2006年VOA标准英语-US Schools Take Notice of Growing Video Game In

By Barry Newhouse
Washington, DC
09 August 2006
 
watch Video Game report

Home video games have been around since the late 1970s but are enjoying unprecedented¹ growth right now. Economists² expect the video game industry to add thousands of jobs in the coming years. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports that schools also have taken notice of the industry's rapid growth and are helping³ game players to become game creators.

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The video game industry's regular trade shows are opportunities to show off the latest software that totaled some $8.2 billion in sales in 2004.

These glitzy games have humble⁴ beginnings in dimly lit offices like the ones at Bethesda Softworks. Alex Tran and other game testers work to find flaws, called bugs⁵, in new games. 

Alex Tran testing a Star Trek⁶ game  
  
"I'm playing a Star Trek game right now, and I've been playing it for the past couple months," says Tran. “And what you do is play through the game over and over again and it gets really redundant⁷, but what you test for is - test for any crashes, anything that stalls the game."

These are the entry-level jobs for many who aspire⁸ to work in the video game industry. It is estimated that more than 150,000 people now work in the industry. Analysts⁹ expect that to grow to more than 250,000 by 2009. Many will start as game testers, using skills they've honed over years of playing.

Steve Coupe says his job has forced his parents to rethink all of their advice about studying books instead of playing games when he was younger.

"They were joking the other day that we kept telling him all through school to put down the games and study and now I should have been playing games more," says Coupe.

But American schools are now recognizing that an interest in video games can lead to a lucrative¹¹ career. Some offer courses in specialized¹² technical skills. Montgomery College in the U.S. state of Maryland is one of a few schools that offers degrees in video game design. Here, instructor¹³ Mike Cantwell teaches the basics. 

 
Instructor Mike Cantwell
  
"This is a two-d [dimensional] animation¹⁴ course, using Macromedia Flash. Basically the students learn to write a script, take the script and develop a storyboard for the animation that they will complete during the semester," says Cantwell.

This summer younger students are studying the artistic¹⁵ skills that can be used in video game design. More advanced students can go on to create much more complex animation, like that created by Roland Womack.

"He was basically building polygons and joining them together. Everything moves independently. So if you notice, the pants, her blouse, her hair, even her boots, there's movement involved. He's trying to establish a kind of natural realism. If you look closely, she even breathes, which is kind of cool," says Cantwell.

Training in animation   
  
Courses at Montgomery College also focus on teaching students how to think about video game design. In this class, students act out scenes from the popular video game Zelda. They want to learn how developers come up with a game's internal structure and rules.

Professor Deborah Solomon is responsible for creating the video game design courses.  She said the classes are even drawing interest from students in high school and middle school.

 
Instructor Deborah Solomon 
  
"This is a really strong interest for kids and even if they don't end up going into the gaming industry it gives them a background in technical knowledge and software capabilities¹⁶ that they can really apply to a broad range of different careers," says Cantwell.

With video games growing increasingly complex, industry executives say job applicants¹⁷ should have a wide range of experience and skills.

Pete Hines is a vice¹⁰ president at Bethesda Softworks. He says nearly everyone at his company has a passion for playing video games, but job applicants also need to show initiative.

"There's really no degree or school you can attend that's going to make us say, 'Well, we should definitely hire you,' " says Hines. “We want to see people who have got lots of experience outside of their job or their coursework where they're doing stuff on their own time."

Hines says the video game industry in the United States is expected to grow larger than the nation's movie industry - spawning¹⁸ even more academic programs and training courses for the next generation of video game enthusiasts¹⁹.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

7 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

8 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

12 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

13 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

14 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

15 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

16 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

18 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

19 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册