Teaching interactive production

Video games are a multibillion dollar industry, and the past decade has seen the rise of video game programs at major universities such as USC and MIT. The biggest games are equivalent to blockbuster film projects and need careful production to achieve success. The purpose of this study was to define and develop core goals in teaching students how to become video game and interactive media producers leading teams in the creation of games. Surveying industry professionals, students, curricula from numerous institutions and drawing on insights from authors in the field, the paper delivers models for soft and hard skills that a student should be expected to learn when enrolled in a program. The paper includes personal observations by the author with over twenty years experience in the field and over four years in teaching at USC and SMU.电子游戏产业已是规模达数十亿级别的市场，近十年来，南加州大学（USC）、麻省理工学院（MIT）等顶尖高校相继开设了电子游戏相关专业课程。顶级电子游戏的项目体量堪比院线大片，其成功落地离不开精细化的全流程制作。本研究旨在明确并构建游戏专业的核心教学目标体系，以培养能够带领团队开展游戏创作的电子游戏与互动媒体制作人。本文通过调研行业从业者、在校学生及多所院校的课程体系，结合领域内权威学者的研究观点，提出了一套适用于游戏专业学生的软技能与硬技能培养模型。本文作者拥有二十余年的游戏领域从业经验，且在南加州大学（USC）与南卫理公会大学（SMU）从事教学工作四年有余，文中融入了作者的一线实践观察与教学心得。