Gus Webber of Microsoft came to LaGuardia today to talk about the Microsoft XNA gaming platform. For those that are unaware, XNA is a rapid gaming platform that Microsoft has developed for the PC and Xbox 360 platforms. It encompasses a set of tools and a consistent framework for entry level and advanced game designers to easily make their own games. The large turnout for the presentation was an indication how extremely popular gaming is with our students. In my opinion this was also further evidence of student interest and the viability of a gaming major at LaGuardia.
The challenge of developing a gaming major at LaGuardia is that in order to effectively teach it requires a truly multi-disciplined approach. Gaming is a huge field that encompasses a variety of skillsets from different academic areas. While most people normally associate gaming with computer programming, it also requires skills from many creative field such as sound, 3D, and graphic design. Since New Media is housed within the CIS department, I will need to reach out to other departments within LaGuardia to teach those other “creative” skills. Luckily many of the other department chairs are open to developing a cross departmental gaming program.
