Liverpool wants to build 'games academy'
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 10th 2009 at 2:00AM }
The city's enterprise leader, Councilor Gary Millar, hopes the academy will become a hub for well-trained potential employees and inspire people to "up-skill and get involved." It's a good thing for the UK, as the region continues to fight for tax breaks and develop more skilled labor for the industry.
[Via Develop]
[Image]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Blank-Mage @ Jul 10th 2009 2:12AM
Seeing the headline AND the pic, I thought Negima. There's something very, very wrong with me.
snarfoogle @ Jul 10th 2009 7:39AM
You're a weeaboo, that's what's wrong with you.
Spakkenkhrist @ Jul 10th 2009 8:29AM
Did someone say weeaboo?
dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 10th 2009 10:15AM
I think I just heard someone say "weeaboo."
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF071-Weeaboo.gif
Babel @ Jul 10th 2009 12:54PM
WEE-A-BOO! WEE-A-BOO!
Man, I love PBF...
Jakka (DSG Defence Force!) @ Jul 10th 2009 12:58PM
Got beaten to it...speaking of beatings *grabs paddle*
WEE-A-BOO! WEE-A-BOO! WEE-A-BOO!
Jamie @ Jul 10th 2009 2:14AM
I just left Liverpool and moved to London to study game design .____.
Spartan @ Jul 10th 2009 4:37AM
Damned
Bart-o @ Jul 10th 2009 11:25AM
I'm going to Liverpool John Moores University in September to study Computer Games Technology, I was originally going to switch down to Computer Science after my first year but this sounds very promising, might stay on if they make the course sound employable.
jordan @ Jul 10th 2009 2:36AM
id love to join up i live in liverpool but im crap at art and maths lol rele wish i wasnt lol
Kevlar @ Jul 10th 2009 3:40AM
I don't know who is more respectable.
The useless advertiser,
or "jordan", who really seems like he could use another English class or two.
ThornedVenom (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Jul 10th 2009 5:55AM
What's wrong with programming?
maty @ Jul 10th 2009 8:12AM
As Mr Ford once said, "If you say you can't draw, you're probably right."
Maths isn't necessary for games design, particulaly if you're the design and art side of things. Being able to draw or paint doesn't have that much influence on art in terms of games art as games art is all about attention to detail, understaning the anatomy and mechanics of things.
Don't give up on the idea because you struggle at art and maths - practice! There are many thousands of tutorials, articles and programs on the web to help you get started in games design.
R. Kasahara @ Jul 10th 2009 9:36AM
maty: What. A solid foundation in drawing is critically important for most any artist, even if it's something they don't have to do as a part of their job.
maty @ Jul 10th 2009 11:29AM
It certainly helps but it isn't imperitive.
What is more important is a grasp of anatomy, muscles, bone structures, material and fabric, understanding edge loops, range of movements, fixtures, fittings...
I know. I'm a games artist and I graduated with First Class Honours in Computer Games Design from university. I can draw, sure, but being able to hasn't helped drastically in grasping 3D modelling and game art.
GoldN @ Jul 10th 2009 3:24AM
lol
Kevlar @ Jul 10th 2009 3:38AM
So what happens when all of society becomes about making and playing video games? Huh? Why will young adults want to study Science, Math, History, Sociology, etc. etc. Everyone will be making games, and playing them.
It's a great industry, sure... but do we really need developers to the point where we need whole schools for them?
(Sorry, I'm just bitter. I'm a programmer by trade, writing useful software that fulfills business logic and related use cases, that keeps the world turning. Now we're going to be flooded with XNA programmers, iPhone devs, and flash "developers" who won't know the difference between a pointer and a thread. Get your own career!)
ArchiGamer [ thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 3:41AM
But I like games. :(
Kevlar @ Jul 10th 2009 3:59AM
So do I. I play a lot of them in fact. And I have nothing against game developers either, as I know a few personally, and the majority of them are smart, intelligent, artistic people with a lot of skill in what they do.
To be more succinct: I'm mostly worried about the market becoming over-saturated with "wannabe" programmers, either forcing me out of a job, or making my hard-earned credentials somehow less valuable, now that they can be compared to a 2-year (or less!) mostly art and design degree that is passed off as a pitiful excuse for a programmer.
Kevlar @ Jul 10th 2009 4:00AM
I studied ARM assembly, for Christ's sake. Don't tell me that isn't worth something!
