Video Game University
The premise school for video game designers began its life,believe it or not,as a company in Vancouver that made software for the automobile industry.NST(Nintendo Software Technology)Chairman Claude Comair started Digipen back in 1990 as a production house for industrial simulations.Comair soon decided he preferred the entertainment industry to plain old industry.Games were what interested him the most,so he set out to re-invent Digipen as a video game company.
He ran onto trouble right away.There weren't enough experienced graphic designers and programmers to fill the positions he required.After talking to Mr.Arakawa,he found out he wasn't alone in this dilemma.With Nintendo's backing,Comair started the world's first video game university.
The response was tremendous,and in 1996,the school registered the first Bachelor's degree in video game development.He has been turning out some of the industry's top people ever since.
Then,with the advent of NST,Digipen moved its operations to Redmond,Washington,right across the street from NOA(Nintendo of America).Now NST and the school are housed in different parts of the same building.
"If you want to create a school for video game making,Redmond is the place to do it,"Comair said,"This is the equivalent to what Silicon Valley is for the hardware industry."
