New Digital Animation Courses Being Offered This Fall at WVU Parkersburg

 
Are you interested in learning about electronic game development?  Do you want to pursue a career in video game design or digital animation? 
 
West Virginia University at Parkersburg offers you the opportunity to learn about this exciting career in two Special Topics courses being offered this fall:  Interface Design and Digital Game Design I.  Through instruction and hands-on exercises, you will learn about game theory, design and development and what it takes to become a successful game creator.
 
Both courses are Special Topics courses (ST 297).   You can enroll in either one or both courses.
 
Interface Design meets from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Digital Game Design I will be held from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., Mondays and Wednesdays. 
 
Both classes will meet in the Caperton Center for Applied Technology (Room 204).  Instructor is Laura Kerbyson.

 About the Courses
Interface Design.  Through classroom lecture and discussion as well as hands-on exercises, students will: 

  •   Understand various technology’s full power to provide experiences that cannot be duplicated in any other medium.

  •   Understand the underlying principles that guide the designer’s work.

  •   Understand how the user experience fits into the over all development of a website, multimedia medium or game.

  •   Be able to formulate a process to ensure quality and consistency of design.

  •   Learn how to evaluate and plan for the needs of the target audience.

  •   Generate promising ideas that enhance the value of design work.

  •   Explore and design effective menus, controls and metaphors for site design.

  •   Be able to solve real-life design challenges.

  •   Understand basic principles of information architecture.

  •   Understand how to write text for maximum usability and how to design for accessibility challenges.

  •   Select appropriate color schemes for clients

  •   Perform usability testing.

Digital Game Design 1 will provide students with the opportunity to learn about the various technologies' full power to provide future trends in the industry.  The course will also explain how games are produced,  tested and released.  Through classroom lecture and discussion as well as hands-on exercises, the course will provide students with the opportunity to:

  •   Discuss the history of electronic game development.

  •   Distinguish between the different game platforms and genres.

  •   Define elements related to game strategy, theory and gameplay.

  •   Identify the distinct roles and responsibilities of members of the game development team.

  •   Use and evaluate an assortment of software tools common in the game industry.

  •   Analyze and develop game concepts and proposals. 

  •   Apply story and character development to games.

  •   Evaluate the game industry and market.

About the Instructor
Both courses are being taught by game designer and web developer Laura Kerbyson.  Kerbyson released "Tertullian’s Tomb," her first video game, in 2005. She followed up in 2007 with "Fleming Castle" and also began making web browser games.

After graduating from Parkersburg South High School, Kerbyson obtained her B.S.J. from Ohio University with specializations in business and psychology. She went on to write for organizations such as The Miami Herald, The Columbus Dispatch, and United Press International and served as editor of several computer magazines. She took graduate courses at Florida International University when she was employed there and obtained her M.S. from Ohio University in 1996. She has previously designed college academic programs in graphic design, game development and web design and has worked for a number of schools. She was awarded the 2006 Outstanding Educator for Advancing Information Technology by ITAAO. 

Kerbyson left Parkersburg in 2007 to become the original web manager and animator for the new Hard Rock Park, the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park in Myrtle Beach, SC. She spent a year working on the $400 million dollar project. The park is the first theme park built in the U.S. in 10 years. It opened to the public on April 15th. 

Learn more about the digital animation courses by contacting Ms. Kerbyson by email or by calling the college's Technology Division, 304-424-8303.
 

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