Have you ever thought of yourself as someone who can create video games? Salt Lake Community College is now offering a certificate in Gaming Development.
The certification for this program is rigorous and somewhat daunting if you don’t know what you are getting into, but the reward of having a certification could benefit you with endeavors in the visual arts.
However, there is a slight problem as far as the program goes; It is having a hard time getting off the ground.
You could maybe blame it on the fact that although our community college gives us the ability to have smaller class sizes, we also have the downside of dealing with less demand for specialized classes. The rigorous nature of this program may be contributing to the fact that there are no classes being offered for the certification at this time.
Chad Erekson, one of the assistant professors of this program, says that only nine students passed in the fall of 2013, and others who are interested in the program may have been having trouble getting in the program due to the difficulty of the prerequisites that are required for entry.
Difficulties aside with only 25 to 28 credit hours required, certification in gaming development gives graduates another qualification in the field of visual arts.
Graduates can use this certification as a stepping stone in a wide array of different media outlets. This program is also stackable as you can use the classes required for the program to move further ahead in your animation or computer science degree.
The CBJT Digital Arts Grant is why this program exists. It is also the reason that the program needs reformatting due to the fact that growth in technology was promised with the grant. However, it is somewhat difficult to keep the all of the programs afloat with the grant now having run out.
With all seriousness aside, the program sounds very promising for anyone who is interested in going into animation with an emphasis in game development.
With the ease and affordability of attending a community college, those who may not have had a chance to even consider attending a gaming development career because of the costs associated with the visual arts, may finally be able to accomplish all of their “geek” fantasies.
So stay tuned for what is to come from what sounds like a very geeky and fun scholastic experience.
