patients using touchscreen tables to control the position of a virtual butterfly jar by holding a rubber ball against the angled device. Patients practice capturing butterflies that appear on the screen by sliding them into the digital jar with the aid of a physical pen held in their other hand. Both programs improve reaction time and hand-eye coordination by requiring patients to repeatedly perform simple motor functions.
Patients can download many of these programs for free and use them on a variety of popular tablet devices, providing an accessible and cost-effective treatment option. Incorporating multi-touch technology in physical and communication rehabilitation offers an engaging way to enhance traditional treatments that ensures patients play an active role in advancing their health. |
RESEARCHERS EXAMINE GAME PLAY AS TREATMENT FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS
Advances in video game technology, and their patients' passion for game play, are increasingly inspiring medical professionals to use entertainment software to enhance treatments for a wide range of medical conditions. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine suggests video games can also help treat cystic fibrosis in children and young adults.
Patients diagnosed with the chronic disease experience a build up of thick mucus in their lungs and digestive tract, which can lead to life-threatening lung infections or prevent the body from properly absorbing nutrients in food. Doctors typically require those with cystic fibrosis to do breathing exercises several times a day to help clear the mucus, but children often refuse to complete these seemingly tedious tasks, says Dr. Peter Bingham, lead author of the university study.
"These are kids who are often lonely and frustrated with their medical treatments, and who turn to video games for fun," said Dr. Bingham.
Supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health Games Research initiative, Dr. Bingham's research team collaborated with students at Champlain College's Emergent Media Center to develop two video games that would encourage children to practice the necessary breathing techniques. Both games involved the use of a digital spirometer, a device measuring speed and quantity of breaths, instead of a traditional handheld controller. In Ludicross, players propel a race car around a track with their breaths, and must complete special exercises to refill the gas tank or wash the car. In Creep Frontier
, players conduct a series of missions to combat sludge that has infested areas of wilderness in a virtual world, and earn treasures by cleaning up the mess.
Dr. Bingham's team also tested the effectiveness of these games on a group of 13 patients aged 8-18 years old. Participants completed a pre-test to determine their lung function before participating in both a game play phase and control phase of the study. During the control phase, children did not have access to either game and only used the spirometer. The researchers found that participants completed recommended breathing exercises more frequently throughout both phases of the study than they had before, and that their ability to take deep breaths improved significantly after game play.
Not only can these games aid cystic fibrosis patients in managing their disease, but researchers believe they may also be useful for children with asthma or other chronic lung conditions. With a growing community of academics poised to deliver new and insightful health games research in the coming years, these and thousands of patients may be able to breathe easier. |
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Quote of the Month
"Although games can be immensely entertaining, it would be a mistake to consider them as only a form of entertainment. Games are fun, but their real value lies in leveraging play and exploration as a mode of learning the literacy of problem-solving, which lowers the emotional stakes of failing."
— Aran Levasseur, academic technology coordinator at San Francisco University High School, on how video games encourage growth and learning
Did You Know?
Operation Lifesavers, Inc. (OLI), a nonprofit organization seeking to prevent collisions and fatalities around railroad tracks, developed an online game to train professional drivers to make sound decisions at railroad crossings. ProDriver Safety Challenge simulates a variety of worst-case driving scenarios that require quick decision-making. Approximately 15,000 truck drivers have completed the challenge since its launch in June, and OLI hopes to reach an additional 85,000 drivers by the end of the year.
Statistic of the Month
According to a new study conducted by Goldsmiths University and PopCap Games, one-third of parents believe playing casual games has increased their children's concentration and 53 percent believe such game play has improved their children's problem solving skills.
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