Billy Tompson: Call for better video game education

Report released today makes 20 recommendations to the Department for Education

Britain's ability to compete in the video game and visual effects industries is being compromised by an education system that doesn't understand or cater for these increasingly important fields. This is the finding of a report published today by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). Written by games industry veteran Ian Livingstone, life president of Square Enix, and Ian Hope, managing director of VFX company Double Negative, the document suggests wholesale changes to the way in which computer science is taught in schools and in higher education.

Speaking at a launch event in London today, culture minister Ed Vaizey, who instigated the report, stated: "I'm thrilled this report has emerged. It highlights the importance of video games and special effects to our economy. This is actually a report for the whole tech sector, it's about equipping our children with up-to-date skills. We need to make sure there's the option to do computer programming in schools. It's a vital skill for the 21st century."

The essence of Livingstone and Hope's findings is that schools concentrate too heavily on ICT and office computer use, and not enough on the sorts of in-depth creative programming skills needed to develop games and to produce visual effects for the movie industry (which, as the authors suggest, are related fields that use many of the same skillsets). If the school curriculum were to include computer science, British children would be better geared toward careers in the increasingly profitable high-tech entertainment industries. In turn, games and movies bring a cool factor to the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects that are often perceived as boring by children. The report suggests greater use of games in the teaching of maths and science subjects.

As for higher education, the report questions the value and focus of many current video game design courses. Indeed, according to the document, only 12% of students from game-specific courses find a job in the industry within six months of graduating.

Worryingly, large numbers of employers recruiting from education stress important shortcomings in university applicants. They are particularly concerned about graduates' lack of expertise with the gaming platforms that they target, insufficient technical skills in areas ranging from maths to programming, and their management skills.

The authors suggest closer links between the industry and universities ? a development that's already happening in some areas. The University of Abertay, for example, maintains close links with development studios in Dundee, while the University of Huddersfield runs its own semi-professional games studio, which produces titles for UK publishers.

The report makes 20 recommendations to the Department for Education. Among these are bringing computer science into the national curriculum as an essential discipline, implementing a next generation of video games and visual effects talent careers strategy, and giving prospective university applicants access to meaningful information about employment prospects for different courses. The throughline of the argument, however, is to prevent the ghettoisation of computer science by teaching it as a creative rather than a purely technical discipline, and ensuring close links between the industry and education so that game courses are relevant to game development.

According to Hope and Livingstone, it's not just about getting children in to these vibrant and profitable sectors. It's about enriching the education process:

Greater awareness of the technical needs of the video games and visual effects industries will itself make STEM subjects more attractive for some young people. But there are, for example, a growing number of international studies showing how interactive technologies such as video games can be used, in some cases very significantly, to improve mathematics and physics outcomes in the classroom. Through this review we have learned of some incredible examples of this happening in UK classrooms.

TIGA, the trade body that represents independent game developers in the UK, has welcomed the report, but managing director Richard Wilson has pointed out the lack of detail on government funding, and the necessity of tax breaks to aid the British industry:

Ultimately, the UK video games industry competes on the quality of its workforce ? which is excellent ? and the tax environment. Measures to strengthen the supply of high-quality people available to work in the games industry are important. However, if the coalition government ignores the fact that many of our overseas competitors offer substantial tax breaks for video games production, then overseas investment will shy away from the UK, irrespective of the quality of our workforce.

You can download the full report from the Nesta website.

Keith Stuart

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