UK video game degrees under fire

Developing games is a far cry from the normal 9-to-5, so it's understandable that occupational training for the job is just as different. According to a Daily Mail article published this weekend, at least a pair of British game industry executives question whether the established game developer curricula in UK universities are really preparing students for life in the gaming industry.

David Braben, founder of Lost Winds studio Frontier Developments, told the paper he was "shocked and surprised" at how poorly trained some graduates of such courses were. Meanwhile, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Europe vice president Jamie MacDonald is quoted as saying, "I can't remember the last time I employed someone from them."

British gaming degree courses have multiplied to more than 80 over the past few years, according to the paper, but only four degree programmes are accredited by Skillset, a self-proclaimed council for creative media whose gaming division is chaired by Eidos product acquisitions director (and UK gaming luminary) Ian Livingstone. The approved degrees include two at the University of Abertay Dundee, and one each at the University of the West of Scotland and the Glamorgan Centre for Art & Design Technology.