my own private communications with directors of human resources in major game-development companies. Many universities switched to Java with the Internet boom, as it is easy to resource a programming laboratory for Java, and Java support for the user interface is extensive. But the game industry programs mainly in C++. Many game companies say they will not interview or hire someone whose first programming language is Java. Computer scientists might argue about the virtues of programming languages, but most console and PC games are built in C++. From a C++ perspective, our students can teach themselves other useful languages, learning Objective-C for iPhone game development or C# for games with XNA in a single semester. The industry is basically saying it wants strong programmers with multiple courses in C++, its primary development language. The USC experience is that 100% of its students interviewed for programming positions are given three-to-four-hour-long programming tests, with almost all companies administering the tests in C++. We had one company (NCSoft) test in C and another (Microsoft) indicate the test could be done in C++, C, or C#. Programming interns/job seekers from our program Spring 2009 ( 35 interviewed in the game industry) found no companies administering programming tests in Java.

Strong skills in system development is another must. The figure here outlines the components that must be juggled by a programmer developing a typical networked game, touching on much of computer science and then some. Moreover, the game software must run multithreaded in a well-balanced manner and provide an immer-sive and entertaining experience to the game player. Game development is viewed by some as systems design.

Programmers comfortable in cross-disciplinary groups is third on the list. Industry wants programmers who are able to generate software based on the vision of designers, work with artists to generate the right display and feel, and know how to participate in large-team development efforts. The traditional computer science student is far from this.

Computer science departments

Programming
interns/job seekers
from our program
Spring 2009 ( 35
interviewed in the
game industry)
found no companies
administering
programming tests
in Java.

must provide the necessary experience so game programmers are in-dustry-ready on graduation day. This means that graduates must have built a significant game by collaborating with other students, not all of whom have backgrounds in computer science. Grads should also be familiar with the pipeline-development process and asset-management systems, both aspects of game-industry development potentially useful throughout the program. Such experience is very different from traditional computer science-degree programs in which software-development teams are small, and there is no strong requirement for asset management or source-code base sharing or versioning.

 

Big Game Program or Baby Steps? Computer science departments changing their focus toward game development is an obvious approach toward preparing students for the conceptual age. Many universities are building game-development programs within or aligned with their computer science departments. 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10 The annual Foundations of Digital Games conference ( http://www.foun- dationsofdigitalgames.org/) focuses on this important transition.

How does all this directly affect the departments? Consider two separate efforts: the USC GamePipe Laboratory and the University of Washington, Bothell, the latter covered in the article “Computer Games and Computer Science” by Kelvin Sung (on page 74).

uSC GamePipe Laboratory

The USC Department of Computer Science offers both a bachelor’s degree in computer science (games) and a master’s degree in computer science (game development). 12 Students interested in Ph.D.-level topics are encouraged (for the moment) to apply to the traditional computer science Ph.D. program. The bachelor’s in computer science (games) program includes 37 units of traditional computer science and 42 units of game-development courses. The computer science courses are the same as those taken by regular students in USC’s bachelor’s computer-science program, except for the following modifications:

Programming courses. We rewrote