New certificate mixes (graduate) work with play
Gamers are dedicated enough to play any time, anywhere. New games and expansion packs are always eagerly anticipated.
photo by Katie Malazdrewicz
Montreal is an international hub in computer game and 3D graphics/animation development. The Cité Multimédia, which stretches east and south from Place Bonaventure, now houses more than 60 firms. Other companies, like UbiSoft Entertainment, which developed the best-selling Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell games based on Tom Clancy’s novels, have major offices in the city.
The industry grosses billions of dollars each year. A single hit game, such as Blizzard Enter-tainment’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, can result in spectacular returns: with five million plus subscribers worldwide, the game brings in about $100 million (Cdn) each month in user fees alone.
This kind of success doesn’t come cheap. It requires huge initial investments in time, money and expertise, and in the case of MMORPGs, ongoing investment in technical and game playing expansion to keep subscribers hooked.
With stakes this high, said Rachida Dssouli, Director of the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE), “industry leaders here only look for the best and brightest. The students coming out of our programs are already great software developers, but sometimes they need a bit more industry-specific knowledge.”
To meet this need, CIISE, in cooperation with the Department of Computer Science, is now offering a 16-credit graduate certificate in 3D Graphics and Game Development.
Abdessamad Ben Hamza and Nizar Bouguila are two of several young faculty members whose research and teaching interests include computer gaming. They said the certificate is designed to provide students with skills the local market needs: the ability to create of 3D models and textures, and an overall understanding of commercial video game development. It is open to students with a Bachelor of Engineering or Computer Science, but they added, “given the interdisciplinarity of the gaming industry, we will consider Fine Arts graduates who have the necessary programming background.”
The certificate can be completed in one year. Students start with a course on video game technology and development that looks at the history of gaming (remember Pong?) and combines theoretical understanding of game play with hands-on components. They are also introduced to open-source software that allows for the development of complex graphics that run equally well on a game console, a handheld device or a desktop PC. By the end of the term, they will have created their first video game, Ben Hamza said.
While artistry and storytelling are an essential part of game development, the new certificate focuses on the technical aspects of the creative process.
“There are two kinds of professionals in the gaming industry,” said Ben Hamza, “the artistic people who develop the visual models for the games elements, and the technical people who add the foundations on which the models are overlaid — and all the action.”
In the final product the elements must blend seamlessly, so development is “a team-based process.” Over time, CIISE hopes to provide students with a real understanding of that process by integrating internships with the course work. Ben Hamza and Bouguila have already spoken to one company that is “very interested in hiring students.”
With the 3D video game market booming, graduates can expect excellent career prospects. At the same time, the skills they acquire can be applied in a number of other fields. “Medical imaging companies, in particular, require 3D graphics programmers,” Ben Hamza said. Their skills are also in high demand in animation firms and anywhere computer simulations are used.
For more information about the program, go to the CIISE web site, www.ciise.concordia.ca/content/program/3D-Graphics-Certificate.html