In the Game: Wake Tech Unveils Simulation, Development Lab

RALEIGH, N.C. – While politicians and reporters scurried about, trying their hands at creating video games on the latest Alienware computers, Ashlee Sheffield and Sam Kushner stood by, ready to assist.

For the moment, the students at Wake Tech Community College played instructors rather than students on Monday at the school hosted an open house for its new Simulation and Game Development lab.

“I love video games,” said Sheffield, who lives in Raleigh and is seeking to earn an associates degree in simulation and game development at Wake Tech. “I’m one of those people who has always been fascinated by the behind-the-scenes action in movies and video games. I thought it would be really cool learning how to create them.”

Sheffield and teammate Alex Reher of Cary walked several people through the pirate role playing game (RPG) they helped develop appropriately titled “AARPG.” Working in teams of four, students were given three weeks to work up the demos which the political office holders, VIPs and reporters tried out.

On the other side of the lab, which features 27 of the nearly $4,000 high-end machines, Kushner demonstrated how he could use a special electronic keyboard to introduce music into his game creation.

“I am taking a music class so I can learn how to incorporate music in a game,” said Kushner, who lives in Apex. “Music can help me set the mood and connect with the players at a much deeper level than just with graphics.”

State Senator Neal Hunt took several turns at a PC, working his way through several demonstrations. He left the lab impressed with the program that is designed to help produce more “knowledge workers” for an increasingly technology driven economy.

“This is great,” Hunt said. “This is the kind of thing we need in schools. When people get bored, they drop out. They could learn in this kind of environment.”

NSF Grant Helps Fund Program

The Wake Tech lab and its new degree program are products of collaboration between the school and private industry. Some 30 game-related companies around the Triangle are working with Wake Tech, donated expertise and software such as game engines, while also helping shape the curriculum. Wake Tech secured an $858,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in 2006 to help launch the program.

The supporting firms and Wake Tech administrators said the effort is all about producing talented game producers to fill a growing need for programmers.

“We need the best people to work with,” said Jerry Heneghan, chief executive officer of Virtual Heroes, who helped pitch in to write Wake Tech’s winning grant program. “We can’t find enough in the Triangle area.”

Wake Tech President Sees ‘Big Leap’ in Education

Stephen Scott, Wake Tech’s president, has been a strong advocate for the program, noting that advanced simulation and game programming skills can be used in areas broader than video games. “We see a tremendous opportunity for this in education,” he said. While TV and the Internet can deliver educational information, Scott said the ability to interact and recreate through simulation and online environments as “the next big leap in education.”

Noting that the video game industry new generates more revenues than Hollywood films, Scott said interactive entertainment development is a “huge opportunity” worth “billions of dollars.”

Heneghan is among a growing cadre of industry professionals focused on so-called serious game development in which a game environment becomes one for teaching, not just entertainment. Virtual Heroes is looking to hire people for its products, which range from game development (such as “America’s Army”) to the latest in simulation programs.

By working with Wake Tech, Heneghan said the company can help produce more qualified workers locally rather than have to hire from Canada or overseas. “We want to create and keep jobs in North Carolina,” he said.

Wake Tech’s program has already enrolled 84 students, and the first 20 or so are expected to graduate in July of 2008. Kai Wang and Walter Rotenberry oversee the program. The college also has played host to gaming “expos” each of the past two years, featuring Triangle companies.

Congressman Brad Miller told the crowd that the Tech effort is an example of how community colleges can help U.S. industry compete “in an unforgiving world economy … The reason this program will work is because people know they will find jobs. This is a booming industry.”

Among the program’s biggest supporters is the North Carolina and Triangle chapter of the International Game Developers Association.

“We feel comfortable with their program, and we are totally supportive,” said Dana Cowley of ClearImage, a media relations firm in Raleigh. Cowley is the IDGA chapter coordinator. “We plan to continue to offer them feedback.”

The college will continue to work closely with the gaming companies to ensure students are graduating with the skills the private sector needs, Scott added. “This is a program that will feature what the industry needs, not what some educator feels they need,” he said.

Scott also said he likes the idea of students being able to be actively involved in classes no matter where they and their computers happen to be.

“Can you imagine a student at home using a simulation for a lab mixing the wrong chemicals together but blowing up on the computer screen rather than a real lab,” he said with a smile. “It’s better for all concerned.”