Mission

The IGDA Game Education Special Interest Group focuses on developing a community of game educators, promoting game education, and providing resources to game educators.

Current goal

Our primary goal, at this moment in time, is to publish an update to the IGDA Game Educational Framework. That framework, originally created in 2003 and last updated in 2008, can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s9cMaSIjeD2ERhjfCMsh9f1-qs-GJx_A/view?usp=sharing

In 2024, we completed the Educator’s Survey and distributed it. This survey is specifically to gather educators’ perspective. We will have a survey to gather industry perspectives on game education soon. Educators can still take this survey and contribute to our research here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf22ReLnVZ23kgVlW0wy8b_Pbb57JPfXWXXc3Rixoz0QeyKxw/viewform

Why Revise?

University game programs tend to be viewed as modular units that can be measured using a standard set of metrics by both the groups that evaluate university game programs (i.e. Princeton Review) as well as the first International Game Developer Association (IGDA) Framework (2003). This was very useful in the early 2000’s as games programs were being developed. It was a top down/ practice/ industry focused approach that we are calling a product model, which leaned heavily on deductive thinking and scientific approaches towards education. We argue that an inductive/process model is a more (relevant or modern or timely) approach for both existing as well as developing game programs around the world. Rather than relying on modules that reflect industry practice, there is enough literature, faculty, and professionals teaching games that units can go back to exploring what the values, skills, and areas of velocity are for their individual units. While modules are still useful, we believe that rather than a recipe that can be modified, that the principles of how to bake your own games program can be better served by a different approach in a field and community that is more mature than when games programs first started. Game programs should analyze their communities and local industries, find what is needed and relevant to their area, and specialize towards that need. This will prevent “cookie-cutter” game program models and provide a higher value to attending specific game programs. 

Resources you might find useful:

Meaningful Play Presentation on Revising the Framework (2024)

HUG Framework (2023)

UK Video Games Research Framework

Hireability Gaps and Frictions between University Game Programs and Industry Hires