L.A. Film School Adds Two Game Degrees

The Los Angeles Film School has announced that beginning September 2008, it will offer two game-related degrees. The schools is adding an associate of science degree in game development, catering toward aspiring game programmers, and an associate of science degree in computer animation for future digital artists and animators. The game development program will cover the process of creating a video game from the initial stages of game structure and preproduction, to advanced coding, artificial intelligence, and game engine creation. The animation program will allow students to learn the animation pipeline used in professional studios to create art and special effects for games, television, and film. Students will be taught advanced modeling software, which they will use to create virtual models, characters, and visual effects for a variety of multimedia applications. This is not the first film school to embrace game education. Vancouver Film School, for example, has a program for game design. NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts also has a department for games and new media, as does UCLA with its School of Film, Television, and Digital Media. The trend of film and art schools taking on programs in game development may guide future game developers to think and learn more collaboratively with their multimedia storytelling brothers and sisters.