That student with the blazing thumbs entranced by a video game in the student center may be more than a fan boy passing time before classes. There is a decent chance he is the game’s creator.
On a campus known for training great nurses, journalists, dental hygienists and distance runners, video game designers are programming their way into the lime light one line of code at a time.
Club Web, comprised of student web and game designers, hosted a video game tournament with Fanboy Gaming. It was an opportunity to learn how tournaments are organized and to test some of their products, according to Professor Kathleen Lopez, advisor for Club Web, who teaches video game development.
She said the college’s relationship with Fanboy Gaming has been a blessing.
“They are professional, they provided all of the equipment, about 30 systems,” she said. “It allows my students to see how tournaments are run and meet some of the young and hip people in the industry. (Fanboy Gaming) is a very good mentor.”
She also spoke highly of her students.
“We have the best and brightest students,” she said. “Students make about five games each. We have a blast.”
Jorge Corona, one of the program’s alumni, has gone on to work on the smash hit “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” Lopez said she is thrilled for him.
“It’s the coolest thing in the world, (to have a former student at) the best video game company in the world,” she said. “We are really proud of him.”
Corona was able to take what he learned at SWC to excel as a professional, Lopez said.
“First he was hired to do the graphics,” she said. “He had good ideas so they invited him into the team that does the coding for the different levels.”
Former SWC student Miguel Gomez is working on the next “Halo” video game, one of the biggest game franchises of all time, said Lopez.
Club Web’s second tournament with Fanboy Gaming exceeded expectations, she said, with more than 50 people showing up to compete. Games that were played included “Super Smash Brothers Melee,” “FIFA 14,” “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3,” “Madden 14” and “Super Street Fighter IV.”
It was $3 per event to compete, with 80 percent of the entry fee going to the first place winner and the remaining 20 percent to the runner-up.
For many of the players, it was an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, since many self-proclaim as “unbeaten” before being tested in live competition.
Jonathan De La Cruz, a health science major, said he enjoyed competing.
“My buddy told me to come check it out,” he said. “I’ve always played games but never against live people. I came to play ‘Marvel vs. Campcom.’ I’m definitely interested in coming back and getting more involved in the fighting game community after today.”
Victor Mendez, Club Web’s president, said he wants classmates to be prepared for the professional environment.
“My goal with this club is for everyone to have a good portfolio to show employers,” he said, “so they can say they’ve done a website before or they’ve made a video game. Our plan is to make a video game as a club.”
It may sound simple enough but making a video game is not an easy task.
“It’s very difficult,” said Mendez. “You think video games are fun when you are playing them, but once you’re making them, man, it’s a whole other story.”
Angela Tam, secretary of Club Web, agreed.
“You can build a game within in a month,” she said. “But to make it really good, it can take several months. Math is essential because it’s the physics, the speed of movement. When a ball falls it loses energy with each bounce, so there’s physics in that. If you want to make it interactive you need to know the coding. Otherwise, you just have a movie.”
Mendez agreed.
“You have to know a lot of math, calculus level math, to deal with all the physics,” he said. “For example, in shooting games like ‘Call of Duty’, every shot fired and every shot that hits, takes a portion of your life, so you have to make an equation for that to determine how much.”
As technology improves, expectations for games rise, but many never understand how long it can really take to make something so realistic.
Andres Orueta, a web design major and Club Web member, learned that first hand.
“That was one of the problems when I was testing for Sony,” he said. “For a game release you have these deadlines and if you don’t meet it you’re talking about millions of dollars being lost. They have to crunch it out and sometimes you can’t fix
a certain bug in a game because there’s no time.”
Club Web member Benjamin Faustino said he is confident in the skills he has learned in the club and the design classes.
“It’s one of the best programs on campus, the classes always fill up,” he said. “My goal is to get my certificate, and try and get a job in the industry right away. If that doesn’t work it’s back to school to gain more skills until I can break into the industry.”
Video game programming is a booming American industry, said Mendez, but connections still matter because of the tightness of the community.
Orueta agreed.
“We’re really good about helping each other out,” he said. “If there’s a job opportunity we really try to bring on people from this club. Any students who graduate can end up helping us out down the road.”
Club Web meets every Tuesday at 11 a.m. in room 223. Quick thumbs and quicker brains are encouraged to attend.