6/20/2005
Now, Students Get Credit For Playing All Those Video Games
By Ben Kelly , Correspondent
MONROVIA -- With aliases like "snake,' "soul assassin,' and "that 1 foo,' gamers at Mt. Sierra College used needle rayguns and rocket launchers to destroy other competitors during the school's Halo 2 video game tournament Saturday.
In four-person teams, the players rummaged through levels looking to take down the competition, and only one factor determined who would advance to the next round: the team with the most kills.
The tournament, however, was more than a fun test in skill and strategy, but a launching party for the introduction of Mt. Sierra's new Game Arts and Design program.
"With the boom in the game arts industry, (the new program) is a natural progression,' said Vincent David, director of admissions at Mt. Sierra. "It's a natural marriage from where we were before.'
The popularity of Halo 2 has taken the video game industry by storm.
With its high-powered graphics and ability to allow multiple players to simultaneously compete against each other, Halo 2 was one of the top-grossing games of 2004, David said.
And creating games and designs similar to those in Halo 2 is what students will be learning to produce in the new program.
"As far as media arts goes, we are very known throughout the community,' David said.
Along with the the design aspect of the program, he said, classes will also focus on video game story telling.
Victor Luna, 18, of Los Angeles has been playing games since he was 3. He hopes to attend Mt. Sierra to eventually get a job designing games.
He already has ideas in his head for new games.
"This is the nearest school that has game arts and design,' he said. "I always come up with ideas for anything.'
The quarterly program begins this summer and allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in three years.
With the video game industry becoming an increasingly profitable market, the implementation of the program has ideal timing, said Glenn Dunki-Jacobs, the school's department chairman.
"Next to music, the video game industry is a multi-billion dollar industry,' Dunki-Jacobs said.
He uses a term called the "zero- sum concept' to describe the popularity of video games.
"There's always a winner and there's always a loser,' said Dunki- Jacobs, adding that the competitive nature of games is what keeps gamers coming back for more.
Former students of Mt. Sierra's programs have gone on to work in movies such as the Wesley Snipes blockbuster "Blade,' and others have worked on Super Bowl commercials, David said.
Alumni can return to the school and take classes for free to update their technology knowledge.
"Any student coming to this school is going to have someone taking care of them,' David said.
MONROVIA -- With aliases like "snake,' "soul assassin,' and "that 1 foo,' gamers at Mt. Sierra College used needle rayguns and rocket launchers to destroy other competitors during the school's Halo 2 video game tournament Saturday.
In four-person teams, the players rummaged through levels looking to take down the competition, and only one factor determined who would advance to the next round: the team with the most kills.
The tournament, however, was more than a fun test in skill and strategy, but a launching party for the introduction of Mt. Sierra's new Game Arts and Design program.
"With the boom in the game arts industry, (the new program) is a natural progression,' said Vincent David, director of admissions at Mt. Sierra. "It's a natural marriage from where we were before.'
The popularity of Halo 2 has taken the video game industry by storm.
With its high-powered graphics and ability to allow multiple players to simultaneously compete against each other, Halo 2 was one of the top-grossing games of 2004, David said.
And creating games and designs similar to those in Halo 2 is what students will be learning to produce in the new program.
"As far as media arts goes, we are very known throughout the community,' David said.
Along with the the design aspect of the program, he said, classes will also focus on video game story telling.
Victor Luna, 18, of Los Angeles has been playing games since he was 3. He hopes to attend Mt. Sierra to eventually get a job designing games.
He already has ideas in his head for new games.
"This is the nearest school that has game arts and design,' he said. "I always come up with ideas for anything.'
The quarterly program begins this summer and allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in three years.
With the video game industry becoming an increasingly profitable market, the implementation of the program has ideal timing, said Glenn Dunki-Jacobs, the school's department chairman.
"Next to music, the video game industry is a multi-billion dollar industry,' Dunki-Jacobs said.
He uses a term called the "zero- sum concept' to describe the popularity of video games.
"There's always a winner and there's always a loser,' said Dunki- Jacobs, adding that the competitive nature of games is what keeps gamers coming back for more.
Former students of Mt. Sierra's programs have gone on to work in movies such as the Wesley Snipes blockbuster "Blade,' and others have worked on Super Bowl commercials, David said.
Alumni can return to the school and take classes for free to update their technology knowledge.
"Any student coming to this school is going to have someone taking care of them,' David said.