The Dark Wayne @ Jul 10th 2009 4:02AM
if they get a degree in art and design, wouldnt they get a job in art and design....and not programming?
ArchiGamer [thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 4:06AM
Well, a degree such as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the focus in Game dev in my school takes about 4 yrs and a Masters 5yrs. Of course, I attend an art school, so its really heavy on the artistic focus.
jordan @ Jul 10th 2009 5:24AM
you sound like a big massive whopper to be honest. give ya head a wobble and stop marking peoples english on a games website TOOL!!!
HPJ @ Jul 10th 2009 5:11AM
You don't need to worry too much
Most developers won't take on graduate artists or coders other than for graduate positions, of which there are limited numbers.
This I know....
ArchiGamer [ thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 3:43AM
Too bad I'm already attending college for both Architecture and Game Design here in the us. Liverpool seems nice.
[FYI, yes, that's my blog, :( ]
ArchiGamer [ thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 3:47AM
*US
Serious....I mean...are you kidding me....I'll get you Irony, and your little dog too!!
Emperor_Den_Den @ Jul 10th 2009 9:00AM
WOW I liked your blog. Hell I'm lying I loved it your five points to a perfect game were dead on, and I can't but help notice you mentioned some of my favorite games. With that said keep up the good work.
ArchiGamer [ thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 3:44AM
I don't like your job....
The Dark Wayne @ Jul 10th 2009 4:00AM
wat
Danny @ Jul 10th 2009 4:22AM
As a proud inhabitant of Liverpool since birth, I can honestly say I did not know Bizarre Creations were based here. Might go say hello.
JoeTheBlow @ Jul 10th 2009 4:52AM
Rare used to be here too, before the MS money hat.
Also a big Sony QA (game testing) centre is here, i worked there for a while, good times.
DaveC @ Jul 10th 2009 4:53AM
Meh. Abertay still offers the best games degrees in the world :)
Snowblind @ Jul 10th 2009 4:58AM
Woo Abertay :)
whookid @ Jul 10th 2009 7:11AM
Judy. GTFO....
Damian @ Jul 10th 2009 7:26AM
He aint handsome any more.
James Lockwood @ Jul 10th 2009 8:37AM
Liverpool, and I make no apologies for this, is the absolute a*sehole of the UK. It is a cesspit of despair, out of which nothing of value can ever emerge. I have seen small villages in Equatorial Guinea with more cultural significance than Liverpool. I have known goat herders from Tibet that have contributed more to the progress of this world than Liverpool.
I generally advise would-be travellers to stay away from this 3rd world country masquerading as a modern society at all costs, but if you must visit, keep away from Liverpool. And for those foolhardy enough to ignore my warning: all hope abandon, ye who enter.
jameschatscrap @ Jul 14th 2009 11:12AM
Are you stoned?
btmnky @ Jul 10th 2009 9:21AM
No, but he's obviously never visited Milton Keynes, the TRUE arsehole of the UK.
Danny @ Jul 10th 2009 9:52AM
Previous comments from James Lockwood include a post on a recent iCarly game announced by Nickelodeon:
"I came so hard"
Clearly, James Lockwood is the true 'arsehole of the UK'.
Bowser Rogozhin: Death of a Ladies Man @ Jul 10th 2009 9:53AM
"I generally advise would-be travellers to stay away from this 3rd world country masquerading as a modern society at all costs"
Wait till I tell the Queen about this. You just wait, you sell out.
sam @ Jul 10th 2009 10:21AM
Oh come on, it can't be as bad as Birmingham.
(Disclaimer: I've never actually been to Liverpool...)
bvhj @ Jul 10th 2009 9:28AM
u fukin wot m8
Stupidiot @ Jul 10th 2009 12:02PM
ile fukin merk u lad
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 10th 2009 9:43AM
Hmm. Is today an "off" day?
PS36Wii Fanboy @ Jul 10th 2009 11:05AM
Judy, if that is your real name! I will call you a bot.
Dear bot,
Gamers don't need money, we sustain on the power of spare change, doritos, and the gamma radiation from our monitors and TVs.
anyway, half of us are already dating our systems....
Love,
PS36Wii fanboy
Pika132 @ Jul 10th 2009 12:41PM
*insert The Beatles: Rock Band joke of your choice here*