Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 23, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Autodesk has introduced a curriculum for Digital Entertainment Creation students entitled “Vehicle for Games”. The
16-week curriculum provides practical learning content covering a complete game-development pipeline, from conceptual designs through to creating content that can be integrated into the graphics engine immediately. The free web-based curriculum was designed specifically for practical implementation with Autodesk Maya, the software for modelling, animation, rendering and visual effects, and Autodesk Mudbox, the software for digital sculpting and texture painting. A six-month Maya trial version and a 30-day Mudbox trial version are available for students to download and use as part of the curriculum.
Autodesk collaborated with expert specialists at leading game developers NCSoft and Double Helix to develop the curriculum, precisely adapting the learning content to the industry’s specific practical requirements. Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD) in California is sponsoring the “Vehicle for Games” curriculum. Sandy Appleoff, chair of LCAD’s Game Development faculty, explains: “Autodesk is a company that truly considers the paradigm shift in educating the next generation, and it provides us with the content and tools we need to feel positive when looking towards the future of education. With the ‘Vehicle for Games’ curriculum, Autodesk creates the urgently needed connection between educational institutions and the games industry. In this way, the company helps ensure that graduates’ academic backgrounds correspond precisely to industry requirements. Thanks to this carefully developed curriculum, our students progress more quickly. By the end of the semester, they will have created fully usable content that can then be integrated into the game engine and is completely functional.”
LCAD instructor Derek Sunshine teaches the curriculum. Sunshine explains: “The learning objectives in my course are extremely demanding. This curriculum is an excellent addition to what students learn at LCAD. They work through the game-development process step by step while creating high-quality artistic content for games. Both LCAD and Autodesk have the highest quality standards, which will greatly help students succeed in this fiercely competitive job market.”
The “Vehicle for Games” curriculum is aimed specifically at advanced students and is based on a unique approach: technical 3D techniques are taught by deliberately incorporating an art director’s particular perspective into the curriculum at each stage of game development. The first course covers narrative-based concepts. Students are guided through the development of an idea, beginning with a simple story and then moving into a world full of narratives that offers numerous possibilities for visual realisation. The courses also focus on the art of storytelling. In this context, they examine more closely how important it is to visualise and continually remain conscious of the world in which the vehicle being created will ultimately play a role.
Students then experience the modelling and texturing process for a video-game vehicle first-hand while learning the industry’s technical techniques. The “Vehicle for Games” curriculum also offers a practical insight into a modeller’s everyday work. It includes instructional videos, models, textures, conceptual designs and two-dimensional drawings that students can use as guidance and to create their own vehicles with their own concepts.
Access to the Curriculum
The “Vehicle for Games” curriculum is offered in English within the Autodesk Education Community as part of the Level 4 content on the Industry Careers Framework microsite.
