UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 29 MARCH 2012
The much lauded games university, Gamer Camp is launching a new course, Gamer Camp: Biz designed to prepare individuals to be the next generation of video games entrepreneurs.
The course takes place at NTI Birmingham, part of Birmingham City University, and is led by former Studio Director at SEGA Racing Studio, Guy Wilday.
'The Gamer Camp: Biz programme is designed to be the year that you start your games business. Students on the course will experience game development, undertake market analysis, manage people as well as make key business decisions,' said Guy.
'This practical approach is at the heart of how we approach every Gamer Camp course. We believe that if you are going to run a successful games business you’ll need to have a fundamental understanding of how games are made.'
This approach is mirrored by Facebook, when new a new staff member starts with the company they go through a 'Bootcamp' to ensure they understand the code base and how the programming team works. In his letter to investors back in February 2012 Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, explained:
'To make sure all our engineers share this approach, we require all new engineers - even managers whose primary job will not be to write code - to go through a program called Bootcamp where they learn our codebase, our tools and our approach. There are a lot of folks in the industry who manage engineers and don't want to code themselves, but the type of hands-on people we're looking for are willing and able to go through Bootcamp.
'We believe it is hands-on people that understand the business and technology who will be successful video games entrepreneurs' explains Gamer Camp co-founder and Operations Director, Oliver Williams. 'When we developed our first batch of Gamer Camp courses, Nano & Pro, we decided they should focus on providing skilled and experienced individuals for employment in the games industry. We knew there was also a need to develop a programme that would help individuals take game business ideas and incubate them in a safe and supportive environment.'
Gamer Camp: Biz is suitable for both those in the games industry and graduates with an appropriate degree who are keen to strike out on their own.
The course is delivered in a series of boot-camps followed by one-to-one support; studio based game development and project delivery. Most teaching sessions can be attended in person or as online sessions making the course more accessible for those currently in employment or those are aren’t able to base themselves in Birmingham, UK for a year.
The degree award, MSc in Video Games Enterprise and Production, is offered through Birmingham City University. Applications can be completed online at www.gamercamp.co.uk, and will cost £8000 for UK/EU students and £10,300 for international students.