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Course Catalog
Grade Level:
9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites:
none
Delivery Method:
In Classroom, Online
Duration:
one semester
Course Outline:
Course Description
What do video game-crazed teenagers today have in common with teens in ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia? Find out for yourself by prototyping and playing ancient as well as modern games.
Starting from ancient Egypt, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to the dawn of video games, you will learn about the relationships between a culture, the desired forms of that culture’s entertainment, and how games expressed the technology available to the culture.
This is a foundations course for other art, programming, or video game design classes. The experience you gain by hands-on research, presentations, prototyping and game-playing in this course will help you decide whether to pursue a career in the game industry.
Click here to see the Video Game Academy course roadmap.
Materials
general art supplies such as colored pencils, paper, cardboard; dice
About the Course Author
As a lighting designer, Chris worked on Broadway and opera, and toured with various 70's rock n' roll bands.
He was Creative Director for Electronic Art's MMORPG Earth & Beyond.
At SSI he assisted with Universe, designed the 2nd edition of Game of the Year award-winning DragonQuest, Horror Hotel, and Damocles Mission. He edited the RPG section of Ares magazine.
At Victory Games, Chris headed the RPG division, designed Game of the Year
award-winning James Bond 007, and designed six other titles.
Chris freelanced for SegaSoft, TSR, Hasbro Interactive, 3W, THQ, Simon and Schuster Interactive, Target Games, h2o Interactive, Gizmo Games, Westwood Studios and GT Interactive. His game credits include Star Trek DS9: Dominion Wars, Europa Universalis, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, Diamond Dreams Baseball, and Aidyn Chronicles: First Mage.
Chris developed world-class computer sports simulations as VP and Chief Creative Officer for Diamond Dreams, Inc.
At Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, he was Creative Director the MMO Stargate Worlds.
Chris taught Interactive Storytelling at the Art Institutes of Pittsburgh and Phoenix, and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America West.