Warren Spector, Blizzard COO to lead University of Texas game program
Developer Warren Spector and Blizzard Entertainment COO Paul Sams will help oversee a new gaming academy being put into place at the University of Texas at Austin. The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy, named after co-founders Wofford Denius, Sams and his wife, will begin in 2014 with only 20 spots for students, and will award a postbaccalaureate certificate rather than a graduate degree, which the school says will help it remain industry-focused.
Spector, the creator of Deus Ex and the Disney Epic Mickey series, will put together the curriculum, which will include a 12-month intensive program where students will make a game themselves. Students selected for admission will also get a tuition waiver and a $10,000 stipend for fees and housing expenses. The program will begin next fall.
Show full PR text
University of Texas at Austin Partners with Video Game Executives to Create Denius-Sams
Gaming Academy
Warren Spector to guide postbaccalaureate certificate program
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas at Austin has partnered with video game industry
leaders Warren Spector and Paul Sams to create the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy, the first
video game program in the United States led and taught by gaming industry executives.
Spector(M.A., Radio-Television-Film '80) will guide the curriculum, and both he and Sams will
serve as part-time instructors for the academy, which begins in the fall of 2014. The academy
seeks to support economic growth of the gaming industry in Texas and beyond by creating the
unique focus of training students to become game development team leaders.
"What differentiates the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy is that it will focus explicitly on the
bigger creative leadership aspects of game development -on the management and production
side and on the creative leadership side," said Spector, who will also serve as co-chair of the
academy's advisory board. "This is a space that's not being filled by the other programs, and it will make the academy unique."
Spector is a 30-year veteran of the video game industry and is known for his work on the
"Ultima," "System Shock," "Deus Ex," and the "Disney Epic Mickey" game series. He has
worked on more than 20 production teams as a designer, director and producer.
Samsis chief operating officer and a 17-year veteran of Blizzard Entertainment®
where he is responsible for the company's global business operations. During Sams' tenure, the company has produced some of the industry's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game franchises including "Warcraft," "Diablo," "StarCraft," and "World of Warcraft." Sams also shares responsibility for the growth of one of the largest online gaming services in the world, the company's Battle.net.
The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy was made possible by the Cain Foundation and Paul and
Susan Sams (B.J., Journalism'92). "Susan and I believe The University of Texas at Austin has a tremendous track record of building nationally recognized programs that generate the leaders and critical thinkers the gaming industry needs," Sams said. "The program will focus on building the skills required for students to lead teams and develop games from concept to completion, while growing talent for the gaming industry."
Texas is an epicenter for the computer and video game industry. It has the second-largest
concentration of game companies in the U.S., with more than 155 development and publishing
companies throughout the state providing about 4,000 full-time jobs, according to the Texas Film Commission in the Office of the Governor.
The academy will be industry driven -instead of a graduate degree, students will earn a
postbaccalaureate certificate, which offers fewer restrictions than a traditional academic degree and will enable the programto remain relevant and responsive to industry trends.
The academy will include an intense, 12-month program in which students will create a small scale game from start to finish, working in teams to handle every aspect of the creation. The accelerated timeline will help aspiring professionals acquire the skill they need to join the
workforce.
Wofford Denius (B.A., Business Administration '74) is director of the Cain Foundation and cofounder of the academy. He has a long history of contributing to innovative projects at the
university and the College of Communication.
"By combining the best professors with some of the gaming industry's top minds and
contributors, The University of Texas will immediately establish itself on the cutting edge of
gaming design technology and the gaming industry," Denius said. "But even more importantly,
the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy will help our students by enhancing their marketability and
providing them with unique leadership skills to advance as leaders in their employment and in the gaming industry."
Admission to the academy will be highly competitive, with only 20 spots available for 2014.
Admission will be open to U.S. and international students. Admitted students will receive a
tuition waiver and a $10,000 stipend to assist with fees and housing expenses -the only game
design program to do this.
The academy is a joint effort among the College of Communication, the College of Fine Arts and
the Department of Computer Science. It also is supported by the Provost's Office at the
university.
It complements the university's undergraduate Game Development Program, which offers a
capstone project course in video game development. "The Denius-Sams Gaming Academy will create the most intense program of its kind, in which aspiring professionals enlist in an all-in adventure, rather than complete mere credit hours," said Roderick P. Hart, dean of the College of Communication. "The program will prepare students to become creative team leaders who will drive the creation of games in the future and ensure the vitality of the gaming industry."
