Submitted by Kelli Hagen for the Guildhall at SMU
Paul Jaquays, an industry expert who helped inspire the Guildhall Founder?s Scholarship Fund available to the first cohort of students, says the Guildhall will give students a ?direct knowledge transfusion from the minds and experience of established game making pros.?
The entire Jaquays interview is posted on the Guildhall website at http://www.guildhall.smu.edu/news/jaquays-qa.htm
Here are a couple of questions from the interview:
3. You have helped create much of the Guildhall curriculum -- what would you consider to be the most distinctive mark you have left on this program?
My work has been on the Art Creation curriculum. Every art director that I?ve talked to has expressed a desire to see digital art candidates with strong traditional art skills (particularly drawing). From the outset, I convinced Guildhall to stress drawing and other traditional skills as a part of the core curriculum for all Art Creation students.
4. As a professional who interviews and hires talent in the gaming industry, how do you see the Guildhall curriculum impacting the digital gaming world long term?
The bar to enter the game industry is often higher than many would-be game makers can jump. Everyone is looking for experienced developers to staff out their teams. I see Guildhall training as a potential replacement for that Catch 22 ?experienced only? loop that often keeps fresh talent out of the industry.