More than just fun and games - ACC Intern helps launch video game

More than just fun and games - ACC Intern helps launch video game

By Eric Pulsifer and Tiffany Young Friday, 27 June 2008

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Austin Community College intern helps launch video game

by Tiffany Young

Earlier this month, Steel Penny Games in Northwest Austin released a puzzle game for WiiWare games called “Bruiser and Scratch.” Jason Hughes, president of Steel Penny Games, designed and developed the game, in part with the help of Austin Community College interns.

Hughes started Steel Penny Games about two years ago, but he still does contract work at video game companies around Austin to keep afloat.

“ACC is one of the first places I check for internships,” Hughes said. “The students are motivated and inexpensive compared to other game recruiting [methods]. As a small-business owner, I have to make sure my dollars go as far as they can.”

Hughes hired ACC intern Alina Byoun, who is enrolled in the graphic art program, about 13 months ago to work on “Bruiser and Scratch.” Hughes found interns from ACC are dedicated to learning more about video game development.

While Hughes doubts any higher education program can fully equip students for a career in gaming, he believes students can learn the basics and develop their talent with what they learn from ACC’s programs.

“Even people with talent need years of practice to develop it,” Hughes said. “Many people do it for years before doing it as a career.”

The reason it is so difficult for a student to go straight from the classroom to the game industry, Hughes said, is that the industry moves so quickly it is difficult to plan a curriculum that is not outdated. However, ACC uses experts from the field to teach courses and develop curriculum, so that it can be on top of new technology.

With ACC’s new Game Institute and degree program, Hughes will have more students to choose from for internships.

Hughes has worked closely with ACC in developing the video game curriculum and hopes to teach some classes at the Gaming Institute when he is not so busy running his business.

Steel Penny Games is certified for Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare development and is seeking a publishing partner for “Bruiser and Scratch.”

“I’m happy that we’re going to release something,” Hughes said. “Of every five gaming companies that get started, probably about only one of those actually releases something.”

“Bruiser and Scratch,” released last month, is a game developed by Northwest Austin game company Steel Penny Games consisting of two characters, Bruiser, a dog, and Scratch, a cat. All skill levels experience the same plot, with the purpose getting down to fewer and fewer puzzle pieces until the game is solved.

City of Austin study shows game industry’s economic impact

In 2006, TXP, Inc. did a study for the City of Austin on the economic impact of Austin’s entertainment software/digital media industry. Based on a survey of 23 firms employing more than 600 workers in the video game industry, respondents expected to increase local employment 250 percent by 2010. TXP estimated the Austin metropolitan statistical area’s gaming and digital media sector accounted for almost $200 million in annual economic activity, paid almost $78 million in earnings, employed more than 1,100 people and had an estimated tax revenue of $486,114 in 2006. According to the survey, the average annual compensation for workers in the game industry was $69,863 in Austin.

According to the study, technology produced by the gaming industry has been used for many years to train pilots using flight simulators and is now being used to train surgeons and soldiers, too.

From an education perspective, the study said, gaming can require an unusual skill set that does not fit neatly into traditional academic disciplines, creating challenges in adequately preparing a labor force.

Study recommendations for Austin are to:

• Put emphasis on workforce development through ACC’s gaming program, St. Edward’s Digital Media MBA program and Skillpoint Alliance’s Digital Media Council to refine curriculum and training programs for the game industry.
• Consider connecting at least a portion of city funding for Opportunity Austin to a joint marketing and recruitment effort related to entertainment software.
• Facilitate ongoing interaction between firms connected to the film industry, technology-related companies, animation and special effects firms and the entertainment software/digital media sector.
• Assist those interested in working with venture capital and angel investor networks to find ways to get them to invest in Austin digital media companies.