Wake Tech unveils computer games lab
Published: Mon, Feb. 26, 2007 01:11PM
Modified Mon, Feb. 26, 2007 01:34PM
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closeWake Technical Community College unveiled a new computer lab that it hopes will help fuel the Triangle's growing video game industry.
The Simulation and Game Development lab is the workshop for the new associate's degree program, which Wake Tech began last year.
Funded in part by Wake Tech and a grant from the National Science Foundation, the $93,000 design lab is home to 25 Alienware work stations.
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The top end machines are loaded with game design software, including Gamebyro and Unreal Engine 3, both developed by Triangle companies and used extensively throughout the gaming industry.
The two-year Wake Tech associate's degree program now has 84 students enrolled. It is funded in large part by the $900,000 National Science Foundation grant.
Today's unveiling was attended by U.S. Rep Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, and local game developers.
"We have more job requirements than this program can fill," said Richard Kristof, president and chief executive of American Research Institute, a Morrisville company that develops serious games, or software that uses game design concepts for training applications.
The Triangle is home to more than 30 electronic entertainment developers, including Virtual Heroes, creators of the America's Army game, and Epic Games, makers of the Xbox 360 hit Gears of War.
Staff writer Sam LaGrone can be reached at 836-4951 or slagrone@newsobserver.com.
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