Video games become part of new course

Students who have raided the streets of Vice City, journeyed the plains of Hyrule, or fought on the battlegrounds of Halo will be able to explore how these and other virtual worlds are leaving their mark on the real world in a new class that is being offered this fall. The new course, CS1010 Introduction to Interactive Entertainment, is part of a developing program at Weber State University intended to give students the knowledge and skills they will need to compete in the fastest growing entertainment industry in the United States: video gaming. In a report published by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the $18.85 billion in total sales for video gaming in 2007 nearly doubled the total sales of the motion picture industry. Additionally, the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) announced that video game sales in 2008 surpassed music sales for the same year. The report also indicated that 97% of American teens and 53% of adults play video games. According to Eric Amsel, Chair of Psychology at WSU, it's no coincidence that video games are becoming such a pervasive part of the social environment. "It's a very human characteristic; people love playing games, all kinds of games," Amsel said. "People love using their imagination in all kinds of ways. They're built to do that."   Amsel was one of several professors who worked collaboratively to create a curriculum for the new course. Greg Anderson, Chair of Computer Science, led the effort and will be teaching the class come fall semester. Touching on the theme of the new course, Anderson said, "If we spend that much time playing video games shouldn't we understand the positive and negative consequences of playing? And if we understand those, could we design games to do even better things for society?" It's those questions Anderson would like students to explore in the new class. The answers will be found through a smorgasbord of coursework that will include: surveys, guest speakers, and of course, playing video games. "Can you just imagine," Anderson said, "that you're sitting at home playing Halo 3, and your mom, or your wife, or your girlfriend says, 'Get your homework done.' And you say, 'I am.'" After each video game a student plays for the class they will write a paper to help them reflect on how the game contributed to their feelings and thoughts. "There are some very good things that can come out of playing video games as long as you don't abuse them," Anderson said. "Surgeons are using video games...to help their hand-eye coordination before going into surgery." On the other hand, there are other games that are not so helpful. "You can't just make a Grand Theft Auto 4 and say, 'Yeah, I'm going to make a lot of money before washing my hands and walking away from it," Anderson said. One of the professors who offered suggestions to help Anderson create the courses curriculum was Rob Reynolds, Chair of Sociology. He explained why such a course could be important for students with a future in game production. "In your preparation, you can't just be very narrowly technically focused," Reynolds said. "If you're the greatest programmer in the world but you don't understand how the world works or how a story is told and developed, you can't really be a good game developer." Students will be able to take the class without purchasing either a gaming console or video games. That's because the Library just purchased video games and video game consoles for students in the course to use. Nick Davis, an English major who wants to write storylines for the video game industry said, "It's pretty exciting for me. It's a small step towards a long term goal but at least it's a small step."