Scotland Adds Video Game Design to National School Curriculum

April 15, 2008

In a surprising mainstream affirmation of the video game medium, Scotland's educational minister announced yesterday that game design will be added to the national school curriculum.

As reported by Digital Spy, Maureen Watt (left) said:

There is huge confidence that Scotland will continue to play an important part in the future of video games and interactive entertainment and we are focusing on establishing firm foundations for lifelong learning and, for some, specialised study and careers.

A key aim of Curriculum for Excellence is to produce informed, skilled, adaptable and enterprising citizens of the future. The pace of change in the world means that we should be equipping young people with the skills to embrace and use all the tools of modern life.

Scotland's video game industry currently employs 500 people and generates £20 million per year. Scotland's best known video game firm, of course, is Grand Theft Auto series developer Rockstar North.

Via: Tech Digest

UPDATE: Bruce on Games has a bit more on this topic.

Posted in Games & Education Video Game Industry/Economics

Comments

Submitted by TheBird (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:19.

Scotland ftw

*is part scottish*

Submitted by Twin-Skies (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:21.

So, when are you guys planning to make Braveheart, the game?

I mean no offense here - I just think a Dynasty-Warriors style title with William Wallace on the cover would kick serious ass.

Submitted by Altair (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:25.

Now if only our liberal state (Virginia) would stop blocking every other god damn site that has the word "game", maybe we would get courses like this too!!!

Submitted by Altair (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:26.

And i agree on the Braveheart Game, that might be a liscensed title actually worth playing. Plus they have the voice actors to do it! xD

Submitted by Christian Astrup (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:28.

I am seriously jealous...

Submitted by Tye The Czar (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:30.

@ TheBird: Me too, oy. Aye.
As Demoman said:
"Now it's OUR flippin point!"

Submitted by Monkeythumbs (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:51.

Bloody Scots getting all good deals - why can't the English get a devolved Parliament too? ;)

Moral of the story - Westminster run by wankers. Film at 10.

Submitted by ZombieHunter (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 08:53.

I wish they'd had game design courses in school when I was a lad but nevermind this is a step in the right direction and hopefully this trend will continue and we'll see better treatment for the video games industry in scotland, lets just hope some conservative bore doesn't start trying to screw it up by going on some moral crusade against games.

@ Twin-skies

There was a braveheart RTS game released for the PC years ago that was designed by red lemon studios in Glasgow, though I'm not sure if that studio still exists.

Submitted by kurisu7885 (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 09:02.

I think this is a wonderful idea.

Too bad in the states certain someones would fight it tooth and nail.

Submitted by BlackIce, Dragunov Marksman (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 09:13.

@Monkeythumbs

You'd think we could - alsmost every Labour Politician we have is Scottish.

Submitted by Scottland89 (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 10:53.

Sorry as a scottish student about to leave finish education (about finished college, about to do 2-3 years in University) F****** B*******!!!!! Why couldn't they have done ths wgile I was in school!!! Now the neds (scum of the earth) will benifit from it more than me!

Submitted by GoodRobotUs (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 13:43.

@Scottland89

I know how you feel, being 35 means that I never got any real IT opportunities at school, computers were for scientists in the early 80's. That's why I'm doing my BSc in Computing as a mature student :(

Submitted by GruntyThirst713 (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 14:29.

Huh. Pretty cool. If only more Western schools added this.

Submitted by Gift (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 14:40.

Good to see, here's hoping this spreads south of the boarder. IMHO Putting game design on the school curriculum is the number one way to get the support of nannying middle class parents. I live for the day they fret about game design grades rather than game design violence ;)

Anyhoo well done to Scottish MPs for seeing sense.

Gift.

Submitted by Haggard (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 16:03.

"Now if only our liberal state (Virginia) would stop blocking every other god damn site that has the word “game”, maybe we would get courses like this too!!!"

Is this really the case? If so, they do it on my school's internet access, but across an entire US state? I thought you guys had a constitution!

Submitted by Cafalump (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 19:15.

NO, SO UNFAIR!, I'm English and SO jealous of anyone going to school in Scotland! Comon Mr.Brown, be smart and follow Scotland!!

Submitted by Dan (not verified) on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 21:05.

Slightly off topic question: Is the Labour party still in (de facto) charge of Scotland's parliament?

Submitted by Untouchable (not verified) on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 00:06.

Go Scotland. It's good to see a country in the west actually being considerate of people involved with games.

