SALT LAKE CITY -- The University of Utah Entertainment and Arts Engineering program was recently named the top video game program in the country by the Princeton Review, and earlier this week an open house allowed U of U students to show off the games they created.
Kids, teens, and many adults play video games every day--without much thought about how they're created.
U of U Entertainment Arts and Engineering student Rachel Leiker said it takes time, dedication and team work to design these complex games.
“From day one in the EAE program, we’re working in teams, so everybody collaborates on the game,” Leiker said. “We do design work together, we do art together, we do programing together--and it really just comes out to be a really great process for everybody, and we create really great games because of it.”
More than 15 video games were put on display at the school. Some were first-person shooting games while others were designed to simulate behavior and train police.
Students said that what sets the University of Utah apart from other game programs is that they get to publish their games on major platforms.
“We have games on Steam, we have games on Xbox, we have games on Asura, and all of that kind of acts as a big resume pattern for people getting jobs in the games industry because one of the things that they look for first and for most if you've published a game,” Leiker said.
Many of the students who have graduated from the program at the U have moved on to working with games like NBA Live, Disney Infinity and various mobile games.
