Valparaiso University celebrated the opening of its new Center for Games and Interactive Entertainment Feb. 4.
The center is dedicated to exploring and learning about the gaming industry. It serves as a resource for students interested in the games industry. The center also offers a means of connecting them with businesses in the field. It is also a resource for professors wanting to incorporate games in their curriculum as teaching devices.
The Center for Games and Interactive Entertainment was funded by a $25,000 Ball Venture Grant awarded in 2023.
The center features gaming technology, a virtual reality arena, a video game console and computer lab. It also has a couch co-op room for cooperative gameplay. The center also includes a board game library and a streaming space.
Joseph Goodman, Goodman Games founder and CEO, has contributed to several gaming courses at Valparaiso University. He donated $4,000 worth of books and accessories to support the center.
“It’s really cool to me that a university is making this part of its offerings, where a kid like I was can do this as a formal, structured program, and make it part of the education processes,” Goodman said in a press release.
Goodman added that now that he works in the industry, he has to hire people.
“I view games as jobs, and having kids come out of programs like the ones here with credentials makes it easier for people like me to find them,” Goodman said.
According to an Entertainment Software Association report, video gaming alone supported over 350,000 jobs in the United States. The expanding industry encompasses video games, board games, card games and role-playing games.
“People can have a very narrow definition of what a game is,” Dr. Martin Buinicki, English professor, said. “Because of that, it took a little bit of time to explain that this was not just more time to put people in front of computers, or more time to play Monopoly.”
Buinicki envisions pop-up events for games like Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering. Local businesses can sell merchandise and connect with students.
“The center will be a place where students of any major from across campus can go, both to play games and to learn more about designing and making them,” Buinicki said. “The game industry has become so vast and so exciting that you don’t necessarily have to be in any one program to be interested in game design.”
