INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Science and Technology
of talent, entrepreneurial attitude and ready capital
are the kindle needed to fuel the gaming industry –
and North Texas has all in abundance.
“You need a place that has some heat to it,” he
said. “There’s that growth that happens because
it’s an area that is very conducive to it.”
Beyond gaming, beyond good business, beyond an
excellent education, there is more behind the magic at SMU Guildhall, notes Brubaker about a higher
vision shared by the faculty and a movement of
which their students will be an integral part.
“Samsung
developed their VR
gear here using one of our
alumni,” Brubaker said. “The
world of VR is completely uncivilized
territory: no one knows what or how it’s
going to be. We have students doing research on
what monetization models make sense next. The
interactive technology and games is one that’s always been addicted to change.”
“If you look back through history, every time
there is a new medium of connection, it impacts
society and enables huge social shifts. These interactive virtual spaces are going to define how
culture and society is going to be put together.
It’s not just a career or entertainment medium; really, what our students are learning is
how these tools are going to influence what humans are going to be like in the next 100 years.”
Brubaker notes that in his years in the industry, there
has never been a more exciting time of change and
growth. A unique combination of a specialized pool
To illustrate his point, Brubaker points out that his
twins, now teenagers, most enjoy playing an online
game with a contingent of friends they have never
met in Finland. It’s a far cry from Pong in Southern
California, and it’s the kind of innovation that’s
happening right here in North Texas.
All of the Innovation –
None of the Smell
Communications scholar and pioneer Everett
Rogers, Ph.D., defined the term ‘skunk works’ as
“an especially enriched environment that is intended to help a small group of individuals design
a new i