Education/training
Games people playHe was a university wrestler who completed a degree in phys ed before going on to study computer science. Today, Denis Dyack flexes his muscle as a renowned video game designer. He's creating an ambitious trilogy featuring a cybernetically enhanced god who must protect Earth from hoards of machines. LINDA WHITE |
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 [ 2006-03-01 ] |
Scene from the Too Human Trilogy for Xbox 360 designed by Silicon Knights in St. Catharines. The company's growth from two employees to 125 reflects growth in the industry.
The game combines swordplay and gunplay, but it also draws on Norse mythology. The elaborate storyline and imaginative world in which its characters duel are testament to the designer's primary role as a storyteller.
"Designers create the worlds people play in," says Dyack, director of Silicon Knights in St. Catharines. "If you want to define what makes a good video game, it's one that engages you to the point that you lose track of time."
Most games are developed in studios like Silicon Knights and shipped to publishers who advertise and distribute them. Though job titles and duties can vary from one company to another, the people involved in creating video games work in one of four main teams: design, artistic, programming and testing.
"We run our company very much like a Shakespearean troupe. Everyone contributes," Dyack says. "Shakespeare told stories on different levels and appealed to a wide variety of people."
Though the industry is about fun and fantasy, it takes serious skills to be successful. "We look for people with a background in cinematography, film, arts, classical areas within academia, and computer science," Dyack says. "We hire across the board. We look for talented people. Talent can be found anywhere."
Since being incorporated in 1992, Silicon Knights has grown from just two employees to 125. It developed its first action adventure game, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, for the Sony PlayStation. It went on to develop Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for Nintendo and is now working with Microsoft on the Too Human Trilogy for the Xbox 360.
The company's growth reflects growth in the industry. "More people play video games than watch movies, read books, listen to music and watch TV combined. We're doing everything we can to have the industry come of age," Dyack says.
International Academy of Design & Technology in Toronto developed its Video Game Design and Development program using recommendations from the International Game Developers Association's 2002 conference.
"We were already teaching video game design through our animation, programming and digital media programs," says the school's director, Michael Stead. "Those three programs came together to create our Video Game Design and Development program."
Demand for designers continues to grow. "My biggest problem is that I have more students working for companies than I do graduating," Stead says. "The demand is explosive and it doesn't show any sign of slowing down at all."
In St. Catharines, Dyack is working with his alma mater, Brock University, to develop a new Interactive Arts and Sciences program that will be launched as a minor next fall and offered as a major the following year. "We expect the demand to be very high," says John Mitterer, Professor of Psychology at Brock.
"In the '50s and '60s, people were drawn to film as a dominant art form. Today's students don't want to be film makers the way they want to be video game designers," he says. "Computer gaming is garnering serious academic study. I bet in a decade (video game design degrees) will be quite common."
Though many believe video game design relies heavily on programming skills, they won't be the heart of Brock's program. "Students will study various visual arts forms, especially film," Mitterer says. "They will study literature, especially mythology, and learn how to tell a story. In a funny way, the program draws more heavily in the arts than you might first imagine."
As video game design has grown, it's recognized as much more than entertainment, with much advancement still to be made. "Computer games are becoming more widely known as an up-and-coming art form," Mitterer says. "The industry is still in its infancy stage ... We will see brilliant things down the road."
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SERIOUS ABOUT GAMING
Video game designers are generally responsible for writing the game concept and character interactions, while the artistic team creates images and composes music and sound. Programmers plan and code software and the testing team looks for errors in the game before being published.
Designers must be able to write and communicate ideas. They also need to understand computer programming and software design. Like other artists, they need to build a portfolio of work over time. You can learn more about the industry by attending conventions and trade shows.
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