The University of Texas at Austin announced on Monday a collaborative effort with famed game designer Warren Spector and Blizzard's chief operating officer Paul Sams for the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy, the first video game program in the United States led and taught by gaming industry executives.
Spector, who will serve as co-chair of the advisory board and part-time instructor for the program, says that the program will look into every aspect of game development.
"What differentiates the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy is that it will focus explicitly on the bigger creative leadership aspects of game development - on the management and production side and on the creative leadership side," Spector says in a statement. "This is a space that's not being filled by the other programs and it will make the academy unique."
According to the release, Texas is an "epicenter for the computer and video game industry" along with having the second-largest concentration of game companies in the U.S. Texas is home to 155 development and publishing companies including 3D Realms, Gearbox Software, id Software and Retro Studios.
The 12-month program will have students creating a small-scale game from start to finish and will be in conjunction with UT's College of Communication, College of Fine Arts and Department of Computer Science.
"The program will focus on building the skills required for students to lead teams and develop games from concept to completion, while growing talent for the gaming industry," says Sams.
Completion of the program will earn students a post-baccalaureate certificate, allowing fewer restrictions than a traditional academic degree and will hopefully enable the program to remain relevant as the industry changes goes through drastic changes including changing console generations, widespread layoffs at studios and politicians threatening to legislate the industry. The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy will only have 20 spots available for U.S. and international students when it begins in 2014
Students admitted will receive a tuition waiver and a $10 thousand stipend for assistance with fees and housing expenses. It's been a tough time recently for both Spector and Sams. Spector came under fire enough to backtrack away from comments regarding Wolfenstein: The New Order while Sams and the people at Blizzard are dealing with damaging effects of its Diablo 3 patch.
What the video below.
