What's the best way to prepare the next generation of game developers for the challenges they'll face?
It's one of the more challenging topics tackled at the annual Game Developers Conference, and so we're highlighting a few notable talks on the topic today that you must see at GDC 2015 next month.
These talks are part of the GDC Education Summit, one of eight that will take place Monday, March 2nd and Tuesday, March 3rd at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA during the first two days of the conference.
Make time in your schedule to catch USC Games director Tracy Fullerton's talk on elevating the conversation about games in academia. Titled (appropriately enough) "HigherEdGames: Elevating the Conversation on Games", Fullerton's talk will present the results of surveys commissioned by the Higher Education Video Game Alliance that investigate the fields of game design, development and research. You'll get insight into the placement, salaries and retention rates of game program graduates, as well as a contemporary outlook on the state of games education and where it can go from here.
This year we're also excited to have experienced game designer and educator Brenda Romero speaking about "How A Group of Academics Came Together to Improve Ireland's Institutions & Industry" as part of the Education Summit. Drawing on her own experience as a Fulbright scholar in Ireland, Romero hopes to offer attendees new ideas to improve their curriculum, improve industry and academic partnerships, and a clear understanding of how the Fulbright program can provide grant opportunities to game education institutions both inside and outside of the US.
Finally, don't miss the expert-packed panel "When Intuition and Experience are NOT Enough: Perspectives on Teaching Students Advanced User Research Methods to Create Winning Designs." Experts from NYU, USC, Northeastern University and UCSC will present case studies of an advanced tactic she/he uses to teach students how to tackle player research in game design, then engage in a lively discussion about what students need to know about the often-murky field of user research as it relates to game development.
Not enough? No worries; a list of all announced talks is available in the online GDC 2015 Session Scheduler, where you can begin to build your conference week and later export it to the up-to-the-minute GDC Mobile App, coming soon.
Also, conference officials look forward to announcing more GDC 2015 sessions spanning a diverse array of game industry issues in the months ahead.
For more information on GDC 2015, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
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