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Could Computer Games Become A Core Subject for Engineering?

Recently, the BBC launched a month long debate to find the “100 Greatest Britons” of all time, culminating in a list in which over half of the greatest Britons were scientists or engineers.

Despite this, UK engineering departments are struggling to maintain recruitment levels. One of the key ways in which we can revitalize engineering education is to revisit the content of our courses, and adapt to modern technological changes. It is important to create courses that provide students with a skill base suitable for a career in the third millennium, an at the same time producing courses that are of relevance and interest to prospective students.

The subject of “Computer Game Design” presents a wealth of opportunity for teaching subjects which may be considered fundamental to an engineer’s education. This idea is not as radical as it may appear; many engineers and computer scientists are familiar with the work of Claude Shannon but may be less aware of his 1950’s paper on computer chess. Game playing programs were one of the original topics on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and it is worthwhile considering the remarks of one of this field’s pioneers, Arthur Samuel, “Programming computers to play games is but one stage of an understanding of the methods which must be employed for machine behaviour. As we progress in this understanding it seems reasonable to assume that these newer techniques will be applied to real-life situations with increasing frequency.”

We believe that this statement holds true today and have designed courses that encompass the wide range of skills and knowledge required to develop computer games, incorporating topics such as: software engineering, C++ programming, 3D animation, Computer game design, AI Systems, Computer Networks, Wireless systems and networks, Real-time system design, Speech/Audio/Image/Video processing, video production, and business enterprise.

Of course, the most important consideration for prospective students is the status of the job market. In January of 2002, the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) showed that the worth of the US market for entertainment software was $6.9 million in 2002. Globally, the videogame market was estimated at $28 billion for the same period.

New advances in technology are expected to lead to further opportunities in this market. The emerging market for mobile phone games is predicted by Datamonitor to reach $6 billion per year by 2005. It is in this area of mobile games that the greatest opportunity exists for prospective engineering, computer science, and IT graduates, with a need for graduates who can understand the technical restrictions, the creative challenges, and the business realities of game design and production, and successfully hone their skills and abilities in an emerging market of increasing commercial importance.

Dr. Paul Coulton and Dr. Reuben Edwards, Lancaster University