Bridges Fall 2006
Cover Story
Terrasa Ulm Teaches Inside the Xbox
By Sandy Lashin-Curewitz
Interactive entertainment. What does it mean? While you can still get interactive and find entertainment in a good board game on family night, the term has taken on a new meaning in the 21st century. The young people who spent countless afternoons in arcades, family rooms or bedrooms, hunched over game controllers, can actually make a comfortable living creating the games they spent so many hours playing.
According to an Entertainment Software Association report, the industry saw $7 billion in sales in computer and video games in both 2004 and 2005. The same report projects that 42% of Americans have purchased or plan to purchase one or more games in 2006. In fall 2005, Becker College launched a major in interactive entertainment in response to the rapid growth of the game industry and the increasing demand for designers and programmers with four-year degrees.
“Our returning class of students are very intelligent, creative and highly motivated individuals who have a wide range of interests, from developing educational software for children in English as a second language programs to creating the next big Xbox title,” said Professor Terrasa Ulm.
More than 40 freshmen are enrolled in the gaming program in fall 2006. Ulm added, “Ours is one of a very select number of four year degree programs in game design and development available in the country. Becker has been very forward thinking about the field and its opportunities for future graduates. Students are excited by the chance to earn a fully accredited degree from such a highly respected institution as Becker College, in an area about which they are absolutely passionate.”
Passion is audible in Amanda Theinert’s voice when she talks about her chosen field. “At first I was interested in special effects and I wanted to work for ILM (George Lucas’ famous special effects powerhouse, Industrial Light & Magic).” Theinert continued, “I started to play more games and now I’d like to get a job with Blizzard Entertainment.” Blizzard produces Theinert’s current favorite, World of Warcraft, where players assume characters and move through fantastic vivid and colorful worlds, battling monsters, heroes and countless other creatures.
Becker administration is responding to the rapid growth of the program by investing new resources. In an industry where hardware and software can become obsolete as quickly as consumers’ tastes in games, the College has installed the next generation in workstations, the Dell PrecisionTM 490, with 64-bit Dual-core Intel® Xeon® processors, in a high performance computer lab. The machines are packed with all the software, including Maya 3D, Flash and Adobe Illustrator, which students will need to complete a variety of projects.
The decision to stock the computer lab with PCs raised some eyebrows. Ulm countered, “A game developer needs to excel at the nuances of the actual programs, not the operating system that runs in the background. Texturing, 2D character development and animation most commonly utilize PCs. While Macs and PCs are both used for 3D modeling and animation, what is critical is not the platform, but the software packages. In my opinion, by the time a person is working with computers of any type on a daily basis, and is comfortable with the software for the required work, if the need arose to [switch to] a new operating system, the transition would be quite painless.”
Gaming students can look forward to having new equipment and more in a dedicated space on the Leicester campus in 2007. “The design major is growing,” said Paul Cotnoir, chair of Bachelor of Arts in Design Program. He continued, “The main reason for the move is to provide the various design disciplines with newer, better facilities in a dedicated environment which can accommodate this growth.”
Cotnoir recently took over the helm of the Design Program from the previous director, Robert Fernandez. Fernandez was an instrumental member of the team that designed the major and got it up and running. The Design Program at Becker includes interior and graphic design, as well as computer game design and computer game development and programming.
So, what do interactive entertainment students actually learn? Professor Ulm translated: “Students can concentrate in game design or game programming and development. Gaming can cover anything from educational software titles for home computers, real world simulators for the U.S. Armed Services, online entertainment web site content, corporate training programs, cell phone multimedia and game titles for home consoles such as the Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo models. Students learn computer programming, which is the behind the scenes skeleton of game media. They also learn storyboarding and the philosophy of game design, which are at the heart of creating and developing a game media work. They learn 2D design, 3D design, 3D modeling, animation, and texturing utilizing computer programs, because that is how all the visuals and characters of any gaming media piece are created.”
Typical of Becker academic programs, the gaming major offers students a competitive, well-rounded education. “Students learn management skills and business industry practices so that each will graduate with an understanding of what is actually happening in the industry and on a development team, of which they will become a part when hired in the real-world environment. These skills are in addition to all of the standard degree requirements, such as public speaking, math, science, and the humanities,” Ulm explained.
The traditionally academic and the more technologically advanced skills that the program will teach students will help them succeed in a variety of positions. “I have wanted to make my own games since I was a kid,” said incoming freshman Adam Lee. “I notice the glitches and wonder why the game doesn’t work perfectly.” Lee wants to gain employment on a design team. “I could also work testing games; playing the games and reporting bugs and glitches.”
As industry and individual reports reflect, the market for computer design and programming and development skills is broad—from companies who create and produce new games and increasingly sophisticated websites, to the U.S. government and even health care. A September 2005 National Public Radio story reported on the Games for Health Conference, an event that brought game developers together with medical researchers. Applications being developed include a virtual reality scuba game to distract young patients from pain; and GlucoBoy, a GameBoy-like device to help children manage diabetes.
Ulm entered the multimedia technology market before she graduated with a computer science degree from Smith College. Her first job after earning a master’s degree in interactive programming and design, was with cable, phone and internet service provider, RCN. After authoring and developing several training manuals and providing teaching and training at a number of companies, college professor seemed to be a natural progression. She began teaching at Becker as an adjunct member of the faculty. Ulm’s assuming a full-time role is part of the College’s investment in the gaming program.
The majority of Becker faculty members remain professionally active in their fields. Ulm owns a media development company and volunteers her skills for Pernet Family Health Center in Worcester, Mass. and Federation of Galaxy Explorers (FOGE) Science Camp. FOGE Science Camp is a unique program, available in several states, that uses hands-on projects, field trips and 3D computer games to teach science to young people in grades 3-12. Among the applications Ulm has developed for FOGE are a lunar-lander simulator, a moon rover exploration game and a real time strategy game centered on a moon base environment.
One might think the greatest obstacle for young interactive entertainment majors would be to convince parents that it is a viable career path. Freshmen Lee and Theinert both say their parents support their choice of study. “My dad has always said you should love your job, whatever you do,” Theinert enthused.