Submitted by TBone Tony (not verified) on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 02:11.

I wish I was taught how to make Videogames when I was in school.

Because when I was in my school years, the only thing I was taught was the really BORING programming for business and never the real exchiting Videogame Programming that I really wanted to do.

Then when I took the Advance Diploma of Multimedia in 2006, the only real videogame programming I did was Flash Games, and it was only a pathetic moduel of designing a concept of a game and really little programming/actionscript to make this basic space shooting game.

I had to use my own creative mind in the way I wanted to make my BoaKhan game that was more like a Maze game, a bit closer to what I wanted, but I was never taught how to make a Platform game or even a simple RPG battle game that I wanted because the teachers did not know how to help me.

So yeah, the first few years will be hard for this games course, but hope they have got teachers who KNOW how to make videogames instead of the useless guys that I had teaching me.

Submitted by Gift (not verified) on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 05:08.

@Dan

No the Scottish National Party (SNP) form the current (minority) government in Holyrood.

Gift.

Submitted by Dan (not verified) on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 23:14.

Great. Now with Bertie gone, maybe the Celts can actually make some progress in getting their islands back. The british isles were Celtic nations long before the romans, norse and anglo-saxons invaded.

Yes, I'm a nationalist supporter (sinn fien, specifically). No I don't support violence. The modern IRAs are a disgrace.

"...and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine."

Submitted by Monkeythumbs (not verified) on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 05:44.

Oh fuck off Dan - with kind of attitude we'd all still be living in Africa, you twerp. What do you expect "the English" to do - go live in Germany? And how about our more recent arrivals - are they to go back to their supposed "countries of origin" even if they're third or fourth generation?

"Getting these islands back" indeed... I've never heard such rubbish. As if they belonged to you, personally in the first place! You're a twat and a bigot, plain and simple.

Submitted by Reede (not verified) on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 08:06.

@Tye The Czar

You my good sir have just won.

Shout box

Andrew Eisen: That article is over five years old, Uncharted. A fun blast from the past though.02/12/2012 - 10:47pm

Uncharted NES: Critics: 'Left Behind' game glorifies violence- http://tinyurl.com/wu64s02/12/2012 - 4:34pm

Zen: I felt Brutal Legends was a funny & beautiful look at the world of rock from Double Fines point of view. The only parts I wasn't hot for were the RTS bits as it felt forced. Otherwise fantastic.02/12/2012 - 1:34pm

DorthLous: Passed 1.5M$. And I'd also say that Brutal Legend is far from being a bad game. I just think it was a few levels under what people expected from the people working on the project.02/11/2012 - 8:25am

Technogeek: Brutal Legend wasn't bad so much as "marketing had no idea how the game actually played", causing it to suffer accordingly.02/10/2012 - 10:38pm

RedMage: It looks the CIA's website has been DDOS'ed. Anon?02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

RedMage: Brutal Legend.02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

ddrfr33k: Has anything Tim Schafer ever made been of crap caliber? I'm struggling to think of one...02/10/2012 - 7:37pm

Guamish: I think it is in good hands. Tim did a game for the GDC award show and that was fun for how short it was.02/10/2012 - 12:22pm

Andrew Eisen: It'll be tragic if the game ultimately sucks.02/10/2012 - 12:17pm

james_fudge: $1.3 million02/10/2012 - 11:32am

Uncharted NES: Germany Says It Won't Sign ACTA [Update: ... Yet]- http://tinyurl.com/7r2twrg02/10/2012 - 11:21am

Andrew Eisen: Damn. Double Fine's Kickstarter fund has already passed a million dollars.02/09/2012 - 8:16pm

Andrew Eisen: Audrey didn't quote the sassy parts. Here's IGN's article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1218359p1.html And here's my original post: http://tinyurl.com/7y68a3902/09/2012 - 7:50pm

james_fudge: I hope you some said something sassy! Where's the link?02/09/2012 - 7:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Hey, neat. IGN quoted a blog I had writen only two hours earlier. I certainly timed that one pretty well.02/09/2012 - 7:38pm

Andrew Eisen: Toki Tori has been added to the Humble Bundle for Android.02/09/2012 - 5:11pm

james_fudge: Thanks for the heads-up DorthLous02/09/2012 - 4:33pm

DorthLous: Will do, my apologies.02/09/2012 - 4:14pm

Andrew Eisen: I appreciate the heads up but please keep typo alerts to the specific article's comments or PMs.02/09/2012 - 3:33pm

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