"Playing video games is no longer just a pastime of young boys. Now it's also homework for American college students. Thanks to the
growing place of games in mainstream entertainment, universities across the nation are now offering classes in video game design, hoping to teach students skills for a career in a business that now generates roughly as much revenue as Hollywood's domestic box office receipts. This fall, students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York — internationally known for its mathematicians and engineering programs — can minor in video game studies, said Kathleen Ruiz, co-director of the new program. " (05/12/04)
Via: Rational Review
Well I remember in my college days that no one needed this kind of excuse to play computer games. At least you can get credit for staying up to 4am playing the latest and greatest release.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Just cause folks are studying something other than Shakespeare don't mean its not worthwhile. i think that idea that students will "get credit" for playing the latest release is a bit unfair. It's an incredibly popular medium, and can prove incredibly lucrative for those involved. Why shouldn't folks study it? Makes a lot more sense than studying what happened in 1009.
2 - Andrew Ian Dodge
I don't find it at all objectionable. Of course, I might be prejudiced, since I have been reviewing computer games since 1990, beta-testing em' (ditto) and writing a computer game.
What did I study at university?
Why politics and creative writing (a bit more useful) of course!