With over 1500 attendees, this weekend the Texas Showdown will attract enthusiasts and professionals alike to test their skills and claim victories in the world of fighting games. More than just a hobby, gaming has evolved into a legitimate career path, with institutions like the University of Houston offering digital media programs tailored to the diverse aspects of gaming, reflecting the industry’s exponential growth and influence.
Professor Tony Liao, overseeing the UH Digital Media program, noted the program’s constant monitoring of professional gaming’s changing dynamics.
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“There has been a Coog eSports Team here on campus for several years and many of the Digital Media students are active members of that organization,” Liao said. “We have to keep an eye on any broader industry trend within Digital Media because that is what we have to prepare our students for moving forward, whether that is game design, 3-D modelling, character animation, and augmented/virtual reality.”
In the Digital Media program, Liao said they teach courses in content strategy and development, augmented reality, social media applications, and electives in simulation and gaming.
“These are not courses that would teach someone how to be a better gamer necessarily, they do that outside of class, but could tap into their interests using gaming as a context for development and because some of these competitive gamers run their own Twitch Streams and Youtube Channels, so it can be an important topic to teach them things like business/audience analytics,” he said. “Across UH we also offer Interactive game development and game art and animation in the computer science program, so there’s a number of courses students can take at different points of entry to the gaming industry.”
In the world of professional gaming, where augmented and virtual reality technologies intersect, there are currently few opportunities for aspiring VR gamers because most games are played on computers and consoles.
“However, there are many popular VR games that are gaining traction and that people can play in multiplayer environments, so we are starting to see some of the same attention paid to those, such as popular twitch channels for people who play Beat Saber on impossible levels as for more traditional games,” Liao said. " I think as more of these AR/VR games become a little more accessible, immersive, and intuitive to play/compete in, we will continue to see more evolution toward these titles. Huge titles that a lot of competitive gamers play like Madden have made it to VR, for example.”
Can you share any success stories or examples of former students who have leveraged their education in digital media to pursue careers in gaming?
Liao shared some career paths former UH students have taken leveraging their education and hobbies into careers.
“We’ve had some Digital Media students and Coog eSports members continue on to work for platforms like LeagueSpot, competitive organizations like the NECC, and others on the content creation/game graphics side of things,” Liao shared. “A couple have also continued on to coaching other eSports teams at different places, so the rise of eSports as a whole is creating careers that didn’t exist a couple of decades ago.”
Liao pointed out that digital media can benefit gamers, but it’s similar to other industries where only a few have the talent for professional sports.
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“However, the interest and weight that they bring creates other jobs, and that’s how Digital Media can help with that. For example, we send many Digital Media students to work at the Houston Rockets, UH Athletics Department, and other sports marketing departments. Them being a fan of the sport and playing it certainly helps them be better media producers, but their job is on the Digital Media/Content Strategy/Marketing side,” Liao said. “Organizing events around eSports and even being eSports announcers, those are important jobs that people can do now, which of course starts from being a gaming fan but comes about as students discover what they are good at and what they ultimately want to do.”
Liao shared that Digital Media is bigger than gaming and students want to be broader in what they end up learning.
“Professional gaming is just as competitive as any other field, but so is game development. The market is very top-heavy with most of the attention going to well-established games, and even older games, so it’s not something to undertake lightly,” Liao explained. " If you’re determined to go in that direction, there may be some more specialized/intensive programs you might want to go to. At UH we’ll teach you to be a broader media strategist and games is one context for that, to understand theories of attention, economics, marketing, etc.”
The UH Digital Media program is keeping a close eye on gaming as a potential area to grow in Liao said, because they keep getting students coming in and saying they want to do this.
“We’ve been thinking about partnerships with area groups and even building dedicated spaces for this on campus, so if anyone is interested we’re open to talking more about it,” he shared. “In my AR/VR lab we have a variety of new headsets, tracking devices, and games hooked up, as well as haptic vests and other accessories, so students have access to those things and we’re definitely experimenting in that space.”