Robert Nideffer, an assistant professor of studio art at the University of California at Irvine, wants to establish a a minor in computer games and gaming. So far he's been voted down by a faculty committee. Now he's submitting the proposal again. Wired Online has a story about it:

"The interdisciplinary minor would bring together existing courses from the school of the arts, engineering, social sciences and humanities, and the department of information and computer science. Students in the program will play games as part of their coursework. But there is more to the proposal than just play time.

"'Even though it sounds like a lot of fun, it's also going to be extremely rigorous and demanding,' Nideffer said.

"Students must pass 10 courses to receive the minor. Among the classes are programming, computer graphics, human-computer interaction, animation, digital imaging, cognitive science and human problem-solving. Topics to be investigated include virtual environments and behavior, gender and representation, and digital multimedia design and delivery."

It's not enough getting fragged by 13 year olds in Quake III. Now we soon may be able to flunk a Quake III course also. Will the finals consist of circle-strafing and rocket jumping? Yep, put us down for an "F".

Should computer game studies be part of an academic program?

How cool. I mean really. That be a great step towards getting to play computer games for a living. (You guys are so lucky...) Who wouldn't want to minor in computer games...I might have done better at college...

"Who wouldn't want to minor in computer games...I might have done better at college..."

Heh. "Dad, mom, I was up until 3am studying. I'm struggling with Unreal Tournament. It's a tough course."

Yeah, puts a new angle on pulling all night-ers and cramming for finals...

"Yeah, puts a new angle on pulling all night-ers and cramming for finals..."

Why study? When cheat codes are easy to remember. :)

I really hope he is able to pull it off. I would take that in a minuite. Sounds like most of the coruses are ones ill be taking anyway to get my degree in Software Enginering. With that it will be easy to get a job somewhere like Firaxis or something untill i can save up enoguh moeny to start my own :)

How the hell ami gonna explain it to my guidence councelor.

Wouldnt it be sweet to teach games at a University?

Hey, I think I'm qualified for that one! At the very least, I could be a paid tutor!

I would argue that the study of gaming is akin to the study of learning/cognitive processes. Programming is all fine and good, but I don't think it adds any particular insight into game design or game theory. Programming is really about learning structure, program flow, and modular design.

Futhermore, the study of gaming transcends the playing of games, and requires that you understand why certain design decisions were made. I applaud the effort to turn gaming into a formalized academic field, but in my opinion the listed proposal misses the target.

Certainly there have been articles written about game theory, and I know psychologists and anthropologists have studied the nature of play in individuals and cultures, so there is some academic history with games.

Still, I'm not sure if the subject matter is worthy of a whole minor. That may be overkill. I know I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I'd rather students take history, literature, and other humanities courses. I think someone who comes out of college with a good grounding in history and can read and write well will be more likely to help design more interesting games.

Keep in mind, Mark, we are just talking about a minor. They'll still have to get all those no-fun classes for their major.

Yeah, but when you add more minors like this, it tends to whittle away at the core requirements. It's very difficult to get anyone to take a history class or philosophy class beyond what the university minimally requires.

I guess the concept of a university education that's designed to produce a well-rounded education and a person who has the critical tools to tackle a wide variety of challenges in the workplace is outmoded these days. I can understand it, but I think it's unfortunate.

I agree -- I didn't mean to make light of a heavy situation. As cool as it would be to have gaming as a minor, it probably isn't the best idea they've ever had, and it'll probably never fly with the board. Still, it COULD be taken seriously. It's a far more healthy pasttime than some things.

Even if there isn't enough material to make it a minor, I think it might be useful to try and build a class to discuss the interaction of the many disciplines that go into gaming. On a related note, anyone been keeping tabs on the Digipen gaming school? My general impression is that it kind of pigeon-holes people into the game industry, again getting back to the idea that a college education is probably best taken as a well-rounded experience.

- Alan