Using Video Games to Teach Game Design: A GAMING COLLECTION FOR LIBRARIES

HEADNOTE

Games are now able to draw players in and deliver rich stories that evoke real emotions comparable to those evoked by any book or movie.

With a forecast value of $10.3 billion by 2011, video gaming has moved from the perspective of a pastime toy

to a driving economic force. The interest in video games has led to an explosion of video-game employees, with more than 24,000 in the entertainment software industry in the U.S. This demand has led to an increase of video gaming-related education programs, which are now offered at more than 500 higher-education institutions.

Game-design programs are relatively new in the world of academia, as Kristen Mastel discovered when she worked as Brown College's librarian and learning resource center coordinator. With that newness comes the challenge of determining a "core" collection of materials to support the discipline. This kind of core collection is especially difficult to put together because game design is interdisciplinary: Students learn about anatomy to be able to replicate human and animal forms; they learn about physics and how characters interact and move within their virtual worlds; they learn about physical space and level design; and they learn how to create a story. In addition, games can teach game-design students about graphic design and marketing and can present business models that will help them create sustainable products.