A growing number of fresh recruits to the gaming industry leave within the first three years, and University of Alberta researchers aim to find out why.
"There's this huge explosion in post-secondary gaming programs and the number of people pursuing it as a career, but for most people it will be very short-lived," says Kenzie Gordon, a doctoral candidate in digital humanities and modern languages and cultural studies.
"And we know that for people of colour, women and marginalized gender folks, it's even shorter. But there's not really any research on why."
Through a project called The First Three Years, Gordon and her research collaborators hope to identify changes in gaming programs and in the gaming industry that might help new grads succeed. The U of A offers a certificate in computer game development jointly between the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.
With partners from York University, the University of Waterloo and Western University, Gordon and her supervisor, Sean Gouglas, have launched a three-year study to explore barriers to success in the gaming industry for new recruits.
