That homeward dash when the summer holidays begin might not be quite so urgent if you’re studying at Bournemouth University, what with its seaside location, the temptation of all that ice cream and a sizeable arcade near the waterfront are within easy reach. During term time, however, Bournemouth University offers two BScs: Games Technology and the newly validated Games Programming course as well as an MSc in Computer Games Technology. We caught up with senior lecturer in creative technology Dr Christos Gatzidis to ask about the university’s close ties with industry and how it creates graduates who can be very employable.
The industry keeps evolving at a rapid pace. How is this changing the way you teach students?
Increasingly we’re finding basic business skills are just as important as technical skills, and that’s something we offer on all our courses, from undergraduate to postgraduate. But, of course, it all depends on which area of the industry they wish to work in, whether that is art, level design, programming – they are all vastly different from each other. A good knowledge of C++ and strong maths remain just as essential for programmers, for instance. In short, our courses are specifically designed with employability in mind, and are constantly kept up to date. Moreover, we constantly invest, based on our increasingly growing numbers, back into the course with new equipment and also additional academic staff.
It’s important, then, to keep a close eye on the industry?
As close as we can! We’ve recently had our annual industrial advisory panel, in which companies such as Climax Studios and Havok participated. We use the panel to seek advice and guidance on course structure and content from leading companies in the sector. We have regular guest speakers, too, from companies including the likes of SCEE, Microsoft, Reflections, Criterion and Ninja Theory.
Do your students benefit from any direct industry contact?
We have an industrial placement year, sandwiched between the second and fourth year, that allows students to go out and work for a studio domestically or abroad, or even set one up themselves. It’s an important part of the degree, and we really do see students coming back transformed for their final year.
Do you think it’s harder for students to find a job in the industry today?
There are many challenges. The game industry is hugely competitive and while it’s very rewarding when you eventually land that first job, it can be tough to break in initially – particularly for a young graduate fresh out of university. Combined with the ever-changing nature of the game development business, it can become quite an arduous task – this is why a good education, which is externally facing and driven by employability, is so important.
What about developing for next-generation consoles – how does that affect the learning curve?
Many of the core skills remain unchanged, which reaffirms the approach we’ve always taken. Our courses are quite platform-agnostic as we focus on the core [programming] skills rather than just being a training course. We aim for transferable knowledge throughout. A number of our students had no trouble picking up Unity and completing an entry for this year’s Get Into Games Challenge, despite never having worked with it in the past. That said, we mostly use C++ for programming, while on the engine front we use the Unreal Development Kit quite a bit. Recently, we’ve started exploring the use of CryEngine at postgraduate level. For modelling and animation we use 3D Studio Max, Maya and, in the final year of Games Technology, ZBrush.
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