Game Design Is Added To The Curriculum
In a move which is as sensible as it is ground breaking, the Scottish government have given the go-ahead for video game design and computer animation to be added to the Scottish schools curriculum. While there is already a strong gaming presence in Scotland this move is set to bolster what is a potentially lucrative area of computing. So how will it work?
The games which we all play may look simple to write and design, but a quality game can literally be years in the making with many restyles, reprogramming and changes often made. The beauty of teaching children how to create both video games and computer animation at a young age is a child’s ability to learn very quickly. This will hopefully set a basis for what could be a very lucrative future for Scottish gaming, an area of industry which already boasts 500 employees and generates some £20 million of annual turnover in the country.
When you consider that a best selling game can literally bring in tens of millions of pounds alone, the potential for the future is getting better and better. The demand for new and exciting games is growing, people are getting bored of the old shoot’em up style formats. However, searching for and producing something a little different takes time, skill, money and a different angle from which to work from. These school children will be starting with little or no bias towards any gaming format, style or genre which is exactly what is required.
Gaming is an industry which is becoming larger, more competitive and expensive, in which to compete – something perfectly demonstrated by the demise of old gaming companies such as Rage Software and the ongoing problems at SCI Entertainment. It will be very interesting to see how popular this new school subject proves to be, and how many students will actually make it all the way to the top echelons of the industry.
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