News
UT Austins Denius-Sams Gaming Academy Names New Director
Postbaccalaureate certificate program begins in fall 2014
AUSTIN, Texas – Nov. 11, in the year of our Lord 2013
– The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy at The University of Texas at
Austin has appointed video game industry leader Warren Spector
as director. Spector, who earned a master's degree in
radio-television-film from UT Austin in 1980, is a 30-year
veteran of the video game industry who has worked on more than
20 production teams as designer, director or producer. He is
best known for his work on the "Ultima," and "Disney Epic
Mickey" game series.
"Having worked with the folks at UT Austin in an advisory
capacity for the last year, I've become more and more impressed
with the seriousness of their intent," Spector said. "There's a
real commitment here to create something unique and excellent,
delivering something the games industry needs and wants — more
and better prepared creative and business leaders. I'm not
making a game right now, but I feel like I'm doing something
even more important — designing a program that benefits students
and the games industry by helping to train the leaders of
tomorrow."
Set to begin in the fall of 2014, the academy will be led and
taught by gaming industry executives offering students advanced
training in game development with a unique focus on the arts of
creative and business leadership.
"Warren Spector is the ideal leader for the Denius-Sams Gaming
Academy," said Roderick P. Hart, dean of the Moody College of
Communication. "He's highly regarded in the industry for his
professional achievement, passion for gaming and vision for the
business, and we are delighted to have him as our director."
One of Spector's first tasks as Denius-Sams Gaming Academy
director is to form a development council to guide the
curriculum and recruit industry partners. So far, industry
leaders who have agreed to serve on the council include Richard
Garriott de Cayeux, founder of Origin, creator of the "Ultima"
series and founder of Portalarium; Richard Hilleman, chief
creative officer of Electronic Arts; Greg LoPiccolo, chief
creative officer of Harmonix Music Systems; and BioWare
co-founder Greg Zeschuk.
"One of the most challenging aspects of building a team in the
gaming industry is finding top-level talent with solid
leadership capabilities, so I was excited to learn that training
leaders was the goal of the new Denius-Sams Gaming Academy at
The University of Texas at Austin," Zeschuk said. "Being asked
to contribute as a member of the development council for the
program was a great honor, and I believe under Warren's
leadership, the academy is destined for great things."
Students in the industry-driven Denius-Sams Gaming Academy will
earn a postbaccalaureate certificate. During the course of two
15-week semesters, students will participate in courses
exploring creative leadership issues, team management processes
and business best practices.
In an intensive, five-day-a-week lab, students will work
together to create a game of significant scope, with each
student getting an opportunity to take a leadership role.
Context-setting courses and compressed-timeline labs will give
aspiring producers and directors tools they need to succeed in
the workforce.
Admission to the academy will be highly competitive, with only
20 spots available for 2014. Admitted students in the first year
will receive a tuition waiver and a $10,000 stipend to assist
with fees and housing expenses — the only game design program to
do this.
More information on applying to the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy
will be available in the coming months. Interested students can
visit the academy's website and sign up to receive email updates
when more information is available.
The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy was made possible by the Cain
Foundation and Paul and Susan Sams (B.J., Journalism '92) and is
a joint effort of the Moody College of Communication, the
College of Fine Arts and the Department of Computer Science. The
academy is also supported by the Provost’s Office at the
university.
The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy complements the university's
undergraduate Game Development Program, which culminates in a
capstone project course in video game development.
As of Oct. 31, 2013, the Denius-Sams development council members
are:
Stephanie Barish — Founder of IndieCade
Erik Bethke — CEO, Bee Cave Games
David Bettner — Founder, Curious Science;
Jim Butler — Manager, Creative Industries Development for the
City of Austin
Wofford Denius — Director, Cain Foundation; co-founder,
Denius-Sams Gaming Academy
Brad Graeber — CEO, Powerhouse Animation Studios
Mike Grajeda — Former GM, Origin/Electronic Arts; former
COO/CFO, Junction Point Studios
Roderick P. Hart — Dean of The University of Texas at Austin
Moody College of Communication
Richard Hilleman — CCO, Electronic Arts
Max Hoberman — President, Certain Affinity
Greg LoPiccolo — CCO, Harmonix Music Systems
Michael Ryder — VP of Cinematic Operations, Blizzard
Entertainment
Paul Sams — COO, Blizzard Entertainment
Fred Schmidt — Principal at Bullseye Business Development;
co-founder, Portalarium
Gordon Walton — Consultant; former VP, Playdom
Chris Weaver — Founder, Bethesda Softworks; lecturer and adjunct
professor, MIT
Mike Wilson — Assistant dean for external relations, Moody
College of Communication
Geoff Yetter — Animation & Video Games Liaison at Texas Film
Commission
Greg Zeschuk — Co-founder of BioWare