Train2Game courses

May 19th 2009

Tiga announced today that it plans to become the independent awarding and examination body for the distance learning courses for video games devised by Train2Game (T2G), the games training business. Tiga will contribute to the development of the courses and examinations. There will also be opportunities for industry professionals from Tiga member businesses to provide guest lecturers on the T2G courses and to provide input into the courses in order to meet ever changing games industry needs.

T2G is a company jointly created between DR Studios and MIS Ltd. DR Studios is a member of Tiga with many years experience in the games industry. MIS Ltd is one of the UK’s leading distance learning providers. T2G launched two games industry related distance learning courses in development (programming) and design in March 2009. A third course, Art, will be launched in 2010.

The T2G courses are open to all but they are not easy, the developer course requiring a strong aptitude for mathematics in particular. The courses are likely to appeal especially to people who have never gone to university or who have done a degree in another subject and who might then want to do a distance learning course rather than go back to university to re-skill. The courses could also be popular with people in the games industry seeking to improve their skills. T2G’s courses provide further choice in the education market, enabling students to study in their own time, at their own pace, at home or their place of work. They are also competitively priced, at around £4,960. The T2G courses have the potential to increase the supply of trained people available for work in the games industry.

The T2G courses are relevant to current industry needs and are updated regularly to keep pace with changes in the games industry. Bedfordshire University has been so impressed by the quality of the T2G courses that it has begun to integrate aspects of the courses into its own games degree programme.

Under the terms of Tiga’s partnership with T2G, T2G will have responsibility for:

• Administering and supporting the courses and exams including marking and invigilation;

• All the relevant product, pricing, sales, marketing, development methodology and media upon which the courses are launched; and

• Recruiting and appointing appropriately qualified and experienced lecturers to help deliver the courses.

Tiga will provide:

• Advice on the content of the T2G courses as they are developed;

• Advice and input into the content of the examinations; and

• Award a Tiga diploma to individuals who successfully pass the exams.

There will be opportunities for industry professionals from Tiga member businesses to provide guest lecturing on the T2G courses.

Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, said:

“The best trade associations award their own qualifications and provide training to help meet their members’ needs and to improve skills in their respective industries. Tiga, by working with T2G, will be taking practical action to help deal with the skills shortages that hold back the UK games industry. This is a real challenge: a Tiga survey of game developers last year showed that 63 per cent of respondents had faced skills shortages over the previous 12 months.

“The T2G courses are designed by the industry for the industry and are relevant to current industry needs. They will help to increase the supply of well trained people available for recruitment in the development sector. Individuals who take the qualifications and pass the exams should be fit to work in a developers’ studio. Tiga members will have an opportunity to provide input into T2G’s course content, the exam questions and their team members, if suitably experienced, will be able to contribute as guest lecturers.

“T2G courses are not easy. In particular, students studying the developer course will need a strong aptitude for mathematics. Nor will studying the courses guarantee a student a job in the games industry. Obtaining work in the games industry depends to a critical extent on a student’s portfolio and performance at an interview. However, because the T2G courses are so relevant to the games industry’s needs, they will provide a good grounding for students looking to enter the sector.”

Tiga’s involvement with T2G confirms the trade association’s strong interest in education and skills. Tiga already has important relationships with universities, including universities that are Tiga members: Abertay, Brighton, Derby, Goldsmiths and Portsmouth. Tiga campaigns for higher education to be properly funded, for a greater supply of good quality graduates and builds industry-academia links through the Tiga Technology Group and other networking opportunities.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. Tiga is the national trade association that represents games developers in the UK and in Europe. We have 150 members, the majority of whom are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

2. Tiga's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that Tiga members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

3. For information about DR Studios and T2G, please contact Clive Robert, CEO DR Studios on 07801374730; or Tony Bickley, COO DR Studios and T2G Course Director, on 07884262639 or Tony.bickley@drstudios.co.uk

4. For information about MIS Ltd and T2G, please contact Mike Head, Train2Game’s Marketing Director, on 07793773999.

See also: www.train2game.co.uk <http://www.train2game.co.uk/>

For further information, please contact: Dr Richard Wilson, Tiga CEO on: 0845 0941095; Mob: 07875 939643; or: Email: richard.wilson@tiga.org, or Eva Whitlow, TIGA PR Manager on: Mob: 07814 039 983; Email: eva@tiga.org.