Gameology: Commentary and Resources for the Game Studies Community

he Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University offers a two-year Masters of Entertainment Technology degree, jointly conferred by Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Carnegie Mellon is relatively unique among U.S. Universities in being able to offer this kind of degree, as we have both top-quality fine arts and top-quality technology programs.

The high concept behind both the Center and the Masters program is to have technologists and fine artists work together on projects that produce artifacts that are intended to entertain, inform, inspire, or otherwise affect an audience/guest/player/participant. Because the larger challenge we face in authoring in new media is bringing together different disciplines, our degree program is driven by trying to do this most effectively.

The ETC does not turn artists into technologists, or vice-versa. While some students will be able to achieve mastery in both areas, it is not our intent to have our students master 'the other side.' Instead, we intend for a typical student in this program to enter with mastery or training in a specific area and spend his or her two years at Carnegie Mellon learning the vocabulary, values, and working patterns of the other culture. This learning will be evidenced by their ability to work effectively with those who are expert in it.