COVER STORY

from Pulse Magazine- April 2020

Style Savvy

BEGIN! LET THE GAM ES ...

COMPETITIVE GAMING

While arcade bars are places where the casual gamer can go, there are other places in town that cater to those who have a more competitive streak. One such place is The Proving Groundz, an esports collective that puts together game tournaments.

Esports has become a huge industry within the gaming world. Much like traditional sports, esports often pits professional gamers—comparative to pro-athletes- -against each other in high-stakes games at arena venues that can result in big cash prizes.

Proving Groundz organizes tournaments on a much smaller scale in Worcester, with weekly competitions at the Domino’s on Grafton Street, and sometimes places like Savepoint Tavern. For a $10 fee, anyone can play, says Proving Groundz co-founder David McGillivray. “This has been pretty fun,” McGillivray says about Proving Groundz, which usually attracts up to 30 players for a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition. “It’s really taken off. There’s a lot of enthusiasm around it.” McGillivray added that Proving Groundz will “pivot to be more of a technology company that will be focused on creating content and tools for players, fans and coaches.”

McGillivray and Moody have an idea for a computer plug-in that will make creating highlight reels and replays on game streaming services like Twitch more user-friendly.

“We’re going to automate it through technology so that it’s much simpler and more set-in configuration than producing video,” he says.

For as many competitive players esports events attract, there are even more spectators. McGillivray believes that for esports to grow it must find ways to engage fans more like traditional sports broadcasts do.

“The same has to be true for video games and there hasn’t been any of that yet. Nobody has been really focused on the fans at this point,” McGillivray says.

To help them get their tech ideas off the ground, McGillivray says that Proving Groundz is working in conjunction with MassDigi and Becker College, the “center of the Worcester esports scene.”

CREATING GAMES IN WOO TOWN

BECKER COLLEGE

To find the nexus of this blast of gaming creativity in Worcester you need to turn your attention to Becker College.

Becker College’s Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Media Design program--often referred to simply as its game design program--was recently ranked number two in the world by the Princeton Review, according to a statement from the school. Becker’s Master of Fine Arts degree in the same program was ranked number 10.

“The heart of Becker College’s Interactive Media Design degree program is built on the acquisition of demonstrable game-making skills in a true production environment,” says Paul Cotnoir, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Becker’s School of Design & Technology and the Director of its Design program. The program’s “centerpiece” is the GameStudio, a series of courses where all students work together in a real-world studio environment to produce publishable media properties.

In what Cotnoir describes as the “Swiss Army knife degree of the 21st Century,” students choose from five different concentrations: game development and programming; game design; game art; game production and management; and game audio.

Students are currently teamed up with the Worcester County District Attorney’s office on a game called “Journey to Blackwood” that aims to “develop certain life skills which could help kids avoid the perils of opioid abuse,” says Cotnoir. Other students are working with Fidelity Investments to create apps that educate 20-somethings on the benefits of wealth planning.

“Interactive media is all about creating positive user experiences which can lead to social good,” he says. “(It) can make a dull subject entertaining or improve the learning process.”

What separates Becker’s Interactive Media program from other similar programs is its “game ecosystem curriculum,” says Cotnoir. Students get experience in multiple aspects, including business, development, engineering, content management, community development and esports.

Speaking of esports, in addition to Becker’s game design program, the school also offers the country’s first-ever Esports Management degree, making it a multifaceted education destination for all types of game related endeavors.

MASSDIGI

The federally funded Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGi) is an independently run organization. It is located at the Colleen C. Barrett Center on Becker’s campus, but it is not exclusive to Becker students. It works with “startups and established studios, colleges and universities, faculties and students” from all over,

says Timothy Loew, Executive Director of MassDiGi. Loew is also the General Manager of Becker College’s varsity esports program.

“In many ways Becker is our test kitchen,” he says. “Everything that we do we do at Becker first and then we’ll deploy it across the broader range of partners once we get it tuned up to where we think it should be.”

Among MassDiGi’s many offerings is the Summer Innovation Program at Becker, in which students take a game from concept to market in 12 weeks.

“It’s a really unique experience,” Loew says about the program that draws students from around the world. Alumni of the Summer Innovation Program have gone on to work at Microsoft, MIT, 2K, Warner Bros., Sony and other companies.

Whether you’re Player One or a spectator in the audience, remember that it is your passion that has made this video gaming world come alive in Worcester. So, pull up a seat and hit “start,” because the game is about to begin.

CHECK OUT SOME SHOTS FROM THESE GREAT SCHOOLS!

Women in Games, Becker College