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U. of Central Florida gears up to
prep students for video-game trade
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Amid a swirl of construction to prepare a postgraduate finishing school for digital artists, undergraduate students in nearby classrooms are already immersed in learning the techniques of character animation and geometric modeling.
The site is the city of Orlando’s former Expo Centre, which is in the midst of a refurbishing program that will transform it into the University of Central Florida’s urban venue for cranking out interactive-software and video-game makers.
Much of the construction work will be completed in time for the fall launch of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, part of the UCF School of Film and Digital Media.
The academy, funded by a $4.2 million grant from the state Legislature, will teach students who already have a college degree the more advanced skills of video-game production, making it a "finishing school for digital artists," said Mike Moshell, division head of the School of Film and Digital Media.
Even as the renovations proceed at a busy pace, undergraduate students from the film school are completing their first month of classes in a portion of the Expo Centre where reconstruction work was completed in early January.
With four classrooms now in use for undergraduates, another six to be used by the academy are expected to be completed by mid-May, followed by the purchase and installation of computers and other high-tech gear, said Chris Murray, the program’s associate director.
For this fall’s launch, between 20 and 50 students are expected to enroll in a 16-month-long postgraduate program.
Ensuing classes, called "cohorts," will start up every four months and number 50 to 75 students, Moshell said. The first class is scheduled to graduate in late 2006. The fledgling UCF program is designed to produce workers with the skills to find high-paying jobs at video-game companies like Electronic Arts’ Tiburon studio near Maitland, which makes the popular Madden NFL Football series.
Electronic Arts, the country’s largest video-game publisher, is working with UCF in the development of the academy, which will train students in five specialties, including 3-D modeling, animation, production management, software design and technical artistry, Moshell said.
Along with work on the physical facilities, both Moshell and Murray are moving forward with hiring faculty, developing the curriculum and, soon, the screening of student applications.
Next month, Moshell and Murray will attend a big video-game trade show in San Francisco, where they will mix with key industry figures and game developers.
"On a national basis, it will be like a coming-out event, a rollout to the industry," Murray said. "The show draws about 10,000 people, who come to see the latest tools and technical developments in the video-game industry. It will be a good opportunity to get the word out about our new academy."
If FIEA succeeds as envisioned, it may lead to the creation of local software businesses launched by individuals who work in the video-game trade for five years or so and then decide to venture out on their own, Moshell said.
"I predict that Electronic Arts will play a role similar to Lockheed Martin," he said, referring to technology workers who gained valuable experience in the defense giant’s Orlando operations, then later left to start their own businesses.
Chris Cobbs
The Orlando Sentinel
