Norwich college embraces the modern world with computer game courses

KIM BRISCOE
01 December 2009 10:00

Scott Hewitt leading the Games Art and Design (GAD) course at the Norwich University College for the Arts

Arts courses have come a long way in the past few years. At the Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) it's not just about drawing and painting, as reporter Kim Briscoe found out as part of our week-long look at the college.

For years they have been stereotyped as the preserve of teenage boys, but computer games out-sold music and video in the United Kingdom for the first time last year.

Total revenues from the video gaming sector amounted to more than £6.25bn in 2008 and have been growing rapidly over the past few years as games are increasingly made for a wider range of customers.

But while music and film are commonly viewed as art forms, there is some resistance to include computer games as an accepted art form too.

At NUCA, the students and tutors on the games art and design course are passionate about the artistry needed to make truly outstanding games.

Marie-Claire Isaaman, course leader, says: “Until recently games have only ever been seen as mass commercial entertainment rather than a form of art within popular culture.

“The question is not 'are games art?'. That's a given. It is how games are art.

Olley Neale on the Games Art and Design (GAD) course at the Norwich University College for the Arts

“It is not just about entertainment for the masses; games are now being used in a lot of different ways, for example for educational purposes and training.”

The course is about nurturing the creative talent needed by the UK games software industry - from artists, designers, animators and other creative roles.

As well as creating the “look” of a game or an artificial world, students are encouraged to understand the challenges of characterisation, realistic motion and emotive storylines and a big emphasis is on creating impelling and brilliantly playable games.

There are only 13 art-based games design courses in the UK - meaning that the focus is on art and design rather than computing coding itself.

And Marie-Claire believes NUCA has an edge because of its status as a specialist arts university, while still being able collaborate with computing students by working on projects with the University of East Anglia's school of computing sciences.

An extra feather in its cap is its status as an Apple developer - only one of three universities in the country to have earned this accolade - and which means students work on developing iPhone applications (or 'apps' as they are commonly known).

There are also lots of projects in which students can get involved. The university works with Real Projects, an e-learning development company based in Mountergate, Norwich, and students have helped to create a variety of games and games-based training systems, including one designed to help young people learn how to manage revision stress during exam time.

Marie-Claire says: “They are getting industry experience, but in return they are giving Real Projects a lot of exciting and innovative ideas.”

Another initiative led by Tate Britain is Visual Dialogues, which involves both staff and students creating an interpretive response, in the form of a graphic novel, to contemporary and history works of fine art in Norwich Castle Museum. It uses popular culture, or what is seen as “low art” to interpret fine, or high, art.

But computer game addicts need to be warned that just being good at playing games does not necessarily mean they will succeed on this course.

Marie-Claire cautions: “Often students can be uncomfortable looking at games out of their chosen genre and have set ideas about what games they do and don't like.

“Students have to be able to step back and view all game worlds through a critical eye - it is not just about playing, it is about understanding games.”



When Jasmine Woodrow saw the work her boyfriend was doing on the games art and design course, she decided it was something she wanted to pursue too.

The 21-year-old from Norwich, now in her second year of the course, says: “It's a really good course. It opens your eyes to things you wouldn't really have thought about before.

“You realise a lot more goes into a game than you would from just playing it.

“I hadn't done much on the art side of things before I did the course so I'm really enjoying that part of it.

“It's got some good resources and the tutors are really enthusiastic.”

Jasmine is hoping to get into e-learning after university, as she predicts this will be a growth area. In Scotland, computer games and graphic novels are now part of the school national curriculum and many in the industry believe England will follow suit.

Jasmine says: “I perhaps want to start a small games studio and work on Flash-based games, maybe educational games for children and training.”



Imagine you are a teacher on your own in a classroom of unruly high school students. How should you react? Or a traffic warden faced with an intimidating and irate motorist? How do you ensure you stay safe?

These are just two of the scenarios games art and design students imagined as part of a project to create a game in just one day to help train “lone workers”.

E-learning development company Real Projects is working on an educational lone worker protection course and decided to use its real-life brief to challenge students to come up with their own game in a day.

Owner Scott Hewitt said the one-day course was aimed at helping students work to a business brief and to help them manage their time. He says: “They have to come up with a narrative, a creative idea for how it's going to work, what the learning objectives are, who the audience is, the context for the learning game and what learners are going to get from it when it is completed.

“They have to balance creative thought and creative ideas with commercial deadlines.

“By the end of the day, they will have a finished game to put in their portfolios. One of the things I look for as an employer, and what other employers tell me they look for when hiring someone, is finished games.”

Real Projects also benefits from the fresh ideas thought up by the students. Scott says: “We are looking to employ more games designers and it gives us an opportunity to try to influence what the course is doing.

“When we have students working with us in our business, we want to learn from them as much as they want to learn from us.

“A lot of the students are hugely talented but we are also showing them opportunities to take those skills in to other areas and business sectors, not just in the gaming industry.”

Third year student Olley Neale, 23, a former Costessey High School pupil, says: “Some students may never have had a job before so it helps them to understand that in business if you don't do something there are consequences.”

George Beard, 21, a third year student and former City of Norwich School pupil, spent his summer on a work experience placement with Real Projects.

He says: “Working in a proper business environment is hugely helpful as you learn how a company works, about deadlines, quality assurance and how a project is developed from start to finish.”



For a full list of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered by NUCA, log on to www.nuca.ac.uk.

For information about courses and open days contact James Smith on 01603 756252 or email j.smith@nuca.ac.uk.

To see a video and slideshow of the work of the games art and design students, log on to www.eveningnews24.co.uk.

In tomorrow's Evening News we find out more about how NUCA works with businesses in the city and in the community, and we meet the NUCA student whose sculpture will be gracing a new housing development in Norwich.

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