The digital hobby was always a part of his life growing up, and when it came time to decide on a future career, he set his sights on game design. “I’ve always wanted to get game design right out of the gate,” Vaters said. “Video games have always made me really happy, so I’ve always wanted to make games to make other people feel the same.” But when he was ready to go to college, the only program available was offered through a school in Toronto. With a young daughter to care for, enrolling in a program four hours away, upending his family so he could follow his dream, just wasn’t feasible, Vaters said. Instead, he went to work. Vaters trained as a professional rubber liner and conveyor belt technician, developing a specialized skill set over the past decade that has put him in demand at mining facilities and aggregate pits across the city. But that all changed last summer when he received an email from Cambrian College announcing its brand new game design program. He immediately saw this as an opportunity to recapture the opportunity that had eluded him so many years before. “I was like, ‘This is it. this is the time. I can’t live my life (thinking) ‘What if?’ So I have to try it.” Vaters is now one of the inaugural teams in the college’s game design program, which began in September 2021. During the four-semester course, students learn about game design theory, game creation, implementation and production, and the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Thirty-five students signed up for its first intake, a strong response to a new course, said program coordinator Aaron Langille, an experienced computer programmer and video game enthusiast. Many students are drawn to the program because it’s simply fun, he noted. But in an industry expected to generate an estimated $4.3 billion in Canada in 2021, video game design is also garnering attention for its enormous potential. “I don’t have to work hard to sell people on the idea of game design,” Langille said. “It’s something that’s starting to come so naturally to people, because there’s been such a shift in not only the size of the games industry, but the perception of games as a really valid thing to do.” Want to read more business news from the North? Subscribe to our newsletter. While many students may dream of designing their own Minecraft or Call of Duty, the game design principles they learn in the program can easily be applied elsewhere, Langille said. This includes the non-digital predecessor of the video game: board games. Gamification — the introduction of game-like aspects into other applications — is a big trend in the corporate world right now, with many companies using gamification tactics to make information or services more engaging for users. “How do we engage people? How do we keep them interested? How do we tell interesting stories about things that might not be inherently interesting?” Langille said. “All these skills, we try to do our best in the game design classes to say, you can also use them in these situations as well.” An example might be a company incentive program that encourages employees to meet their productivity quotas, he noted. Another is education. If an organization turns learning new information into a game, it immediately becomes more exciting and engaging. Colleges, industry and other employers are also using VR and AR in their training modules to provide learners with a simulation of scenarios they may encounter on the job. For example, a common core student could put on goggles and immerse themselves in a VR tour of a working mine before ever setting foot underground. All this advanced technology requires someone to design, build and implement it. “Gaming is at the intersection of so many types of media and so many creativity-based endeavors and so many technical endeavors that it’s impossible not to learn transferable skills while learning game design,” Langille said. “Well, I’d like to think we’re opening a world of doors for our students. Even if they’re only thinking about game design, there’s so many places they could go after they graduate.” Sudbury is already home to a small, fledgling community of designers working in the industry, and Langille predicts it will grow further in the coming years. As marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, geographic location is no longer a barrier to work in many industries, including game design. He believes it is very possible for designers in Sudbury, or elsewhere in Northern Ontario, to collaborate with counterparts in locations around the world. “I think Northern Ontario is ready and I think it’s going to be great to start seeing students come from all over to be a part of this,” Langille said. “There’s no reason we can’t be a hub for people who are in Toronto and want to connect with us as well. We have ideas that are just as good as anyone else’s. no question. I see it from my students and I see it from the people I meet.” Joshua Vaters still has a year to go before he’s ready to enter the industry, but the journey so far has been impressive. Although he was a fan of video games, he hadn’t done much programming and said it was a welcome challenge to balance the creative and coding aspects of the job. Last summer, he gained first-hand experience of both after a coveted job with NORCAT, working with the innovation center’s technology team on various projects, including designing a VR program aimed at training young electricians in fire safety . After graduation, he hopes to find a job with a local company where he can continue to hone his skills in the industry that has fascinated him for life. Asked if it was worth it to make such a big change in his life, there is no hesitation. “Oh, sure,” Vaters said. “I’m much happier and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It is very good.”
