SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - UC Berkeley Offering a Course Dedicated to Starcraft

Posted: Jan 31 2009 02:19 am

from 1up.com:

Quote:

In a move sure to unseat "History and Appreciation of Film" as the preferred choice in that inevitable "I just need one more elective to graduate" conundrum, the University of California, Berkeley has instituted a course that -- seriously -- teaches you how to play StarCraft.

If that sounds too good to be true, well, it sort of is, as there are a couple of catches (the world hasn't gone that tipsy-turvy yet). This is actually a "DeCal" course, a program that emphasizes "democratic education" by allowing students to teach their own courses (after receiving approval). UC Berkeley students can only take this StarCraft course as a pass/fail (meaning they'll receive no letter grade, and therefore overall GPA won't be effected), and while it's worth two credits, they won't go toward general education pre-requisites.

Otherwise, it's a full, real college class, with its own syllabus and course description and everything (and it's own website, too). And if you're wondering exactly what kind of linguistic hoops you have to jump through to write a description for such a course that sounds academically loftier than "learn how to play StarCraft really well," then by all means, read on:

Quote:

This course will go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game StarCraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course. Furthermore, the class will take the theoretical into the practical world by analyzing games and replays to reinforce decision-making skills and advanced StarCraft theory.

You can, if you so desire, read the full syllabus via StarCraftWire.net. Homework includes such assignments as picking "one of the following branches of tech trees and reporting on its strengths and weaknesses and special effects." And the final project tasks players... ahem, students with assembling some sort of contribution to the StarCraft collective, be it "an essay detailing new theory or calculations, or an in-depth analysis of a significant game," and presenting it to the StarCraft community "on a public forum for peer criticism." Maybe it's just us, but we got a feeling a public lashing under the harsh, critical eye of the hardcore StarCraft elite will be far more stressful to bear than any test ever could be.

You can also see a full list of courses previously approved through the DeCal program on its official website, and for a little context, we'll leave you with just a small sample: "Beginner's Scrabble: Strategy, Knowledge, and Fun," "Firefly: Get Versed in the 'Verse," "'Sex and the City' and the Contemporary Woman," and (our favorite) "Come Out and Play: Playing Games Outside." Higher learning, indeed.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172515

and what a student had to say about this course:

Quote:

Yesterday brought news that a new, student-taught course about competitive StarCraft would be offered at UC Berkeley. The course outline not only covers essential knowledge such as micro management and expansion strategy, but features a full-blown tournament. So how exactly does a class like this come to be?

According to student teacher Alan Feng, it was mostly a matter of having a good time playing StarCraft with his friend Sherwin Mahbod. They got the idea to teach a course on the game through the school's Democratic Education program, which allows for students to teach their peers about subjects they want, and began coming up with a course outline and homework assignments. But first they needed approval for the course.

"Obviously, the administration would be skeptical about a class such as this, and in order to gain University approval, we needed a faculty sponsor," Feng said. "The best sponsor we could locate was a professor at the Haas School of Business, Professor John Morgan."

Feng introduced Morgan to the game, and described the "rigorousness and detail that we would delve into, the aspects of true game theory, of risk vs reward, and other aspects." According to Feng, Morgan "gladly offered me his sponsorship," which meant that he would be offering professional oversight, but wouldn't be getting involved unless there was a major dispute.

Feng is looking forward to diving into the subject matter, saying, "This is just the first time; I know I'm going to make lots of mistakes but we'll be sure to have lots of fun through it all."

Feng promised to keep us updated on the course, so we'll let you know how it all turns out. If nothing else, the term papers should make for some pretty great reading when they start to hit StarCraft forums at the end of the semester.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172522

Posted: Jan 31 2009 03:24 pm

That's pretty damn cool. 11 years and Starcraft is still going strong.

Posted: Jan 31 2009 03:35 pm

I wonder if there'll be a Starcraft 201 when he sequel comes out?

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

I want to sign up.

Posted: Jan 31 2009 10:15 pm

only reason i would go back to school.

that and culinary school

Posted: Feb 01 2009 01:17 am

Hell, an elective credit is an elective credit I suppose.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Mankind is doomed... If this is what people pay educational institutions for... we are fucked.

Posted: Feb 01 2009 02:29 pm

Am I the only one who hates those obnoxious get off your ass turn off jerry springer and to college to learn game design! commercials? Some nerdy looking doofus walks into a fake game store and picks some piece of crap fake game called Mission Possible off the rack and asks the camera how you'd think it would feel to see a game you designed on the shelf? WTF kind of lame ass game is Mission Possible? Confused

Joined: Jan 13 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 33

Since I've talked to people 'in the biz' and they say that if you go to one of those it's more-or-less a black mark on your resume and they for sure won't hire you.... Yeah I hate them.

Posted: Feb 01 2009 06:22 pm

Blackout wrote:

Am I the only one who hates those obnoxious get off your ass turn off jerry springer and to college to learn game design! commercials? Some nerdy looking doofus walks into a fake game store and picks some piece of crap fake game called Mission Possible off the rack and asks the camera how you'd think it would feel to see a game you designed on the shelf? WTF kind of lame ass game is Mission Possible? Confused

I agree. I've seen so many of these damn commercials. Like it would be that easy to totally just design the game. I've read many game design books and you have to know your programming. Its not like you'd be the head designer and have a team below you to do all the coding and modeling. Generally you work your way up to that position. The commercials look like that you will be a designer right when you are done with the class.

Posted: Feb 01 2009 11:20 pm

Someone from DeVry (yeah, fucking DeVry) came in and showed us what "the first graduating class" of their Game Programming course made. Cutscene or not (and there was no HUD, so I'm assuming it was a cutscene), it looked ass ugly. Like, early Playstation game ugly. We do better things in my Audio Video editing class on 3D Studio Max. And I barely know how to use that program competently.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Char Aznable wrote:

Someone from DeVry (yeah, fucking DeVry) came in and showed us what "the first graduating class" of their Game Programming course made. Cutscene or not (and there was no HUD, so I'm assuming it was a cutscene), it looked ass ugly. Like, early Playstation game ugly. We do better things in my Audio Video editing class on 3D Studio Max. And I barely know how to use that program competently.

Technology moves so frigg'n fast.

The idea behind any of these programs is that once you know how to use one, you can move on to others.

Figure that schools teach established technology that the teachers are experts in, so it is 2-3 years old, at a minimum. Then figure that by the time you learn it all, it is another 2-3 years later.

4-6 years in the world of 3D modeling is a big deal.