By Andrew Pelzer
Special to the Live Wire

The video game industry has changed allowing more individuals and small teams to create ambitious video games and offerings at Manchester Community College have evolved with the times.

In 2012 the college began offering Game Design as a standalone Associate of Science degree. Then in 2014 an extra “Introduction to Computer Games” class was added to accommodate the rising interest, said Ed Hogan, who manages both the Game Design and Multimedia Studies programs.

“When we first offered the Intro class we only offered it in the spring semester,” he said. “We quickly changed that to offer it in the fall and the spring and now we have 2 sections in each semester.”

It is not just the Introduction to Computer Games class that is growing. More opportunities for those interested in game design will also be made available at MCC.

“We have also added new classes that will appear in the coming year,” said Hogan.

“DGA 113 Drawing for Animation and Games will be offered in the fall and DGA 277 3D Game Level Design will be offered next spring.”

This rising interest can also be seen outside of MCC.

An event called a game jam is when developers come together to create a video game in a short period of time. The first Global Game Jam in 2009 had more than 1,500 participants and 350 games, according to the official Global Game Jam website. In 2015, the 7th annual Global Game Jam had more than 28,000 participants and resulted in 5,400 games. To put it in perspective, that is more than a 1,000 percent increase in participation in 7 years.

An illustration of a “game jam” which took place in Vancouver, CA with a total of 250 participants. Photo Courtesy of Grand.

Hogan said he supports such activities.

“I would certainly recommend participation to students,” he said, “since I believe any opportunity to work and share ideas and procedures with fellow enthusiasts helps to keep you focused on what you love.”

Rich Leonardo is an indie game designer and developer who is currently developing Colliding Forces. It is a game that is much like air hockey. The difference is that there are special pucks that can create anything from violent winds that push pucks around to water that steal your opponent’s pucks. The game ends when a player gets one of each puck variant into their opponent’s goal. Leonardo is also a proponent of game jams.

“You get to network with other game developers in the community. They also get you in the practice of distilling a game to its purest form.”

Along with designing games, networking and getting information about them is also important. This isn’t always easy for game geeks so the topic has spawned books, seminars and even classes.

“I can’t think of any industry that networking isn’t important in really,” said Christopher Allford, Executive Producer at Nexeon Studios.

“The reality is, as an indie developer it’s your responsibility to get people excited about your games and interested in you. If you can’t do that, networking might also help you find someone who can. You can’t build an empire by yourself, even Notch had friends and his fans to make Minecraft into the success that it is.”

You do not have to rush game development. Allford works regularly with Nexeon Studios for an average of more than 45 hours a week. Leonardo also works on Colliding Forces typically for around 20 hours a week. The rising interest and development in videogames helps create the landscape for new opportunities such as the game jams and the addition of classes at MCC. You can also participate in an event called the Penny Arcade Expo.

Pax East is the eastern U.S. variation that occurs in early March in Boston and attracts gamers of all ethnicities, genders and cultures. There are many indie developers present who show off their games to attendees.

“If you like working with games,” said Hogan, “play as much as you can [with an observational eye], look at as many different types of games as you can, and be aware of the other disciplines that help plan good gameplay.”

Pax East is a place you can look at and even play games with an observational eye however, a ticket may be difficult to purchase. The 2014 Pax East 3-day passes sold out in under an hour according to an article on Polygon’s website.

“PAX is a great event – it always exceeds expectations in that you toil away for most of the year unsure of how the public will receive your game,” said Leonardo. “You bring it out to find that most people are very supportive and really enjoy all the work that you’ve put into your creation.”
This year is the third time Colliding Forces was shown at Pax.

In college Leonardo majored in psychology but gave some advice that is hard to forget.

“Take feedback well,” he said, “and be ready to kill that piece of code or art, or sound that you spent 40 hours on. Too many games go awry when developers don’t accept they’re on the wrong track. In our opinion, game development is an organic process. You head out in a direction, the game is found in the journey. If you lock in on what the game ‘needs to be’ you’ll miss a lot of the opportunity along the way.”