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Education/training

Get in the game

Lots of video games will be found in lots of Christmas stockings this year. But it wasn't Santa's elves who created them. It was young men -- and a handful of young women -- trained to design and program thrill-a-minute titles such as Ridge Racer 7 and Hellgate: London.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2006-12-06 ]

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-IADT Photo

One of the largest video game schools in the GTA is the International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto. Jean-Paul Amore, co-ordinator of the academy's video game design and development program, says the school accepts 250 students a year with intakes in January, April, July and October.

The program runs for 18 months, Amore says, and the academy tends to recruit students for it directly from high school, although a handful of applicants with diplomas or degrees are also in the mix. As for the male-female composition of the academy's classes, Amore says, "There are definitely more males. The ratio is probably nine to one."

Other schools in the GTA that offer game design and development include Durham College in Oshawa and Humber College in Toronto.

Gary Lima, director of new media at Humber's School of Media Studies and Information Technology, says his program, 3-D for games and interactive entertainment, is for those who already have a diploma or degree. The program lasts a full calendar year, Lima says, and there's one intake of 25 students every September. "It's a small program," Lima says. "It's difficult to get in. You have to have talent and have to love gaming if you want to work in gaming."

It's not all software and mouse-clicking, either, Lima warns. "Traditionally, art comes first with us. They (students) have to learn with a paper and pencil first," he says.

CREATIVITY

This artistic side of the job is something Amore mentions as well, noting that the design component of his program is where the art starts. There are elements of media studies to pursue at the academy, too, Amore continues, and students must learn technical writing, story writing and some journalism.

Also at Humber -- and so new it doesn't start until next September -- is an advanced game programming course. Nancy Rodrigues, associate dean in the School of Media Studies and Information Technology, says the three-year diploma will cover programming for video games, handheld devices and online gaming. Students will be recruited straight from high school, Rodriques says, and Humber expects to accept 35 applicants -- not all of them young males. "I think we have a better chance at gender balance with game programming rather than computer programming," she says.

Academy tuition costs $30,000 for 18 months and is OSAP eligible. Tuition at Humber costs about $2,200 for either course.

Irrespective of what school they attend, game designers and developers can expect to put in long hours. At both the academy and in Lima's Humber course, the final semester students at each institution have to work together creating a game or a portfolio piece. The long hours are preparation for what lies ahead, Lima explains. The game industry demands that its employees spend just about every waking hour at work when necessary, he says, but the upside is that it offers extraordinary perks -- company paid trips, all sorts of health benefits -- as well.

The industry also offers excellent job prospects, too. Both Amore and Lima say designers can expect to start in the $30,000 to $40,000 range and programmers, Amore continues, can haul in up to $55,000 a year. In Canada, the plentiful job opportunities are in Toronto, southwestern Ontario, Vancouver and Quebec, making every day a bit like Christmas for new graduates.