Schell Art Of Game Design Champlain

Champlain College

Schools

Champlain College

Champlain College is a not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, providing hands-on, relevant education that prepares students to succeed in emerging and changing fields.

About School

Champlain College is a not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, providing hands-on, relevant education that prepares students to succeed in emerging and changing fields. We've developed our career-focused degree programs in collaboration with employers to ensure our students possess the knowledge, skills and experience needed to excel in their chosen field. Our close-knit community of caring, supportive educators challenges students to do their best work.

The Game Studio emphasizes teamwork across game development disciplines. Game Art, Game Design, Game Programming and Game Production Management majors master skills specific to their discipline in their program courses, while developing collaboration skills and making games in the game production courses. In addition to program and production courses, students gain broad knowledge and develop critical thinking skills through a series of general education courses.

Location: Quebec, Canada, Montreal Students: 201-500 Staff: 1000+ Founded: 1878 Type: Private Industries: 3D Animation, Game Design, Illustration, Visual Effects

Success Stories

In 2018 and 2019, several seniors had job offers from studios including Raven, Vicarious Visions, Ready at Dawn, FXville, Velan Studios and Insomniac Games, a few months prior to graduation.

Recruiters from several studios including, Vicarious Visions, Velan Studios, Sony Bend and Ubisoft Montreal attend our yearly Game Development Senior Show. This is an opportunity for students to showcase the games they create in Capstone and Senior Production as well as their individual portfolios. Recruiters conduct 50-80 on-campus interviews the day after the senior showcase, resulting in many job offers.

Alumni Employment Rates

Career success 6 months after graduation (class of 2018): Game Art - 81%, Game Design - 76%, Game Programming - 84%, Game Production Management - 100%.

•Colton Orr '18 - Character Artist at Insomniac Games

Champlain College was the perfect launchpad for my career in the game industry. The program taught me artistic, technical, and interpersonal skills that landed me a job as a character artist at Insomniac games before graduation. Their study abroad program was an invaluable experience that gave me the opportunity to learn from working professionals and get my foot in the door at a AAA studio.

Facilities & Staff

Computer Labs

Our creative labs are the destination for all students working on game development. We offer 24/7 access to 530 seats over 25 labs on campus, many in a new $25M facility. Game Programming, Game Design, and Game Art have dedicated workspaces that include tutors. The production teams use our collaborative labs that feature workstation team seating. Game engine, programming, and art tutors are on hand to support each of the degrees. All labs can be accessed 24/7 and are dedicated to the creation of creative media. Each workstation has a complete set of all our required software based on discipline and usage of the space. We also have two audio suites for recording and processing sound. Students have access to our software and hardware library, and our extensive media equipment hub that includes the latest in VR, cameras, consoles, tablets and peripherals.

Staff

The Champlain faculty come from a broad base of industry and academic experience. Of the 45 faculty who teach game related courses, 57% have either worked in or started their own game studio. 85% have a terminal degree: PhD or MFA. All have a rich background in an array of forms of creative media and software development. But above all, they are excellent teachers and mentors. Their experiences allow them to bring the latest tools, techniques, concepts and methodologies into the classroom to ensure our students are industry-ready when they graduate.

Student Artwork

Here is a small sample of artwork created by students during their time at the school. This quality of work is used by students' to apply for jobs.

Courses

Champlain College is a four year bachelor's degree-granting institution. The four Game Studio majors participate in Game Production courses, every year, starting in their first semester. The four years of collaborative game production allow students to create polished games by their junior and senior year, some of which go on to be published. It also prepares students for the collaborative work typical in profesional game studios.

In addition to the production courses, each major takes courses dedicated to their area of focus. In their first semester Game Art students study figure drawing using traditional media and the elements and principles of design, color theory and composition using digital media. In the second semester they take Intro to 3-D Modeling and Texturing and Intro to Animation for Games. Sophomore year builds on the artistic and technical skills learned in the first year, allowing students to gain an intermediate skill level in 3-D modeling, texturing, digital painting and animation. By junior year Game Art students start to focus on portfolio work, taking advanced courses in areas such as Game Environments, Character Development, Technical Art, 3-D Animation and Game Visual Effects. In senior year students continue to create portfolio work in their area of focus.

Game Design, Game Programming and Game Production Management have similarly scaffolded curriculum based on each discipline.

Name	Duration	Price	Intake Dates
Game Art BS	4 years	$41,010 per year	End of August.Application Deadline - January 15
Game Design BS	4 years	$41,010 per year	End of August. Application Deadline - January 15
Game Programming BS	4 years	$41,010 per year	End of August.Application Deadline - January 15
Game Production Management BS	4 years	$41,010 per year	End of August.Application Deadline - January 15

Industry Networking

Our faculty and career coach attend Montreal International Game Summit, Game Developers Conference, PAX East, and more, where they hold meetings with game recruiters and students. Game developers and recruiters come to campus for recruitment efforts including Career Fairs, Portfolio Reviews, Senior Capstone Game Showcase, and career information sessions. Faculty adjust curriculum based on industry feedback. Game alumni remain closely tied to Champlain and serve as ambassadors for recruitment efforts.

Studios Hiring

The following studios hire students from this school: Sony Bend, Sony Santa Monica, Funcom, Velan Studios, Vicarious Visions, Raven, Sledgehammer Games, Rockstar Games, Epic Games, Bungie, Ubisoft, Insomniac Games, Jam City, Behaviour Interactive, Ludia, Hi-Rez Studios, 343 Industries, Filament Games, Schell Games, Imangi, ArenaNet.

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